The risks associated with childhood concussions have been proven by various studies, but in order to make a real impact, legislators still need to be knocking people – parents, teachers, coaches and athletes in particular – over the head with this information.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board needs to follow the lead of the Halton District School Board, near Toronto, when it comes to concussion education: In September 2014, Halton added a course on concussions and other traumatic brain injuries to its ninth-grade curriculum.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board announced in August it is working on its own concussion management guidelines for staff following a call from the Canadian Concussion Collaborative, a group of health professionals working to improve education about concussions, for all organizations responsible for operating, regulating or planning sport and sporting events with a risk of concussion to implement a concussion management protocol.
While educating staff is a step in the right direction, board members also need to focus on educating students about concussions.
The best way to do so would be to implement a program similar to that of the Halton District School Board – but not before making some necessary improvements.
The Halton curriculum is available online and uses e-modules that take students through question-and-answer sessions on topics related to concussions. In these sessions, students learn what symptoms may indicate a concussion, how to care for someone with a suspected concussion, and how to navigate the challenges of recovery.
The problem is that there are e-modules appropriate for only three curriculums: Grade 3, Grade 6, and Grade 9.
Repetition has long been hailed as the best way to learn. Teachers review old concepts before moving on to new ones. Kids do math problems over and over again until they have the formulas memorized. If the Halton curriculum is going to change the culture surrounding concussions, students are going to need a lot more repetition.
Repetition is necessary to combat not only the short attention spans and forgetfulness of most kids, but also their changing attitudes toward injury as they age.
Another problem to consider is the changing expectations of parents and coaches.
A recent study by McGill University polled 469 varsity athletes from various concussion-prone sports, including football, hockey, soccer, basketball and rugby.
Of these 469 athletes, almost 20 per cent believed they had suffered a concussion during a practice or game in the last 12 months, with 78 per cent admitting they didn’t seek any medical attention for their concussion symptoms during the same period.
A shocking 22 per cent cited the likelihood of a negative reaction from coaching staff as the reason behind their choice not to seek medical attention.
The high expectations from parents and coaches at this level of sport are just another reason why a potential concussion education program needs to continue throughout high school.
University-level athletes are years removed from their Grade 9 education, meaning even if they had gone through a program modeled after the Halton curriculum, the knowledge wouldn’t be fresh enough, or run deep enough, to make them think twice about reporting their symptoms.
Health classes cover the risks associated with smoking every year in elementary school. In Ontario, high school students attend an annual drinking and driving presentation by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Grade 12 students are required to attend a second MADD presentation called “Safe Grad,” to further emphasize the risks associated with drinking and driving, clearly highlighting the importance of repetition.
The number of kids who smoke, as well as the number of drinking and driving accidents among teens, have decreased in recent years, a phenomenon many experts credit to public education on these topics.
If the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board wants a concussion curriculum that is effective and encourages kids to report their symptoms, it needs to expand on the Halton curriculum, and should consistently provide concussion education to students from Grade 3 to Grade 12.
The Halton curriculum is a good start, but continued education is that little bit of extra protection kids need under their helmets.