The best way to develop a plan to address the academic accommodations a student-athlete will likely need as he or she recovers from a concussion is for your child's school to consult with a neuropsychologist. Neuropsychologists:
A student-athlete's cognitive function after concussion has two or sometimes three phases depending on the severity of concussion:
1. Acute Phase: In the initial period after your child sustains a concussion and is still experiencing post-concussion symptoms [2] (which in youth is often longer than one week), it is very important that he not only get as much sleep as possible and limit physical exertion in activities of daily living, but limit scholastic and other cognitive activities (such as reading, studying and visual processing) to allow the brain time to heal and restore its biochemical balance.
True cognitive rest means:
2. Recovery Phase: Once an athlete feels physical improvement (such as their headaches subsiding) and his or her post-concussion neurocognitive test scores have improved, he or she can be allowed to gradually return to a full academic day and phased back into normal activities [3].[1]
Academic accommodations, however, may be required, because the concussion may still affect their thinking, attention and focus, memory and learning, and speed of mental processing, all of which interfere with school performance.
It is not uncommon for grades to slip as the student cannot keep up with the pace of the school work. As a result, the concussed athlete should:
3. Chronic Phase
In some cases, a student-athlete may experience more long-lasting (e.g. chronic) problems with cognitive function and physical/emotional/sleep symptoms [2], which may require consideration of one or more of the following academic accommodations:
Remember: the point of education is to educate your child and help them master skills, not to burden them with unreasonable expectations.
[5]
1. Halstead ME, et al. Clinical Report - Returning to Learning Following a Concussion. Pediatrics doi:10.1542/peds.2013-2867 (epub October 27, 2013).
Posted July 14, 2011; updated October 27, 2013
Links:
[1] https://momsteam.com/node/801
[2] https://momsteam.com/node/149
[3] https://momsteam.com/node/6780
[4] https://momsteam.com/node/128
[5] http://fast.wistia.com/embed/iframe/f8b851abdc?videoWidth=640&videoHeight=360&controlsVisibleOnLoad=true&autoPlay=true&popover=true&plugin[postRoll][version]=v1&plugin[postRoll][text]=For more youth sports concussion
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[6] https://momsteam.com/academic/post-concussion-strategies-for-the-classroom
[7] https://momsteam.com/post-concussion/more-post-concussion-help-students-in-classroom-needed
[8] https://momsteam.com/memory/recovering-from-concussion-teachers-play-important-role
[9] https://momsteam.com/academic-accommodations/ensure-successful-return-to-classroom-after-concussion--says-pediatrics-group