No Obstacles: Return to School

Dominique Ross is a 17-year-old aspiring actor who loves comic books, theatre, and Spider-Man. She and her favorite superhero share a superpower, too. Peter Parker might sew his own costumes, but Dominique boasts a much more diverse wardrobe. The 17-year-old has hand-sewn much of her own clothing since she was a kid.

In the summer of 2023, however, Dominique assumed her sewing days — and much more — were behind her. That June, in a terrifying incident, she was shot 13 times in a case of mistaken identity. Two of the bullets lodged in her spinal column — a full shell in her L-2 vertebra and another fragment between her T-7 and T-8 vertebrae.

Her rehabilitation led her to Shepherd Center. Here, Dominique dedicated herself to her multiple modes of therapy, including physical, occupational, and recreational therapy, slowly regaining her independence and learning to accomplish tasks in new ways. One example: Shepherd Center found a sewing machine that Dominique could operate without having to use a foot pedal. In no time, she was making clothes again — including a red jumpsuit for Shepherd Center’s adolescent program rehabilitation counselor, Cheryl Linden, MA, LPC; MS, OT/L.

But in the back of Dominique’s mind, she still worried about how she would return to school and, most importantly, how she would get around the theater that was home to her beloved drama classes.

Enter Shepherd Center’s transitional program, No Obstacles, which was created to alleviate adolescents’ concerns about returning to school. One of the program's most impactful elements is the collaboration between Shepherd Center staff and each student’s school.

In Dominique’s case, that took the form of a meeting between Kelsey Shearman, MA, — an academic coordinator in Shepherd Center’s Adolescent Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program — and Dominique’s teachers, drama department, and principal. Shearman went over what Dominique would need to succeed: assistance with note-taking, a seat in the back of class to give Dominique the freedom to move around frequently, accessibility improvements in the theater, and renovated bathrooms.

 “It was a lot that went into it,” Dominique recalls. “Kelsey was so helpful. The whole staff was. I mean, my OT and PT therapists were measuring me for new tables at school. It was that level of support.”

And it’s made a world of difference. Dominique is thriving back at Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tennessee. She’s aiming to graduate cum laude in this, her senior year. But she’s even more excited about performing in her first school musical this fall. Oh, and she just started a new job at — get this — a local comic book shop. Life is, again, good.

“For the first time in my life, I’m thinking I might go to college,” Dominique says.

She envisions herself studying theatre and film. Maybe costume design. After all, somebody’s going to have to make the next generation of Spider-Man costumes for the big screen.

***

Anxiety about returning to school or work is a nearly universal concern for patients who have experienced life-altering events such as brain and spinal cord injuries. Thankfully, Dominique Ross is one among thousands of patients — adolescents and adults alike — who have benefitted from Shepherd Center’s innovative programs that help ease the transition back to work, school, or even into adulthood itself.

Each program utilizes a person-centered approach that meets the unique goals and needs of each individual. That may include assistive technology and adaptive programs they’ll eventually use in the classroom or office. And it always includes advocacy on behalf of each patient with their school, employer, or other affiliated organizations, as well as teaching patients and families to advocate for themselves.

Returning to work or the classroom might not be the first thing on someone’s mind after a catastrophic injury. But as recovery progresses, it often becomes the most important goal looking forward.

“It’s easy to forget how essential working is to our human experience,” says Laura McDowell, MS, CRC, CVE, a vocational rehabilitation counselor at Shepherd Center. “It’s about our ability to participate in our culture, provide for ourselves and our loved ones, and to feel productive and valuable in our society.”

Written by Phillip Jordan