114. Social Cues, Relationships and Communication Challenges - Brain Injury Community Panel
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In this episode…
If relationships have been hard post-concussion / brain injury, you are not alone. Our ability to connect with others is an important part of life - so what do you do when your communication skills and ability to read social cues becomes affected after a brain injury? Let’s talk about it!
Join our host, Cristabelle Braden, as she introduces 2 panelists: Elayne Masters and Hunter Schulz. This panel of brain injury survivors opens up about the challenges of staying connected and the need for understanding support while navigating cognitive overload, shifting relationships, and the struggle to communicate. We’ll share some strategies for adapting communication, maintaining real friendships, and finding hope for new ways to connect.
Meet Our Panelists
Elayne Masters: In the mid-1990s, Elayne Masters founded and administrated a non-profit, the Masters Poetry Series, whose mission was to bring poetry out of the classroom and into the community. During that time, she homeschooled her eldest child for three years and then started her sole proprietorship, Word Masters, in 1999. She worked as a writer and editor with fiction and nonfiction writers, textbook publishers, and businesses until a life-altering brain injury in 2015 abruptly ended her career.
As Elayne struggled to survive, she realized the need to support people going through similar circumstances. Her mission is to create awareness and understanding in the community and to empower people to connect to resources and discover tools that promote resiliency. As BrainiActivist, Elayne is an advocate, speaker, and consultant for brain injury, aging, poverty / food insecurity, and domestic violence/post-traumatic stress disorder. Her many roles include ambassador for Hope Survives, volunteer for the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania’s Resource Line and Ambassador Program, and peer mentor for the Neighbors Leadership Council of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Connect with Elayne on Instagram: @brainiactivist
Hunter Schulz is a brain injury survivor and Hope Survives Ambassador. After relearning how to walk and speak post brain injury, she is so proud of how far she has come. She currently holds the title of Miss Blackstone Valley 2025 within Miss America, and placed top 5 at Miss Massachusetts with her community service initiative of “Let’s Talk Beauty and Brains: Brain Injury Advocacy.” She created a fundraiser called “A Mile for the Mind” and hosts a brain injury advocacy and awareness live stream series on Instagram called “Let’s Talk Beauty and Brains.” She believes in the power of sharing your story and truly wishes for a world where all brain injury survivors are supported and understood.
Connect with Hunter on Instagram: @huntervpageantry
Thank you to The Functional Neurology Center for sponsoring this podcast - The FNC’s personalized neuro-recovery programs offer hope for those suffering from Brain Injuries, Dysautonomia, Vestibular, Chronic Pain, Stroke, Movement Dysfunction, Developmental Disorders, PPPD, FND and Complex Post Concussion. Learn more: thefnc.com
This podcast is for education and informational purposes only, and not intended for medical advice. If you need specific medical advice, please consult your physician.
