Dr. Gioia at Children's is one of the leading doctor's for concussions.

http://www.childrensnational.org/research/faculty/bios/cnr/Gioia_G.aspx

The most important thing with concussions is not to rush the recovery. The protocol for concussions is not to think, no video's or computers. Rest is the most important thing to let the brain recover. When your child goes back to school, it should be limited at first, on to 3 classes and then if they feel ok, expand how long they stay at school. No sports for at least 2-3 months.

There is no such thing anymore as a mild concussion. Every concussion is considered a problem.

You also want to make sure that they are careful because having another concussion close to the first can be really bad.

Am glad to hear Children's is now taking concussions seriously. My child had a bad one five years ago--was unconscious for ten minutes--and went to Children's. After ascertaining there was no bleeding in the brain, they sent us on our way, with absolutely no advice or warnings. Children's could not have treated it more lightly--perhaps because it was not a sports related incident or perhaps because they simply weren't taking such injuries seriously then.

Child slept for 17 hours a night for several days, stayed home for a week (spring break). Midweek I took her to PCP who determined she was post-concussive. We then went through months of extremely erratic behavior that in retrospect was probably triggered by the concussion.

When I was a kid, they sent us back to school the next day. I am not saying that was good...by any stretch of the imagination. But, rather, our understand of head injuries has improved dramatically. I hope your child gets better fast.

(I had three concussions over two years from 9 to 11. After that, I struggled in school for several years, basically not fully recovering until my junior year in HS. A few years ago, at 49, I had a brain MRI for something else, and the Dr's noted the scaring in my brain).

Four months for them to stop being daily; 7 months for them to stop. Please call the SCORE clinic at Children's and learn what you and the school need to do to help your child recover. We had many "partial" days after the first 6 weeks - alternating mornings and afternoons. And it wasn't sports - he slipped on a wet sidewalk, fell over backward and banged his head.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks PP. Yes, he's definitely flat and his memory is shot. He's also a GT kid, so this inability to be able to handle simple tasks is pretty scary.

I'm sorry to hear that. Now seriously OP, call children's and take the first available (at any location). They will give you the paperwork you need to deal with school. I promise you, this will all be less
scary and easier to deal with school with them in your court.

Second, I am a voice on the internet so you should not take medical advice from me, but here's what I would say based on our experience: your kid can't go back to school until his headache passes. Even then, he most likely won't be able to do a full day at first, and you have to cope by rearranging your life and making this a priority. There is nothing going on at school that matters more than resting his head right now. Nothing. Nothing at all. He will recover quicker if he does less.

Good luck. It is terrifying, but kids do recover. The flat was the scariest for me.

After a concussion the child is not suppose to engage their brain (I know, not good for school!!) The brain needs to heal and should not be stimulated. OP, I hope you were told that.

Thanks PP. Yes, he's definitely flat and his memory is shot. He's also a GT kid, so this inability to be able to handle simple tasks is pretty scary.

Oh: PP here. ER diagnosed him with mild concussion, and said "call children's since if this doesn't go away you will need them" Fortunately I got a cancellation and was there on Day 8. Among other things, children's did some cognitive testing. It took more than 6 weeks for his tests to look like the kind of kid he is (extremely smart on all measures), rather than as "kinda average" as he was on the first rounds of tests - thus a seven week cognitive recovery.

Your kid has a headache etc. Does your kid seem whiny or seem flat?

Anonymous wrote:A year? DS got concussion on Wed. Still has headache and can't seem to focus at all on homework. When did you decide to send kids back to school?

Call children's concussion clinic.

If your kid still has a headache after 5 days, you will need the support of doctors. It is reasonable that your child can't concentrate on homework and should be resting the gray matter, rather than doing it. I would get a doctor involved.

The thing about concussions is that "minor" v "not so minor" only gets revealed over time, sometimes.

My son was in and out of school for three weeks and out of sports for two months (completely out - no wheels, sticks, pucks, running... ) before starting the slow process back.

About a week here, also. Sorry to hear about the year-long recoveries -- that's pretty frightening.

A year? DS got concussion on Wed. Still has headache and can't seem to focus at all on homework. When did you decide to send kids back to school?

Anonymous wrote:A year to get fully back to normal.

A year here, too.

Less than a week. She was "fine" long before I was...

A year to get fully back to normal.

How long did it take for child to become headache-free and be able to concentrate on schoolwork?

Tx.