A local company is changing the way cognitive care is practised.
focuses on significantly improving a patient鈥檚 quality of life after a brain injury. The company uses innovative ways to heal and retrain the brain.
鈥淭he brain has a remarkable capacity to change and that is called neuroplasticity,鈥� said Cloverdale鈥檚 Mark Watson, CEO for ABI Wellness.
Headquartered in 91原创, ABI does outreach work with hospitals, not-for-profits, and clinics across North America.
Watson co-founded ABI, along with Howard Eaton, when the two realised there was virtually no one around the world attempting to repair, retrain, and improve cognitive function in people with brain injuries.
鈥淭he typical standard of care is that we compensate around the weaknesses,鈥� explained Watson. 鈥淏ut we focus on improving cognitive capacity.鈥�
Watson helped to grow a private school at UBC that focussed on neuroplasticity. He said that鈥檚 really where ABI Wellness got its start. That school (Eaton Arrowsmith) was 鈥渄oing something unique and disruptive鈥� in the teaching of people with learning disabilities. 鈥淲e focussed on improving a person鈥檚 cognitive abilities. We did that because we wanted the child, or adult, to become more independent when they left assisted education.鈥�
Watson said their goal was to graduate people that could be more independent, hold better jobs, and be more productive members of society.
And while Eaton Arrowsmith focused on people with learning disabilities, ABI Wellness took that 鈥渦nique and disruptive鈥� neuroplastic work and pivoted it to brain injury.
Initially, Watson was skeptical of the whole brain recovery process. He had no idea about neuroplasticity and he didn鈥檛 think the brain could change it all.
He said there was no eureka moment that changed this; it happened gradually. Watson would get referral after the referral from institutions and hospitals that had hit walls with what they could do for patients. But they knew, through the grapevine, that the Eaton Arrowsmith at UBC was changing the landscape of with their unique neuroplastic work.
鈥淢edical and legal professionals started to send referrals and inquire about accessing our program.鈥�
Watson said they were getting people that basically had no hope for any further recovery, so they thought, 鈥渨hy not give the program a try?鈥�
After about a dozen or so referrals, people were able to see real results, positive results, and positive changes in a growing number of patients that previously would have been written off with no hope of improvement.
After that Watson and Eaton went to the faculty of medicine at UBC and proposed a clinical trial.
鈥淭he question was, 鈥楥an people with chronic brain injuries and cognitive issues engage in a program to help them improve their cognition?鈥欌��
Through the success of their clinical trial, the pair launched ABI Wellness. Now their method of brain recovery is used to help people across the continent.
Watson said ABI鈥檚 method, called Brain Enhance And Recovery System (BEARS) has shown a 77 percent return-to-work rate and has helped improve the lives of people from every walk of life.
鈥淭he brain has the capacity to change throughout a lifetime,鈥� he added. 鈥淣europlasticity is very much possible, but unfortunately it鈥檚 not being deployed as much as it could be. We鈥檙e working to change that.鈥�
Watson said they鈥檙e also now in the process of designing avenues to utilize the BEARS platform to support people suffering cognitive dysfunction from Long-Covid. They鈥檝e so far been liaising with a couple groups in the United States primarily, but they鈥檙e now also talking with health authorities in B.C.
Watson said the BEARS system was created with the help of two mentors, ABI co-founder Eaton (who also helped start Eaton Arrowsmith) and Barbara Arrowsmith-Young, who created the curriculum that was used at the school.
鈥淏arbara understands how to train neuroplasticity and deploy it,鈥� said Watson. 鈥淪o we used her curriculum.鈥滶aton, he added, isn鈥檛 one to sit around and think about things. If he sees a problem, he jumps to find a solution.
Watson said ABI is on a mission to make two major changes in the world. They company wants to help people with brain injuries recover as best as they can and they also want to change the way society thinks about brain injuries.
鈥淎ll the current research suggests that once a patient is two years post-injury, whether a concussion or a more severe brain injury鈥攊nclusive of stroke, they鈥檝e made as much progress as they could make,鈥� explained Watson. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not true. People aren鈥檛 utilising neuroplastic resources. The brain does have capacity to change throughout a lifetime.鈥�
He said research has proven this, but that information has not been readily available to doctors and occupational therapists in clinical practice.
Watson said families have also been a driving force behind the need for change. Those who support loved ones with brain injuries wanted more, wanted better treatment and recovery, wanted hope.
He cites a story of a boy and his family who moved from Alberta just to be a part of ABI鈥檚 program.
鈥淎s part of his vocational program, he was told to pick up garbage,鈥� explained Watson. 鈥淣ow there鈥檚 nothing wrong with picking up garbage, but why not give the child more options? Why don鈥檛 we try to train up his cognition before assigning him a specific task for life. It feels like they just wrote the kid off.鈥�
Watson said unlike physical rehab鈥攚here there is a plan, where there鈥檚 accountability and everything鈥檚 measurable鈥攚ith cognitive issues, there has never been that 鈥渞oad to recovery鈥� mentality.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always been, 鈥楾ake some pills and wait and rest,鈥� but I just don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 the right way to do it.鈥�
He said it comes down to figuring out what kind of active rehab can be used in cognitive rehab for each individual.
鈥淲hat can we learn from active physical rehab and then apply it to cognitive rehab?
鈥淚t鈥檚 targeted therapy for the brain,鈥� added Watson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to understand how to do that better with cognitive rehab. And I think that鈥檚 really really exciting.鈥�
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