As of May 2nd, the BC Paraplegic Association is now Spinal Cord Injury BC (SCI BC). Our new name is reflective of the changing face of spinal cord injury in that there are now as many people living with quadriplegia as with paraplegia. Despite our new name, however, it’s business as usual for our Peer and Information Services Programs. And while our focus has always been spinal cord injury, we have always been inclusive of other related physical disabilities and will continue to be so as we operate as SCI BC – the “go to” place for information and support.
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I was one of the first members of the BCPA in the fifties, then, it was all about WWII casualties, polio, and cerebral palsy. Are you now not including these folks along with MS, ALS, Lou Garricks, etc??? Are we left to fall between the cracks? Again? Personally I feel that most SCI’s , are due to poor judgement, snow boarders, drunk driving, ATV, sports, – what about those through no fault of their own are disabled by disease, where do we now go for support? I am a polio guy (1954)
I am one of those who are looking up at the light from below the cracks….
Thank you for bringing up one of the concerns we have about our name change. Although CPA and CPA(BC)/BCPA were created with a primary focus on spinal cord injury, we have always been inclusinve of all forms of spinal injuries and disorders, as well as those with related physical disabilities.
This inclusive approach does not change with our new doing-business-as name. Spinal cord injury is a very broad term. It includes traumatic injuries, as well as those arising from non-traumatic causes, such as infection (including polio) and cancer. It also includes a wide variety of spinal disorders.
One of the primary reasons why the national Canadian Paraplegic Association and our provincial partners decided the time was right for a name change is that the term Paraplegic excluded the equal number of people with quadriplegia. We also felt that the term spinal cord injury was more recognizable and easier to understand that the term paraplegia.
A lot of thought, consultation and deliberation went into the name change. We understand that it will cause some concern and confusion for some. We will continue to provide explanations for the change and will work hard at assuring existing and new members that we remain inclusive of more than just traumatic spinal cord injury.
I think it’s clear in the post that this organization will continue to help people with other related disabilities. Do you really feel that people injured because of snowboarding and sports are less deserving of help than those disabled by disease?