This regional recognition implies that the ACTE covers the entire Eastern Township territory. For example, the intervenors can make home visits to meet individuals with
a CVA or brain trauma interested in receiving services.
The ACTE represents one link in a continuum of services in traumatology. In the interests
of offering the most adequate care possible, a network of services has been developed
for individuals who have survived brain trauma.
Although this same continuum of services is not available to individuals having had a CVA, the existing partnership between these three organizations (CHUS, CRE, ACTE), facilitates the referral of these individuals to the ACTE.
Partnerships are therefore of vital importance for our association. Also highly valued is the consistently high quality of services we offer. We recognize the importance of being continually on the lookout for the development of new and innovative projects.
The ACTE is to remain an informal support network, without a fixed address until 1989, when it obtains a subvention, allowing for its first pied a terre. It boasts an approximate membership of thirty.
In the early 1990’s, the Sherbrooke Geriatric Institute, responsible at this time for dispensing intensive rehabilitative services, welcomes the ACTE within its buildings. In the same year, the association hires a coordinator/intervenor and a secretary. A collaborative partnership begins and the ACTE publishes its first bulletin.
In response to the recommendations of the regional organizational plan of services aimed towards individuals with brain trauma, in 1992 the ACTE sponsors an awareness and information Regional Colloquium on brain trauma. The colloquium closes with a series of recommendations regarding the human, financial, informational, and service needs of trauma survivors. A committee is formed to monitor the implementation of these recommendations. In January 1994, it presents a report of its findings to the Regie Regionale of Health and Social Services.
The ACTE’s tenth anniversary affords an opportunity to organize a number of promotional activities. These include conferences, videos, shows and theatre. They take place concurrently with the regular activities offered in the mid 90’s including support groups, information sessions, leisure, and rights advocacy.
1995 brings the project for a Day Activity Program to the forefront. Various partners (ARLPPHE, CRE, Regie) are courted and their financial help solicited. The project is seen as a means to help survivors maintain their abilities and maximize their potential.
The ACTE celebrates its fifteenth anniversary by organizing a forum under the theme of ‘La parole aux sans voix’, (Speech for the Voiceless). This forum brings together 120 people and extends an opportunity for mutual exchanges, sharing, and learning. The celebration is further highlighted by an evening of improvisation piting a team from the ‘Ligue Nationale d’Improvisation’ against a team of local journalists and members of the ACTE.
The preeminent issue of focus for the following three years is the search for a permanent home for the ACTE to plant its roots. However, it is to move three times in three years before attaining the goal of stability at 68 Jacques-Cartier Boulevard; grounds belonging to the CRE.
The first years of the new millennium sees the ACTE pursue its Regional and Provincial distinction, develop a day program tailored to the needs of its members, and continues to cultivate bonds with its network partners. Not surprisingly, references proliferate and the ACTE thrives. This growth ushers in two years of debates, reflection, and reexamination, culminating in the redefinition of vision, roles and responsibilities. The ACTE equips itself with new policies and tools (human resources management) thereby consolidating and strengthening its management practices.
The ACTE is what it is today thanks to all the members as well as non-members who had a vision and the determination to pursue it with tenacity and conviction.
At twenty years of age, the ACTE is now a mature adult, full of energy, hope, and promise for a long and exciting future to come!
The ACTE offers many types of workshops including art, signing, wellness, and outdoor recreation. There is something for everyone. The activity objectives are:
To break isolation and improve quality of life.
To facilitate the maintenance of abilities.
To stimulate the development of new knowledge and interests.
A CVA occurs when there is a lack of blood circulation to the brain.
This causes brain damage.
A CVA does not affect all parts of the brain. This explains the multitude of differential behavioral consequences that can ensue following a CVA. Behaviors will vary depending on the part of brain that has been damaged.
The outcome of a CVA will be influenced by many factors including the type of lesion, its severity, personality and level of functioning prior to the accident and time lapsed since the CVA.
Types of Possible Consequences
The consequences that are likely to follow a CVA can be divided into four groups: Physical:
Hemiplegia, lack of coordination and balance, skin sensitivity, lack of body awareness, changes in sexual responsiveness, (ie. lubrication, discomfort…). Cognitive:
Loss of short-term memory, agnosia (difficulty recognizing familiar objects), apraxia (difficulty initiating movement), aphasia (difficulty using or understanding language). Emotional:
Emotional instability, irritability, anxiety, personality changes. Behavioral:
Impulsivity, rigidity of thinking, disinhibition, apathy.
Remember that: Each case is unique!
The brain lesions can be minor, moderate, or severe. The consequences are
not all present at the same time, in the same person.
