By: Katelyn Wei
Led by Dr. Rediar Lystad from Macquarie University, the new research analyzed the consequences of thousands of Australian students who had been to the hospital with a concussion.
One in eight children encountered concussion before 18 years old, so professionals have called on schools to sufficiently monitor students with post-concussion, stating that recovery can take longer than expected.
Dr. Lystad states lower literacy, numeracy, and completion results for those in the hospital with concussion were due to cognitive and behavioral changes that negatively impact their ability to learn. These changes can also last for a longer period than many people might expect, meaning support is required for an extended period. About a third of the children who have had concussions had effects such as headaches, sleep deprivation, poor concentration, and low mood can last longer than one month. This leads to several difficulties at school and makes it even more difficult later in life.
Dr. Lystad said trips and sports were the root cause of injury for students. He stated there had also been an increasing trend of parents taking their kids out of sports due to the risk of concussion. “We don’t want children to stop playing sports or being adventurous, but there is a need to ensure that young people with concussion have access to multidisciplinary healthcare services,” he said.
The systems for recognizing and reporting concussions in schools need improvement, as injuries can happen outside school hours during school sports. For example, Genuine Arvanitakis has two children who play at Bentleigh Junior Football Club in Melbourne and said concussion management and prevention were extremely essential in a contact sport. “We have a 12-day rule where players who get concussed are not allowed to play. They have complete rest for 48 hours and then after a couple of days see how they go with walking, running, and light training.
These are the rules: Victoria’s Department of Education requires all schools to plan for the first aid needs of students and staff and ensure that appropriately trained first aid officers are available to respond to incidents and injuries. The NSW state government’s School Sport Unit has a detailed concussion management procedure for schools that includes timelines for minimum recovery and duty of care obligations.
Queensland Representative School Sport offers guidelines across 11 Sporting codes and South Australia’s Department of Education site confirms head injury first aid must be followed if a head injury occurs with more information available via SA’s Education Standards Board.