Protecting young brains
When will he play? Is it safe? What happens if he gets another concussion? When it comes to hockey star Sidney Crosby, there’s been far more talk of late about the state of his head than his trademark scoring ability.
But, as teen hockey goalie Molly Tissenbaum knows all too well, it isn’t just Nhlers like Crosby who face the debilitating consequences of a head injury. That’s why she was on hand when the provincial government introduced legislation to protect students from the serious and ongoing impacts of head injuries.
If passed, the legislation would require school boards to develop policies and guidelines to identify and properly treat students who suffer concussions — whether they happened on the playground or during the high school basketball finals.
That’s useful, certainly. Even with all we now know about head injuries, too many people still don’t take them seriously enough. But the legislation’s greatest potential benefit to students is not on the sports field at all. It’s in the classroom.
New school policies wouldn’t be limited to just determining when students can return to sport. They would establish “return to learn” plans to make sure students — regardless of where they suffered the head injury — get the support they need afterwards. Too many student athletes have been sidelined academically by a head injury.
“Concussions don’t discriminate,” says Education Minister Laurel Broten. These injuries “can derail the professional career of the best athlete in the world just as easily as it can derail the academic career of some of our youngest learners.”
Tissenbaum, for example, spent weeks recuperating after her concussion. She was unable to read and watched her grades drop. The 17-year-old still gets migraines.
Much of what Broten is trying to achieve with this bill should not really require legislation, just vigilance and common sense on the part of school officials, coaches, parents and players.
Indeed, some boards, including Toronto’s public school board, have already developed policies similar to what the province is now proposing. And by now, teachers and coaches everywhere should know that it is no longer acceptable to tell a student who has just received a blow to the head to “shake it off and get back in the game.”
But still far too little is known about the proper treatment for head injuries, what the dangers are, or even that symptoms may not be immediately apparent.
Requiring all boards to have policies will help ensure consistent responses. Student athletes deserve the benefit of the best treatment practices during the game and in the classroom.