Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission

Spinal Cord Commission

Education and Training

A primary role of the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission is to provide individuals with spinal cord disabilities, their families and caregivers, health care professionals and the general public with information about spinal cord disabilities. The Commission utilizes a multifaceted approach to get cutting edge, reliable information about the many causes and effects of damage to the spinal cord, the secondary conditions that result from these disabilities, the latest rehabilitation and other treatments to improve these conditions as well as resources to help individuals with spinal cord disabilities live as independently as the choose.

In addition to this website, ASCC provides the following educational opportunities:

Conferences and Workshops

Each year ASCC offers one or more educational conferences with national, state and local experts providing the latest information on topics of interest to individuals who live with spinal cord disabilities, their families and rehabilitation providers. In addition to expert speakers with whom participants have the opportunity to meet and ask questions, the conferences include an exhibit hall with the latest technology including wheelchairs and other durable medical equipment as well as   state and not for profit agencies who provide direct services to individuals with spinal cord disabilities and demonstrations of adapted sports, new technology, environmental modifications and other interest. Finally, the conferences provide an opportunity for participants to meet and share experiences and ideas with one another.  Biannually, the Commission hosts a statewide conference in Little Rock, Living With Spinal Cord Disabilities, in the alternate years, Regional Conferences are held in smaller communities around the state, so that individuals who find it difficult to travel to Little Rock have the opportunity to attend.

In addition, in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Health and the Trauma Advisory Council, ASCC co hosts the Arkansas Trauma Rehabilitation conference each year, which targets the needs of acute care and rehabilitation trauma treatment providers. Specialized training workshops on treatment modalities targeting specific rehabilitation disciplines are also provided.

Shirley McCluer Education and Resource Center on Spinal Cord Disabilities

For individuals who have difficulty in using the website to obtain information, need help in finding resources on a specific topic or would like printed materials, the Shirley McCluer Education and Resource Center is available to help. The Center, named to honor former ASCC Medical Director Shirley M. McCluer, a physiatrist (rehabilitation medicine physician specialist) who dedicated her career to spinal cord injury medicine, the center provides information and educational resources about spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, multiple sclerosis and other spinal cord disabilities and the effects they have on the people who live with them. Located in the Little Rock office, the resource center contains hundreds of resources including books, magazines, DVDs, catalogs, and articles, all of which can be borrowed free of charge. In addition, the resource library distributes fact sheets on over 30 different SCI related subjects.

Frequently requested resources in the Center, often referred to as the ‘library’, include:

  • Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury Care   Clinical Practice Guidelines on a number of spinal cord injury related topics, for both professionals and consumers on topics including outcomes after SCI (by level of injury, depression, pressure sores, bladder management, bowel management and acute care in the first 24 hours
  • Yes You Can! a home manual for individuals with spinal cord disabilities published by Paralyzed Veterans of America
  • Multiple Sclerosis Wellness manual, a health care manual for individual with MS
  • Living with Spina Bifida, guide for families with children with spina bifida.
  • Understanding Spinal Cord Injury, an overview of SCI on DVD
  • Understanding Brain Injury, an overview of Brain injury on DVD
  • Medical Alert Cards – wallet sized laminated cards providing   emergency procedures for managing latex allergies in individuals with spinal bifida and autonomic dysreflexia in individuals with spinal cord injuries above T1.
  • ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) published by Department of Justice

If you would like information on a specific spinal cord disability topic or would like to borrow any of our resources, you may visit the resource center at 1501 N. University, Suite 400 in Little Rock, Arkansas, or call the Resource Center Coordinator at (501) 296-1792 or (800) 459-1517 during the hours of 8 am to 4:30 pm, central time.