Concussion Care

At Akron Children's Hospital, we understand that children's brains are still developing and require specialized care to return kids to school and activity as quickly and safely as possible. From the very first appointment, we:

• Share information on what concussions are.
• Discuss signs and symptoms.
• Outline a customized action plan to meet the specific needs of each child.
• Review concussion prevention tips.

Our athletic trainers (ATs) at more than two dozen schools are the first responders to all injuries. The ATs are specifically trained to evaluate athletes for suspected concussion. ATs:

• Use the SCAT-5 tool to gather information on how an athlete was injured, the symptoms experienced and provide a clinical evaluation of a neurological exam, memory tests and balance assessment.
• Help to facilitate appropriate medical evaluations when needed by the athlete’s primary care provider, emergency room or our own sports medicine providers. 
• Assist athletes with return to activities once they are cleared to progress through the return-to play protocol.  

Complex concussions

Every concussion is different, and some require additional clinical resources. For complex concussion recoveries, we work with our partners in Sports Rehab/Physical Therapy, the Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic (TBI) in Neurology, the Headache Clinic, Neuropsychology, Ophthalmology and Sports Psychology to foster recovery from the physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep disturbance symptoms that can come with concussions.

Appointments

Concussion appointments are available at our Akron, Mahoning Valley and Warren offices. Patients with concussions are seen Monday through Friday. Call the location nearest you for an appointment.