Content Information
A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to move or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells. Concussions are functional injuries that impact a child or youth’s mental, physical and emotional well-being.
Where does a concussion occur?
This injury can occur at school, in programs, and day-to-day community living. (Non-inclusive examples are shared below.)
School: Concussions may occur on the playground, hallway, classroom, gymnasium, bus, on a field trip, during an assault with another student, and more.
School-Sponsored Programs: Athletic program activities, contests, scrimmages, weight room, and more.
Community: Concussions may occur in recreational programs, with a bike accident, skateboard accident, motor vehicle accident (MVA), all-terrain vehicle accident (ATV), farming accident, from climbing, playing at a community park, slipping or diving at a pool, assault, or over the weekend while at home, and more.
General actions if a student sustains a head injury, regardless of the severity, in their school or program:
- The school nurse (if available) will perform an assessment.
- provide first-aid
- Communicate with the child’s parents to inform them of the injury.
- Notify EMS (if applicable to the severity of the injury)
- Document the date, time, observation of the student, care provided, communication with the student, school nurse, and any communication with the parents, and any failed communication attempts in the child’s student health record.
General actions for suspected serious head injury:
- If a student has experienced a serious head injury while at school, always suspect a neck injury as well, and do not move or twist the back or neck.
- If the student experiences unconsciousness, seizure activity, neck pain, is unable to respond to commands, is unable to move their extremities, is sleepy or confused, call EMS and remain with the student.
Educator Resources:
Reports of concussion come into the school or program through various means. Iowa has requirements for schools to comply with ‘Return to Learn’ and ‘Return to Play’ regulations.
The Teacher Acute Concussion Tool (TACT) streamlines communication, enabling educators to receive the necessary information promptly and serve students safely using return-to-learn tools.
How to implement Return to Learn requirements for all students using TACT in a school:
Instructions:
- Go to: GetSchooledOnConcussions.com
- Scroll to the right upper corner of the screen and select “My TACT”
- Select “Iowa”
- Enter the Password: TACTiowa2020
- Select “in real time”
- Enter your information as school personnel using your school email address.
- Enter the student’s ID number (located in the student information system)
- Enter how the concussion happened (select a choice)
- Select the grading period (1 through 5). If it is towards the end of the grading period, the educators will receive an extra tip sheet on how to handle finals [if applicable].
- Add in all of the student’s educator(s) email addresses.
- Hit the submit button.
Educators for the student will receive one email a week for four weeks with classroom tips to help the student address:
- mental fatigue and energy management,
- slowed processing speed that impacts work output, and
- short-term memory that impacts demonstration of mastery, tests, and grades.
Districts, accredited nonpublic schools, independently accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools that utilize TACT can request an annual dashboard report summarizing the incidence of concussion reports and training provided to educators. Technical assistance and data updates are also available throughout the year upon request.
Iowa HHS has available the REAP concussion manual, Concussion Guidelines for Iowa Schools, and other resources on the Concussion Awareness page.