WV TBI Services

08/15/2025

This is a reminder that the Center for Excellence in Disabilities at WVU conference is coming up soon! We have a TBI track in this conference, and we are very excited to share some wonderful information and stories with you.

You can join for the entire conference to get the full slate of wonderful CED programing, or if preferred there is a reduced rate for those who are only attending the TBI track on the 18th. You can find more information about the TBI track and the rest of the conference below.

Registration deadline for the conference on the 22nd. If this timeline presents a problem, please get in touch so we can troubleshoot further.

Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Register here:

A conference where all stakeholders in the disability community can come together to make an impact.

08/11/2025

The Big Brain has made its way to the State Fair of West Virginia!! Make sure to stop by the WVU Building and take a quick tour of the brain and learn more information on TBI Services at Center for Excellence in Disabilities at WVU !

08/04/2025

08/04/2025

This is such a great idea and initiative by Melissa and the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute !

08/01/2025

Thank you to Ben Conley and The Dominion Post for their story about the proposed funding elimination for University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) and other important disability services in the state!

"The WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities has been the foundation for developing, testing and sustaining evidence-based trainings and services that help West Virginians with disabilities achieve independence and a better quality of life — building a support system that the community and state depend on, " WVU CED Director Lesley Cottrell said.

In addition to the services, loss of funding would eliminate 96 jobs and likely eliminate more than $11 million in additional funding leveraged through the federal allocation.

Read the full story: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/wvu-center-excellence-disabilities-facing-023400563.html

Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Disability Rights of West Virginia

07/28/2025

WV TBI Services and Center for Excellence in Disabilities at WVU is proud to support the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 35th Anniversary. Over the weekend on July 26th, we celebrated this important civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

Celebrate with us by visiting: www.adaanniversary.org

07/25/2025

Disability services nationwide are at risk of losing their funds. The West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities told Eyewitness News their

07/25/2025

As the federal budget appropriations process gets under way, we want to share some impactful stories directly from those who have benefitted from the WV TBI Services program. These services make a difference in the lives of people with traumatic brain injuries and their families.

Our Protect Disability Network Digital Toolkit features facts, sample emails and phone scripts, social media graphics and more that you can use to show your support for the WVU CED and all University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) if you so choose. If the current budget proposal remains unchanged, all UCEDDs, including the WVU CED, would be eliminated.

View the toolkit: https://cedwvu.org/protect-disability-network-digital-toolkit/

Brian traveled all the way from Salt Lake City, Utah to participate in the first ever Alive to Thrive Day held earlier this year at Canaan Valley Resort. A collaboration between the MoCrazy Strong Foundation, WV TBI Services, and the Challenged Athletes of WV, this event brought people with TBI together for two days of skiing with world-class skier and brain injury survivor Jamie MoCrazy. Participants hit the slopes, stopped by the WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, watched Jamie’s documentary, and heard from expert guest speakers.

Plans are already in place to bring Alive to Thrive back to West Virginia in 2026 and make it even bigger and better!

“I have a reason to do more purposeful things, like advocating for brain injury. And, you know, my goal was not to help other people, but now that’s my goal.” - Brian Monroe, Alive to Thrive Day participant.

Center for Excellence in Disabilities at WVU
MoCrazy Strong
Canaan Valley Resort
WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
Challenged Athletes of West Virginia

07/24/2025

Thank you to WDTV for making us the top story for last night's news!

We are grateful for the opportunity to discuss the important work done here at the WVU CED, at all University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) nationwide, and by all of our partners across West Virginia.

Thank you to our director, Dr. Lesley Cottrell for discussing what is at stake with the proposed funding elimination for UCEDDs in the federal budget, and an extra special thanks to Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Services intake coordinator Carrie Cobun-Stark for sharing about her daughter Mandy, and her family's experiences at the WVU CED. These services make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities and their families.

Watch the full story: https://www.wdtv.com/video/2025/07/23/disability-center/

Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Disability Rights of West Virginia
WV Developmental Disabilities Council
National Disability Rights Network
WV TBI Services
WDTV 5 News

07/24/2025

As the federal budget appropriations process gets under way, we want to share some impactful stories directly from those who have benefitted from the WV TBI Services program. These services make a difference in the lives of people with traumatic brain injuries and their families.

Our Protect Disability Network Digital Toolkit features facts, sample emails and phone scripts, social media graphics and more that you can use to show your support for the WVU CED and all

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) if you so choose. If the current budget proposal remains unchanged, all UCEDDs, including the WVU CED, would be eliminated.

View the toolkit: https://cedwvu.org/protect-disability-network-digital-toolkit/

David Hissom came to Alive to Thrive Day as both a volunteer with the Challenged Athletes of WV and a participant. Alive to Thrive Day brought people with TBIs together at Canaan Valley Resort for two days of skiing, education, and networking. It all centered around the MoCrazy Strong Foundation and their work within the TBI community.

“It’s inspirational on every level. You know, and this event (Alive to Thrive Day) is more of the same. You come and you talk to these other brain injury survivors and they’re giving it their best and wanting to be more than what people have told them before.

It’s programs like WV TBI Services that get people involved. I’ve learned they have been the most help to me because talking to the other people that have had this happen, I take tools away from every one of them that I can use.” - David Hissom, Challenged Athletes of WV volunteer.

Center for Excellence in Disabilities at WVU
Challenged Athletes of West Virginia
MoCrazy Strong
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Disability Rights of West Virginia

07/23/2025

Jeremy did a presentation this morning with Shelby Wamsley, the School Health Coordinator at the West Virginia Department of Education on Concussions and Returning to the Classroom at the CFWV Student Success Summit! He will be set up as a vendor/exhibitor today and tomorrow, so make sure to stop by and learn more about the services our program offers.