If your child has had a mild concussion...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It took about 3 months, this was a year ago. We had to have the neurologist battle with the school to get her home work and her classes adjusted.

It really depends on every child. Was your child baseline tested? You do know about SCORE?

http://www.childrensnational.org/score/Parents.aspx
All concussions are serious
Most concussions occur without loss of consciousness
Recognition and proper response to concussions when they first occur can help prevent further injury
When in doubt, sit them out

+100 And the second concussion is a real and serious problem. After one, I would end sports for quite a while. So not worth it. Takes a very long time to recover. back in the 1960s it was minimum 2 weeks in bed with eyes rested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you kids getting these concussions?

Now I have a new thing to worry about. I had no idea!

My thought exactly. I have a competitive gymnast and I've only heard of three concussions in the past several years...and only one of those was from gymnastics.

Concussions can happen from any activity when the head stops suddenly and the brain hits the inside of the skull. I've personally seen them in-

wrestling- friend's DS slammed to the mat
basketball- hard foul on a fast break, player's head hit the wall
football- many examples
gymnastics- over rotation on beam dismount, head hit floor

As research into CTE advances, they've found that soccer can cause build up of the proteins that may cause CTE. Not necessarily concussions but minor events that cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull. My daughter has also described having her "bell rung" when landing in the foam pit when working on bars. Despite the safest conditions in non-contact sports it will still happen.

Again- you should be aware of the dangers but not obsess about them. These dangers have always been there, we are just starting to understand the long term effects.

[Anonymous]

Our child had about 2 months of completely missed school, and another 4 months of slowly increasing time in class. I would say it was 9 months total before normal functioning, but even at that point our child tired easily after activity. I would say 1 year before fully normal functioning.

OP, your child has a right to a 504 plan, to access Home and Hospital Instruction if they can't go to school (although HHT is terrible) or to get the missed assignments from teachers while they are out of school. As a GT child, they cannot be kicked out of any special programming or classes they are already in. Under special education law (IDEA for IEPs or Section 504 of the Rehab Act for 504s) the school MUST accommodate your child's needs after the concussion. This could include extra time on tests, a special rest period during the day, flash pass to the nurses office, permission to wear baseball hats or sunglasses in class to cope with light sensitivity, permission to change seating in class to cope with sound or light sensitivity, specialized non-distractable testing places, and customized unit tests or quizzes, or the ability to reschedule tests and homework, and/or a reduced workload overall. Some schools use the phrase "teach to the core objectives" to signify to teachers that they should reduce the workload to just the few core objectives a student must know to progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our child had about 2 months of completely missed school, and another 4 months of slowly increasing time in class. I would say it was 9 months total before normal functioning, but even at that point our child tired easily after activity. I would say 1 year before fully normal functioning.

OP, your child has a right to a 504 plan, to access Home and Hospital Instruction if they can't go to school (although HHT is terrible) or to get the missed assignments from teachers while they are out of school. As a GT child, they cannot be kicked out of any special programming or classes they are already in. Under special education law (IDEA for IEPs or Section 504 of the Rehab Act for 504s) the school MUST accommodate your child's needs after the concussion. This could include extra time on tests, a special rest period during the day, flash pass to the nurses office, permission to wear baseball hats or sunglasses in class to cope with light sensitivity, permission to change seating in class to cope with sound or light sensitivity, specialized non-distractable testing places, and customized unit tests or quizzes, or the ability to reschedule tests and homework, and/or a reduced workload overall. Some schools use the phrase "teach to the core objectives" to signify to teachers that they should reduce the workload to just the few core objectives a student must know to progress.

Great advice. The friend's son had a similar experience to the bolded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you kids getting these concussions?

Now I have a new thing to worry about. I had no idea!

My thought exactly. I have a competitive gymnast and I've only heard of three concussions in the past several years...and only one of those was from gymnastics.

Concussions can happen from any activity when the head stops suddenly and the brain hits the inside of the skull. I've personally seen them in-

wrestling- friend's DS slammed to the mat
basketball- hard foul on a fast break, player's head hit the wall
football- many examples
gymnastics- over rotation on beam dismount, head hit floor

As research into CTE advances, they've found that soccer can cause build up of the proteins that may cause CTE. Not necessarily concussions but minor events that cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull. My daughter has also described having her "bell rung" when landing in the foam pit when working on bars. Despite the safest conditions in non-contact sports it will still happen.

Again- you should be aware of the dangers but not obsess about them. These dangers have always been there, we are just starting to understand the long term effects.

Can being hit in the back of the head with an open palm cause a concussion?

[Anonymous]

My son missed 3.5 weeks of school. He was flat on his back in bed for 2 solid weeks then had another 2 weeks of back and forth one good day followed by one bad one. His concussion was in January and he does not have headaches any more but he has significantly increased organization difficulties, emotional outbursts and anxiety.

GET A 504 PLAN going at the school. My son's school actually called and offered to set up the meeting with me. From what I understand this is very unusually proactive for the school. I would not have known to ask and without it, he'd be overwhelmed and possibly failing 4th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you kids getting these concussions?