The impact on the couple and/or family must be taken into consideration. There
is an inevitable period of disruption of varying length that ensues following a CVA. Disruptions can include such things as:
A brain trauma occurs when a person receives a heavy blow to the head and as a result suffers one or more lesions to brain. This can be the result of a fall, accident, or gun shot wound. Depending on the area of the brain that sustains the damage, some of the following consequences will be observed: Physical:
Paralysis, fatigue, difficulty speaking, sensory difficulties, loss of balance. Cognitive:
Loss of memory, difficulty with concentration and comprehension. Emotional:
Mood swings, anxiety, loss of insight, personality changes. Behavioral:
Impulsivity, disinhibition, aggressiveness, apathy.
These consequences frequently interfere with familiy relationships and present social, educational, and professional challenges. The impact is different from one person to another.
Your life feels like it has toppled upside down? You feel overwhelmed by your current situation? Offering support to individuals who have survived a CVA or brain trauma, along with their families is our mission. Contact us and get answers to your questions and uncertainties.
A safe, welcoming, and nonjudgemental environment might well be what you need to help you rediscover balance, control and equillibrium in your life…
English
Mission | Services Offered | What is a CVA ? | What is a brain trauma ? | Testimonials | Contact us
Mission
ACTE
The Association des accidentés cérébro-vasculaires et traumatisés crâniens de l’Estrie
is a community organization created in 1984 to gather together individuals who have survived a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or brain trauma, and their family.
The ACTE has a regional vocation that is recognized by the Agence de développement de réseaux locaux de services de la santé et de services sociaux de l’Estrie and the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
This regional recognition implies that the ACTE covers the entire Eastern Township territory. For example, the intervenors can make home visits to meet individuals with
a CVA or brain trauma interested in receiving services.
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Our Objectives
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Partnerships
The ACTE represents one link in a continuum of services in traumatology. In the interests
of offering the most adequate care possible, a network of services has been developed
for individuals who have survived brain trauma.
The network begins at the CHUS (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke) where acute treatment is admininstered. Once ready to pursue rehabilitation, the CHUS makes a referral to the CRE (Centre de Réadaptation Estrie). When rehabilitation is terminated, the CRE informs the individual about the services offered by the ACTE.
Although this same continuum of services is not available to individuals having had a CVA, the existing partnership between these three organizations (CHUS, CRE, ACTE), facilitates the referral of these individuals to the ACTE.
Partnerships are therefore of vital importance for our association. Also highly valued is the consistently high quality of services we offer. We recognize the importance of being continually on the lookout for the development of new and innovative projects.
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A Little Historical Background on the ACTE
The Association des accidents cérébro-vasculaires et traumatisés crâniens de l’Estrie (ACTE) was founded in 1984 thanks to the commitment of three people concerned by these medical conditions. One was a survivor of a CVA, the other, brain trauma and the third person was a health professional.
The ACTE is to remain an informal support network, without a fixed address until 1989, when it obtains a subvention, allowing for its first pied a terre. It boasts an approximate membership of thirty.
In the early 1990’s, the Sherbrooke Geriatric Institute, responsible at this time for dispensing intensive rehabilitative services, welcomes the ACTE within its buildings. In the same year, the association hires a coordinator/intervenor and a secretary. A collaborative partnership begins and the ACTE publishes its first bulletin.
In response to the recommendations of the regional organizational plan of services aimed towards individuals with brain trauma, in 1992 the ACTE sponsors an awareness and information Regional Colloquium on brain trauma. The colloquium closes with a series of recommendations regarding the human, financial, informational, and service needs of trauma survivors. A committee is formed to monitor the implementation of these recommendations. In January 1994, it presents a report of its findings to the Regie Regionale of Health and Social Services.
The ACTE’s tenth anniversary affords an opportunity to organize a number of promotional activities. These include conferences, videos, shows and theatre. They take place concurrently with the regular activities offered in the mid 90’s including support groups, information sessions, leisure, and rights advocacy.
1995 brings the project for a Day Activity Program to the forefront. Various partners (ARLPPHE, CRE, Regie) are courted and their financial help solicited. The project is seen as a means to help survivors maintain their abilities and maximize their potential.
Concurrent with this undertaking, the ACTE proceeds to increase its human resources. This is partially due to the signing of the first service contract with the SAAQ in 1997, effectively consolidating the ACTE’s presence in the regional network. In 1999, the Régie Régionale of Health and Social Services of the Eastern Townships grants a non-recurrent, two-year subvention for a pilot Day Activity Program for individuals with a CVA or brain trauma in the Townships. The program is launched in 2000. At this time, the ACTE continues to assert itself actively within the network by becoming involved in the creation of two provincial groups, the RAPTCCQ (Regroupement des associations de personnes traumatisées cranio-cérébrales du Québec) and the RAPAQ (Regroupement des associations de personnes aphasiques du Québec).
