THE AFTER AND BEYOND SPINAL CORD INJURY
RESOURCE MANUAL

The After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual is a comprehensive, in-depth source of information about issues and topics that someone with a spinal cord injury might find useful. The After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual is the second volume to the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Journal published by the Canadian Spinal Research Organization.

Ideally, the manual is designed for stages of chronic care for spinal cord injured individuals, post rehabilitation. The journal is for the acute care phase, and offers a six-week progress journal for the consumer to chronicle the first few weeks after their injury.

HISTORY
In early 2002, the CSRO released the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Journal for those with a newly acquired spinal cord injury, their family and friends. The After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Journal was a huge success at rehabilitation hospitals throughout the country.

Once the Journal was released, the CSRO started work on the second volume of the Journal, the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual, meant to guide one from the rehabilitation hospital back into the community. This transition can be overwhelming for some and having the proper resources can help make it easier.

Like the Journal, the After and Beyond Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual received a very positive response from spinal cord injured consumers, their families and their health professionals. Most recently, we revised our manual and have produced our 3 rd edition, which is our most comprehensive version thus far. The 3 rd edition features more personal testimonials, an additional pain management section and a complete revision of data.

BUILDING THE MANUAL
The After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual started out as a fairly simple guide to help consumers who were recently out of rehabilitation restart their lives in the community. But as research began for the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual, the amount of information increased to encompass much more than anticipated.
It also became apparent that there were more services available to someone with a spinal cord injury than first imagined.

CONTENTS OF THE MANUAL
Before the writing began for the Resource Manual, what topics were of the most value to someone re-entering the community needed to be determined. Finally 13 sections that would cover what were deemed the most important aspects of re-entering the community were included.

Among the topics included in the Resource Manual by the CSRO were health-related items such and Bowel and Bladder Management, Skin Care and Sexual Health as well as topics that dealt more with independent living, like Home Modifications, Financial Planning and Benefits and Attendant Management.

REFINING THE MANUAL
The entire process of creating the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual was completely consumer driven, from the research to the writing, but most evidently in the evaluation. It was important to the CSRO to determine whether the information was actually useful to consumers, so the CSRO set up focus groups of consumers to review the material, and sent out material via e-mail to those who could not attend. Valuable life experiences and consumer quotes were added to the sections.

The CSRO also made sure that representatives in the industry checked the accuracy of the content as well. In some cases, these industry representatives wrote the sections entirely themselves. The CSRO would like to acknowledge the contribution of healthcare professionals, retail providers, health care services and associations and consumers and accessible services to the development of the manual.

As well, other organizations dedicated to helping those with spinal cord injuries were consulted. The Canadian Paraplegic Association (CPA), both National and Ontario, and the Ontario March of Dimes were consulted on specific topics relating to their expertise and services. As two of the largest not-for-profit service organizations dedicated to those with spinal cord injuries, their input was invaluable.

Other groups, such as the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT) and Transportation Action Now (TAN) were also crucial in creating the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual.

We would like to thank the following organizations for their support in the production of the manual: Bayshore Home Health, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Shoppers Home Health Care, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation and Ayelsworth.

The After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Journal was designed and developed with the assistance of Headcan Education Health Media.

CONTACT INFORMATION

A copy of the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Resource Manual and the After and Beyond™ Spinal Cord Injury Journal is available from the CSRO head office. Both publications are available free of cost from the CSRO to all spinal cord injured individuals and their families. However, please note that the cost of shipping and handling is not included for the manual, and will range between $10 –20$ per guide.

After & Beyond™ Resource Manual is also available to professionals for the cost of $56 per manual, plus the cost of shipping and handling. A copy of the After and Beyond™ Journal is also available completely free of charge.

For copies of the After and Beyond™ Resource Manual and the Resource Journal, please contact the CSRO at:

Canadian Spinal Research Organization
120 Newkirk Rd. Unit 2
Richmond Hill, Ontario
L4C 9S7
1-800-361-4004
info@csro.com