Subtle Brain Injury

Female high school athletes last week told a congressional committee about how the concussions they sustained playing sports changed their lives for the worse, as they continue to struggle to do tasks as simple as basic arithmetic.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/sports/football/21concussions.html

The House Committee on Education and Labor conducted a two-hour hearing Thursday in Washington that put the spotlight on how brain injury impacts the scholastic performance of student athletes, since these youths spend most of their recovery time in the classroom, not the field. The sessions also focused on female jocks.

Thursday’s testimony, particularly by 14-year-old Sarah Rainey, provided powerful evidence about why state laws protecting student athletes who suffer brain injury are necessary.  A soccer player at West Potomac High School, Rainey sustained a concussion five weeks ago, according to The New York Times.

Rainey was unconscious for several seconds after being hit in that game, yet after just taking a break for a sip of water  went right back in to play. Nothing could have been worse for a brain injury victim. She should have stayed off  the field, as evidenced by the fact that she doesn’t recall playing the rest of the game, which went into two overtimes. Such amnesia is a sign of brain injury.    

Since then, Rainey testified that she now needs a calculator to do easy math, and that her head is constantly “pounding,” as if she was wearing a compression headband.

Another committee witness and ex-high school brain-injured athlete, 19-year-old Michelle Pelton of Massachusetts, described how she suffered from pain, depression, memory loss and lack of concentration — again, all classic symptoms of concussion. 

According to The Times, Pelton described her everyday life  “as a battle,” adding, “If  I can prevent even one person from experiencing that happened to me, then my trip here was a huge success.”

There have already been three hearings conducted by the House Judiciary Committee on concussions, which basically exposed how the National Football League’s policies were shamefully inadequate. Putting the national press’s focus on the issue helped prompt Legislatures across the country to pass laws to protect student athletes suspected of having brain injury.

The chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, George Miller, D-Calif., also had ordered a Government Accountability Office  report on sports concussions and youth athletes. It contains information and comparisions on the various state laws regarding student sports injuries.  

Teachers need to be educated about and sensitive to the problems that athletes with concussions have in class, and give them some leeway, according to testimony at the hearing from Dr. Gerry Gioia, chief of pediatric neuropsychology ay Children’s National Medical Center in Washington.