The ACTE celebrates its fifteenth anniversary by organizing a forum under the theme of ‘La parole aux sans voix’, (Speech for the Voiceless). This forum brings together 120 people and extends an opportunity for mutual exchanges, sharing, and learning. The celebration is further highlighted by an evening of improvisation piting a team from the ‘Ligue Nationale d’Improvisation’ against a team of local journalists and members of the ACTE.
The preeminent issue of focus for the following three years is the search for a permanent home for the ACTE to plant its roots. However, it is to move three times in three years before attaining the goal of stability at 68 Jacques-Cartier Boulevard; grounds belonging to the CRE.
The first years of the new millennium sees the ACTE pursue its Regional and Provincial distinction, develop a day program tailored to the needs of its members, and continues to cultivate bonds with its network partners. Not surprisingly, references proliferate and the ACTE thrives. This growth ushers in two years of debates, reflection, and reexamination, culminating in the redefinition of vision, roles and responsibilities. The ACTE equips itself with new policies and tools (human resources management) thereby consolidating and strengthening its management practices.
The ACTE is what it is today thanks to all the members as well as non-members who had a vision and the determination to pursue it with tenacity and conviction.
At twenty years of age, the ACTE is now a mature adult, full of energy, hope, and promise for a long and exciting future to come!
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Services Offered
Members of the ACTE may choose among several different types of activities. They will also find support services adapted to their needs.
Psychosocial Support
Psychosocial support is geared towards people with a CVA or brain trauma,
along with their close relations (spouse, parents, friends). It includes:
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Support Groups
Various types of support groups are available including:
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Activity Program
The ACTE offers many types of workshops including art, signing, wellness, and outdoor recreation. There is something for everyone. The activity objectives are:
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Awareness and Education
The ACTE plays a key role in the dissemination of knowledge and information among afflicted individuals and the population at large by:
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What is a cerebrovascular accident (CVA) ?
This causes brain damage.
Types of Possible Consequences
The consequences that are likely to follow a CVA can be divided into four groups:
Physical:
Hemiplegia, lack of coordination and balance, skin sensitivity, lack of body awareness, changes in sexual responsiveness, (ie. lubrication, discomfort…).
Cognitive:
Loss of short-term memory, agnosia (difficulty recognizing familiar objects), apraxia (difficulty initiating movement), aphasia (difficulty using or understanding language).
Emotional:
Emotional instability, irritability, anxiety, personality changes.
Behavioral:
Impulsivity, rigidity of thinking, disinhibition, apathy.
Remember that: Each case is unique!
not all present at the same time, in the same person.
is an inevitable period of disruption of varying length that ensues following a CVA. Disruptions can include such things as:
For more information, contact the Heart & Stroke Fondation of Quebec.
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What is a brain trauma?
A brain trauma occurs when a person receives a heavy blow to the head and as a result suffers one or more lesions to brain. This can be the result of a fall, accident, or gun shot wound. Depending on the area of the brain that sustains the damage, some of the following consequences will be observed:
Physical:
Paralysis, fatigue, difficulty speaking, sensory difficulties, loss of balance.
Cognitive:
Loss of memory, difficulty with concentration and comprehension.
Emotional:
Mood swings, anxiety, loss of insight, personality changes.
Behavioral:
Impulsivity, disinhibition, aggressiveness, apathy.
These consequences frequently interfere with familiy relationships and present social, educational, and professional challenges. The impact is different from one person to another.
For more information, contact the Société de l’Assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ).
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Testimonials
In order to view our testimonials, click here.
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Contact us
Your life feels like it has toppled upside down? You feel overwhelmed by your current situation? Offering support to individuals who have survived a CVA or brain trauma, along with their families is our mission. Contact us and get answers to your questions and uncertainties.
A safe, welcoming, and nonjudgemental environment might well be what you need to help you rediscover balance, control and equillibrium in your life…
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday: 8:30-12:00 1:00-4:30
Coordinates ACTE
Association des accidentés cérébro-vasculaires et traumatisés crâniens de l’Estrie
68 Jacques-Cartier Boulevard North
Sherbrooke (Québec) J1J 2Z8
Telephone: 819-821-2799 – Fax: 819-821-4599
> To get the map, click here.
Write us an E-mail
Your questions or comments are welcome !
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