MEMBER & CLIENT SERVICES

MEMBER & CLIENT SERVICES NICOLA WASHINGTON GENERAL MANAGER MEMBER & CLIENT SERVICES I cannot believe we are already in winter; time is flying by this year. I do enjoy the winter months here in Perth, it is lovely that we still get some clear blue skies. Great news for our Busselton Members with our new Services Centre opening at Unit 2/18 Burler Drive, Vasse. This move enables us to continue to provide our excellent services to our South West Members. Services that can be accessed from this new location include: / Counselling / Nursing / Occupational Therapy / Physiotherapy / Speech Therapy / Social Welfare / In home supports Please contact 6154 5130 or email customerservice@mswa.org.au for more information or to make an appointment. National Volunteer Week was held from 20 – 26 May 2019 to celebrate volunteers throughout Australia. A luncheon was held on 20 May to thank all our MSWA volunteers that help MSWA throughout the year and some very special awards presented by our CEO, Marcus Stafford. The National Volunteer theme for 2019 was ‘Making a world of difference’, and we all agree. Our Members’ forum was on June 5 at Bendat Community Centre in Wembley, with a great line up of speakers including Professor Allan Kermode, Associate Professor Jennifer Rodger, Dr Yvonne Learmonth, who all provided valuable information on the latest MS treatments and research including MSWA sponsored projects. Geoff Hutchinson, Manager NDIS Business Development also provided a valuable update on the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It was great to see a good turnout from our Members and families/carers at this forum. A big thank you to all involved in making this such a successful event. As always, our team continues to be busy providing support and services to all our Members and helping those transitioning to the NDIS. The final roll out of the NDIS commenced on 1 July, 2019. A full list of suburbs can be found at https:// www.ndis.gov.au/understanding/ ndis-rollout/western-australia. The good news is this now means that everyone in WA who is eligible, can apply for NDIS funding and we encourage you to contact us to start the planning process if you have not done so already. Please contact our team ndisenquiries@mswa.org.au. As we continue the journey with the roll out of the NDIS, we are committed to ensuring you receive the best possible service and that you, the Customer, are at the centre of everything we do. Your feedback is important to enable us to continuously improve our services, so if you would like to provide any feedback please email customerservice@mswa.org.au. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the latest information on our group sessions that are being held over the winter months. If you would like to know more about what is coming up, please do not hesitate to contact us. Members' Forum 2019 6

RESEARCH MSWA FUNDED BRAIN PLASTICITY RESEARCH OFFERS HOPE FOR NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS Using brain plasticity to repair a damaged brain is the underlying goal of research undertaken by Perron Institute researcher, Associate Professor Jenny Rodger. Now in her second year of a million fellowship funded by MSWA, Professor Rodger is investigating the use of repetitive non-invasive transcranial stimulation (rTMS) to drive brain plasticity for therapeutic outcomes. Associate Professor Rodger explained that the brain relies on electrical activity for its everyday functioning. “Brain plasticity is the extraordinary ability of the brain to modify or rewire its own structure and function following changes within the body or in the external environment. “Changes in the brain’s own electrical activity act as a source of information to drive plasticity, whether through reorganising electrical circuits in the brain or generating new cells,” Jenny said. She has observed encouraging results with the use of non-invasive rTMS in preclinical models to: / reorganise abnormal brain wiring to restore compromised function / generate new brain cells / increase the capacity for learning in normal and abnormal brains. “My research to date has a key strength: the techniques and study design allow direct comparison between my preclinical models and human studies, providing strong evidence that my findings can be translated to humans,” said Associate Professor Rodger. MSWA CEO Marcus Stafford, said MSWA is proud to fund Associate Professor Rodger’s investigations amongst its current program of investment in neurological research. “The work taking place under the leadership of Associate Professor Jenny Rodger has a special significance for people living with neurological conditions,” said Mr Stafford. The potential for therapies such as rTMS to increase and direct brain plasticity offers hope of rehabilitation and recovery for people affected by conditions such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, acquired brain injury and Parkinson’s disease. MSWA is committed to research, and in particular supporting local researchers doing amazing things in WA. We are proud to support Associate Professor Rodger and other scientists from the Perron Institute. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we have provided a record million in neurological research funding in the 2018-19 year toward the search for causes, better treatments and cures for neurological conditions. 7