In a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers have found that if your school age child suffers a concussion, how well he or she does after returning to school depends on how severe the concussion symptoms are and the grade level of the child.
A concussion is an injury to the brain caused by a fall, jolt or blow to the head that causes the brain and head to move back and forth rapidly. In most cases people recover from mild concussions rather quickly but the young and elderly can have symptoms that last for days or even weeks.
The signs of concussion include headache, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea, balance problems and sensitivity to both noise and light. Irritability and an extreme lack of energy and sleep issues are also common in many victims of concussion.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that school professionals monitor children that have experienced a concussion closely as it could affect a child's ability to perform and studies have shown that a lack of energy, slower processing speed and impaired concentration can occur after concussions.
For the study, researchers from the Children's National Health System, George Washington University of Medicine and Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University studied 349 children age 5 to 18 to find out what happened to their academic performance after a concussion.
They divided the students into those were still had problems after their injuries and those who had full recovered, then asked the students and their parents questionnaires about their academic performance.
Researchers found that the severity of the concussion symptoms was directly related to the degree of academic problems among all grade levels. Of the children that fully recovered, 88 percent still had problems with concentration, headaches and fatigue. Of that same group, 77 percent of the children had problems taking notes and found themselves spending more time on homework and having problems studying for exams and other quizzes.
The authors said that their findings suggest that school systems and medical professionals should work together to support students who are still in the recovery phase after a concussion.
Of all the ages studied, researchers found that high school students reported having the most learning difficulties, significantly higher than middle or elementary school children.
"Our findings suggest that these supports are particularly necessary for older students, who face greater academic demands relative to their younger peers," the study's authors say.
