westerner,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Sorry to hear about your daughter.

I think #1 is OK but your focus with her should be to help her to learn when she is just starting to overload. Head aches don't likely start increasing any sooner than other signs of overload start to manifest. She may need to reread a line of text or not understand what was said by the teacher, even momentarily. These are signs she is starting to overload. She may need to wear ear plugs to reduce sounds. She should probably sit at the front of the class so the teacher's voice is clearer and not as mixed with the other noises in the classroom. She should minimize time spent in the halls or any classrooms where there are multiple voices talking at the same time.

A NeuroPsych who understands concussions and classroom struggles may be able to help her with these issues. (I would not get my hopes up, though)

Has she had her neck evaluated ? Is it stiff at all/ Often, concussions are made worse by subtle neck injuries. It will take a very skilled professional to help her with a subtle neck injury. Head aches can often be made worse by these neck injuries.

As much as she wants to keep up with her peers, she will likely be better off needing to repeat a class after getting an incomplete than have a low grade on her transcript. I dropped more than half of a Grade Point my sophomore year but recovered my junior year. That made a substantial difference in my graduating class ranking.

She needs to understand that her struggles have no reflection on her academically. They are due to her head injury. She is fortunate to live in a time where schools have a better understanding of the struggles students can have after a concussion. My teachers gave me no grace back in 1970/71 despite the doctor's comments to the school.

It boggles my mind that students have 9 classes in a day. That just makes my head spin. I never took more than 5 academic classes plus PE and a non-academic elective. I agree with her need to simplify her class load.

Please, if you can, help her learn how to moderate her exposure level. It will be a very important skill. She needs to have her memorized ways to excuse herself such as, "I am starting to feel overloaded. I need to excuse myself and take a break." Her friends need to know to support her in this. It means she also needs to take a break from her friends and their talking.

If she can do this, she should be able to keep up with some of her schooling.

My best to you both.