Attleboro Schools Take Concussion Policies Head On

Concussions in sports have become of increasing  concern of late and will be implementing new regulations regarding the treatment of such head injuries this fall.

The changes are in response to a bill passed in 2010 that required more extensive training for the related staff, stricter guidelines regarding a player's return to field following a concussion and the maintaining records of athlete's  head injuries.

“We have always had a plan for this, but this just formalizes it,” Superintendent Pia Durkin said.

The new law states that “Students who sustain a head injury or suspected concussion during an extra curricular activity must be removed from practice or competition immediately and may not return to practice or competition that day.”

To aid in determining when a student has sustained a concussion the district will begin using Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, or ImPact.

The test, which is also used by the National Football League and NCAA teams, is used first to create a baseline of a player’s cognitive abilities by measuring a player’s concentration, verbal and visual memory and reaction time.

A player is tested again after sustaining a head injury to determine whether or not they can be cleared to play based on a comparison to their baseline test results.

The test will aid in the detection of concussion, which can often be difficult to detect. Many associate blacking out with a clear sign of a concussion, but only a “small percentage” of concussions have an accompanying blackout, according to the district’s Nurse Coordinator, Debbie Ebert.

Often the symptoms are subtle, such as difficulty concentrating, or memory loss as well as emotional changes such as increased irritability or depression.

Adding to the difficulty in detection is that often players will ignore their symptoms and insist that they are healthy in order to get back on the field.

To further increase concussion detection the new bill also requires extensive head injury safety training coaches, trainers, parents, volunteers, physicians or nurses involved with school activities, athletic directors, and even marching band directors.

“It’s a huge undertaking,” School Debbie Nurse Ebert said of the policies, which apply to all athletes in all sports and including the marching band.

"The policies must be implemented by September 1."

Each will undergo an annual training course that includes recognizing the symptoms of head and neck injuries.

Parents will also be required to provide information regarding an athlete’s previous head injury history to the school before being allowed to participate and schools will be keeping head injury records for each of the student athletes while they are in that school.