Brooke de Lench

The finding by a neuropathologist that brain damage from repeated concussions suffered by former NFL star Andre Waters likely led to his depression and ultimate death by suicide in November 2006 highlights once again the critical need for parents and youth athletes to become educated and proactive about concussions.

Because children follow and take their cue from the examples set by their heroes in the pros and high amateur ranks, the national sports governing bodies and professional leagues need to set the right example for the parents and children of this country by showing that they take concussions seriously. Until they do, parents are going to be fighting an uphill battle in convincing their young warriors to treat concussions the same way. The twelfth and final right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is the right to expect that concussion safety programs be implemented or expanded at the highest levels of sport.

Because many athletes are unaware that they have suffered concussions in the past, and because the taking of a detailed concussion history may pre-identify athletes who require additional management and the opportunity for physicians to educate athletes about the significance of concussion injuries, the eleventh right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is the right to expect that their child's sports progam will have athletes undergo a pre-participation evaluation (PPE) before each season which includes the taking of a detailed concussion history.

Game officials are often in the best position to detect the subtle signs of concussions in athletes during a game but are not often given the power to order a sideline evaluation and assessment of concussion and few have received concussion education.

The ninth right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is the right to expect that their child's coach and the officials working games have been trained in basic safety and emergency procedures. Laws should be enacted in every state modeled on "Will's Bill," the 2007 Texas law named after Will Benson, the 17-year old Texas football player who died after collapsing during a game, requiring that every high school coach and official receive such training.

Delay in treatment of a brain injury suffered by a player in a football game can be critical. The eighth right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is therefore the right to expect that an ambulance and paramedics are present at all high school football games, and, if they are not, procedures are in place on how to activate the school's emergency medical plan by calling 911.

Most football helmets currently in use do little if anything to protect brains from the forces that cause concussions, a fact that most parents and athletes don't know. An estimated half of all football helmets in use at the high school level have either been improperly reconditioned, have foam padding that has degraded over time, or fit poorly. Only about one in five helmets is new. Technological advances in helmet design, while they are not going to make concussions in football a thing of the past, hold out at least the promise of being able to significantly reduce the number of concussions. The seventh right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is the right to know that the helmet their child is using is safe.