Youth Football Player Back in the Game after Help from the Advanced Brain Injury Clinic
Andre Boyd Jr. comes from a football-loving family. While the foursome can’t agree on their NFL favorites, all are diehard fans of the Louisiana State University Tigers. So it seems only natural that the 11-year-old would want to become a football player like his heroes on the field.
Once the regular (tackle) football season ended last fall, Andre Jr.’s mother, Deanna, breathed a sigh of relief. He got through the season without any major injuries. When Andre Jr. wanted to play flag football this winter, Deanna felt less anxious. She thought her son was less likely to sustain an injury in flag football.
During a February game, however, Andre Jr. collided with another player who was reaching for his flag. When he fell, Andre Jr.’s head hit the turf.
"I knew something was wrong immediately because Andre Jr. became dizzy and got a headache," Deanna said. "He also seemed confused, repeating the same questions over and over."
Deanna took her son to urgent care for an evaluation and pain management. The medical team there treated his immediate needs but referred the family to Cincinnati Children’s Advanced Brain Injury Clinic at the Brain Health and Wellness Center. Andre Jr. needed follow-up care and education about managing his concussion.
Concussion Care for the Whole Person
At Cincinnati Children’s, pediatric rehabilitation medicine specialist Priya Durgadas Bolikal, MD, conducted a thorough neurological examination on Andre Jr that included testing factors such as his strength, sensation, reflexes, balance and coordination. His care team included a behavioral psychologist who addressed his feelings about the injury, anxieties about long-term effects and other emotional needs. School intervention specialist Ryan M. Hanna, MEd, worked with the family to develop a plan for returning to school.
“I was just scared how the concussion was going to impact my life and … my education because I want to be great, and I want to have a great education and be a great kid,” Andre Jr. said. “This concussion worried me because I wondered how long I would be out from sports and school, and missing my teachers and friends.”
While addressing Andre Jr.’s medical and psychosocial needs was critical, an important element of his care at Cincinnati Children’s included family education about concussion management. The multidisciplinary team offered recommendations about everything from managing headaches, getting adequate sleep and staying hydrated to minimizing stimulation and avoiding high-risk activities.
“Much of our role is educating children and their families about concussion and helping them to gradually get back to the activities they enjoyed,” said Dr. Bolikal. “We guide them in terms of slowly increasing their activities so that they can continue giving their brain more stimulation as it's healing, but not overdo it when their brain is still in that recovery period. We all work together to make sure that we’re treating the whole patient with both the medical aspects of their recovery as well as the psychosocial aspects.”
Back to School
Returning to the school environment after a concussion is challenging for many children. Hanna builds on patients’ medical and psychological evaluations by assessing their educational history and any academic needs moving forward. He also determines the family’s readiness for coordinating with the school and their comfort level advocating for their child. That includes developing a plan for easing back into the school day (partial days or frequent breaks, for example), identifying appropriate points of contact at the school, and communicating their needs. The school liaison, with input from the physician, also creates documentation outlining that recommended plan so it can be shared with school personnel.
