Back to School After a Concussion

Pat Sublette, Oregon TBI Education Coordinator, The Teaching Research Institute-Eugene

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• Children spend about six hours a day at school. Educating teachers about a child's need after TBI is crucial.

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  What Schools Need to Know About Children with Brain Injury
• From Sea Star - School for Neuro Education, SeaStar Brain Injury Foundation. Transcript of this video. Sea Star School

Often students return to school with subtle cognitive, academic, or behavioral needs following concussion. If these are addressed early on it can alleviate long-term difficulties. Here are guidelines for when a student returns to school after a concussion or mild brain injury.

Inform school staff
Learn basic information about concussion/mild brain injury.

Monitor student
Watch for any of the possible red flags associated with concussion/mild brain injury.

Provide accommodations
If red flags appear, teachers can provide minimal accommodations on a temporary basis until symptoms subside (usually within 3-4 weeks). Accommodations might include:

• Reduced assignment load
• Increased time to complete assignments or exams
• Use of an organizer to track assignments
• Rest periods during the day
• Directions in both oral and written formats
• Clear expectations
• Large tasks broken into smaller components

If the student continues to have academic difficulty after a month, the student’s concerns should be further evaluated by a team and the evaluation process for more formalized support such as a 504 plan or IEP begun.

Communicate with the family
Stay in regular communication about changes noticed at school and at home.

For more information or assistance about concussion/brain injury, contact Pat Sublette at 541-346-0597 or the Oregon TBI Consulting Team.

This information was adapted from Ylvisaker, M., Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation, 2nd ed. Pages 381-384.