Now I have a new thing to worry about. I had no idea!

My thought exactly. I have a competitive gymnast and I've only heard of three concussions in the past several years...and only one of those was from gymnastics.

Concussions can happen from any activity when the head stops suddenly and the brain hits the inside of the skull. I've personally seen them in-

wrestling- friend's DS slammed to the mat
basketball- hard foul on a fast break, player's head hit the wall
football- many examples
gymnastics- over rotation on beam dismount, head hit floor

As research into CTE advances, they've found that soccer can cause build up of the proteins that may cause CTE. Not necessarily concussions but minor events that cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull. My daughter has also described having her "bell rung" when landing in the foam pit when working on bars. Despite the safest conditions in non-contact sports it will still happen.

Again- you should be aware of the dangers but not obsess about them. These dangers have always been there, we are just starting to understand the long term effects.

So the head has to first be in motion before a concussion can occur? Can being hit in the heat with something (baseball, heading a soccer ball while standing) cause a concussion?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are you kids getting these concussions?

Now I have a new thing to worry about. I had no idea!

My thought exactly. I have a competitive gymnast and I've only heard of three concussions in the past several years...and only one of those was from gymnastics.

Concussions can happen from any activity when the head stops suddenly and the brain hits the inside of the skull. I've personally seen them in-

wrestling- friend's DS slammed to the mat
basketball- hard foul on a fast break, player's head hit the wall
football- many examples
gymnastics- over rotation on beam dismount, head hit floor

As research into CTE advances, they've found that soccer can cause build up of the proteins that may cause CTE. Not necessarily concussions but minor events that cause the brain to hit the inside of the skull. My daughter has also described having her "bell rung" when landing in the foam pit when working on bars. Despite the safest conditions in non-contact sports it will still happen.

Again- you should be aware of the dangers but not obsess about them. These dangers have always been there, we are just starting to understand the long term effects.

So the head has to first be in motion before a concussion can occur? Can being hit in the heat with something (baseball, heading a soccer ball while standing) cause a concussion?

The head does not have to be in motion. Either the head moves toward an object (and then the brain moves within the head) or the object moves toward the head (and the brain moves within the head). Or both can be moving. Basic physics.

The concussions I have seen in soccer involved goal posts, the ground, and other children's heads - not the ball. I have nothing to say about repetitive header practice and brain injury from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The head does not have to be in motion. Either the head moves toward an object (and then the brain moves within the head) or the object moves toward the head (and the brain moves within the head). Or both can be moving. Basic physics.

The concussions I have seen in soccer involved goal posts, the ground, and other children's heads - not the ball. I have nothing to say about repetitive header practice and brain injury from that.

I just wanted to clarify that headers don't necessarily cause concussions but can lead to the buildup of proteins they believe causes CTE.

[Anonymous]

Is there any way to treat CTE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any way to treat CTE?

I don't think so. My knowledge comes mostly from sports radio discussion on the topic. They're really just starting to identify the protein markers from studying brains post-mortem. But all of the high-profile athlete suicides (Junior Seau, Dave Duerson) had advanced CTE. That doesn't mean a treatment or cure will eventually be found. But my understanding is that right now, they are just beginning to understand what it is and are far from any kind of treatment.

Basically, it is a build up of proteins from repeated (often minor) brain trauma. Obviously the BIG hits in football cause damage but they suspect that the every-down collision between offensive and defensive linemen are damaging as well and explain why repeated headers in soccer would lead to CTE.

Start here or google "chronic traumatic encephalopathy"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy

[Anonymous]

Just to be clear, CTEs have not been found in Youth Soccer. The ball does not really get that high in the air to come down with force.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, CTEs have not been found in Youth Soccer. The ball does not really get that high in the air to come down with force.

Agreed, it has not been found in youth soccer. It can only be found by studying the brain after the person dies. So they are not studying the brains of living children.

However- it is not the impact of the ball they believe causes CTE. It is the motion of the head- moving quickly in one direction and then stopping- that causes the brain to impact the inside of the skull. It is not the impact on the outside of the skull, it is the movement of the brain inside the skull. This is why even the best football helmets can only reduce the risk. Helmets do nothing to stop the impact on the INSIDE of the skull.

[Anonymous]

Oy. Sometimes, I'm glad my child is a computer nerd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to be clear, CTEs have not been found in Youth Soccer. The ball does not really get that high in the air to come down with force.

Agreed, it has not been found in youth soccer. It can only be found by studying the brain after the person dies. So they are not studying the brains of living children.

However- it is not the impact of the ball they believe causes CTE. It is the motion of the head- moving quickly in one direction and then stopping- that causes the brain to impact the inside of the skull. It is not the impact on the outside of the skull, it is the movement of the brain inside the skull. This is why even the best football helmets can only reduce the risk. Helmets do nothing to stop the impact on the INSIDE of the skull.

Children die all the time. No autopsy of a child has found CTE which they suspect was caused by a few years of youth soccer. Though they have found CTE in children who have been abused.

I understand physics, I understand concussions and I understand CTE is a real problem. I just don't want some mom freaking out because their 5 year old hit the ball with their head.