My daughter needs some help
 

Hi, This is my first posting as I am concerned for my daughter. 1 year ago, she fell in school and sustained a concussion. I was not notified of this and only found out about it when she began having severe headaches 2 weeks later and I took her for a cat scan. There I was told that she had post-concussive disorder. Since that time, her academic performance has fallen considerably from A's and B's to D's and E's. Based on neuropsych testing, she suffers from severe memory impairment as well as problems with reading comprehension. She also resembles someone with ADHD and was treated for that for a short time. Her attention span is very short and she gets easily distracted. Needless to say, she is very frustrated with her performance in school, as well as with her teachers who aren't being very helpful. She misses many days due to severe headaches being treated with Periactin and Midrin. She is now being tested for special education services. Is this going to last forever? She and I are very concerned. She is only 13 years old. Any advice would be appreciated.

Welcome
 

TO CHRISW

Hi my name is jeffn, welcome to this forum. There a great deal of information here from people who have Tbi/PCS.

So sorry to hear about your daughter so young to have to be dealing with PCS and it's no fun.

You may want to read the post on Berry Willer there's some information there that my give you some insight on the insurence/ assessment issue.

jeffn

Welcome
 

Wow- that must be really hard to watch. I know, as a mother, that it hurts to watch your child in pain (emotional or physical).

I'm new to this stuff- hit my head in June and I'd probably be confused sometimes for someone with ADHD. I have memory issues, and I can't seem to pull information out of my brain sometimes. It's so frustrating. I don't have the headaches though- so feel very fortunate.

I guess I'm telling you this because it sounds like what is going on with your daughter is typical for PCS. It seems that everyone here has their own twist though- we each have different things that affect us. Perhaps it has something to do with where we hit our head.

I wish I could tell you something positive. She's so young to be dealing with this. I think we all hope that we'll eventually break through the PCS. Is your daughter seeing a neurologist?

~Lori

Hi
 

I feel so sorry for your daughter! I firmly believe that the main thing is not becoming too tired and finding a sympathetic and intelligent GP. Those that don't know anything about head injury can cause more harm than good. The sound of the school's attitude really makes me angry and I think you need to have a very serious talk with them - really they should appologise to both of you. Ignorant people can cause lasting pyschological damage and please don't let that happen to your daughter.

Gosh I think this must have touched a sensitive spot with me - but seriously your daughter needs the best professional help she can get. Have a good read of all - well quite a few of the posts as I have found them quite helpful. Don't forget that assessments are only assessments you need to then follow up by asking what can be done to help.

Lynlee

I'd imagine you're looking for something you can "do" regarding all of this, unfortunately with an injury like this there's no sure fire cure for what's ailing your daughter, but there are things that you could try that can potentially reap profound benefits.

Hearing the brief outline of your daughter's injury, I would recommend taking her to see a craniosacral therapist (the more experience the better). I know a craniosacral therapist who trains people all over the country, if you want to message me with your city or state I can ask him if he knows anyone in your area who's particularly good.

First I am not going to address the pcs things at this point the rest are
doing a great job.

I'm a parent advocate. And I can be of the best help to you for the special education part. I'm in Indiana and I want you to know the following things.

First, if when they test her they try to say that she doesn't have learning disabilities, then this isn't all they have to look at. They can also look at
the headaches, pcs issues, and the other things that keep her out of school
that are chronic health issues. They fall in the category of Other Health Impairment. Most states have this category, some call it something else.

ALso you should know that she might also fall under this with the memory issues or have say sensory issues. I would definately have her sensory
intregration checked too.

Donna

ChrisW
First of all I am sorry for what has to of been a very difficult year of watching the cards fall in what can be like a domino effect while a child is healing after a concussion that has lead to PCS. Your daughter needs to know that she is only a victim of alot of symptoms and needs to be encouraged that she is doing the best she can. She needs to have her self esteem rescued and supported so she does not have too much anxiety. She needs to feel that the teachers and all other people in her life are there to help her get some success again. My son suffered from PCS after a wrestling injury last February and I am sure if he was required to perform in school and function in his life for the next few month after his injury he would of either failed or got D's or C's. Rest is so needed after this kind of brain assault. We saw a good neuropsychologist in Massachusetts who specialized in concussion problems and knowing when it is O.K. to get back to your life in full force. He has a website www.sportsconcussion.net. This was the most supportive and informative appointment we ever made because he explained everything to us and communicated to his teachers in a professional and understandable way. My son basically was exempt for months from stressful work. It took awhile to get insurance to approve but then they did with some pushing. At the time I did not even care, he was so helpful I would of paid for it anyway. He is focusing on sports injury concussion but it is all the same treatment, no matter how you got the injury. These kind of appointments with your child are helpful because they see and appreciate that people are caring about their troubles and that there is a plan to help them solve their issues. This helps alleviate the stress and anxiety that inhibits healing. We were very, very lucky to have this support. Perhaps you can at least call his office and get a referral, since he must be in a network of other professionals who are learning, sharing and researching this topic of PCS and it's challenges in school. Get very resourceful and become an advocate for your child, one step at a time. There is alot of hope for her recovery and I wish you luck. By the way my son 10 months later is doing great in school, studying long hours with no symptoms and doing sports!! There is hope and she is young.
Nancy