My point is that NP testing will only give a snap shot at that point in time. The recommendations from a NPA can be helpful or a total waste. My daughter was assessed and determined to not have enough deficit to qualify for help even though she was up to 2 grades behind. The variables in performance at such a young age is wide. Many tend to defer to letting time show the difficulties.

Since I have lived through this age with PCS, I know the struggles from the inside. Neither my mother nor I were told anything about concussion. I had to just survive on my own. My mother just sat back and wondered what was happening to her brightest child as my grades roller coastered and my personality changed. I remember trying to find a way to end the academic and social pain without upsetting others or becoming an invalid.

I would have cherished some help with my struggles.

Chachi, You have an excellent opportunity to help your son deal with the struggles. The openness of your discussions and acceptance of his struggles should give him strength to tell you more.

Also, trying to direct his testing and diagnostic work can come back to bite you. Talk to his doctors or school about his struggles and symptoms. Ask if there is any testing that can be done. Ask if a NeuroPsychological evaluation could help. Be passive but interested in more understanding. Authority figures who hold the purse strings or are accountable for the spending will be more responsive with a soft approach.

The pushy mom with cyber-knowledge can quickly get labeled a problem. As my wife would say, "Please, help me understand what is happening with my son." She gets lots of good responses with the soft approach.

My best to you.

pulled him out of school at mid-day today after he reported heightened nausea and a slight headache. he also said he found school really irritating today.

i guess the stimulation of the classroom after the relative weekend calm of home aggravated matters.

may just keep him home for the week. he doesn't need to be there to learn and i don't see the point in subjecting him to an environment that aggravates his symptoms.

teachers are super-supportive, as he's a model student.

also, don't think I mentioned this, but a young skier (20) died here recently after a head injury sustained "urban skiing" (he was sliding down a stairway rail and wiped out). he had no helmet and despite feeling fine, he passed away in his sleep that night.

as a result, our community is very accommodating right now of taking the time to properly treat head injuries ...

On a positive note, I had quite a bad concussion due to a playground accident when I was your son's age. I effectively lost my sight and had nausea for months afterwards. I was taken out of school for at least a couple of weeks from memory. Then I went back but I kept getting mild nausea.

It got more and more infrequent till, in the end, it went away completely and I made a complete recovery. Fortunately a child's brain is quite plastic. I don't think that I suffered much loss of intilligence due to the injury, although I suppose there is not telling how smart I might have been!

I think that you are doing the right thing to treat it very seriously, but perhaps you can be optimistic for a good outcome at the same time.

Good luck.
CS

Thanks CS - that kind of optimism is really encouraging.

The boy is home again today. While everything is still within the range of "mild", it does seem like certain symptoms have intensified or progressed.

His nausea is still lowgrade, but increases when he goes outside or goes from dark to very light.

He now notices slight irritability when overstimulated and a propensity to become more easily overstimulated. i.e. he described the noise of my doing dishes combined with the sound of the vacuum cleaner as something that made him "want to escape".

He has an occasional twitch, best described as a quick shiver (like the shiver males get while urinating) that leaves him with a few seconds of tingling.

He's still in great spirits and seems able to read and play the piano and board games without complaint. His appetite is healthy.

I may get him back in front of the doctor this week to try and get referred to the pediatrician in the hope that she will have dealt with more cases like this and will be more proactive with determining whether we should get a CT or MRI, and facilitating baseline testing.

chahci,

A CT or MRI at this point will be of little value. The CT will be undue radiation exposure. the MRI will just be an exhausting experience for one with auditory sensitivity. Unless he is exhibiting severe head aches or loss of balance or coordination, etc. imaging is not called for and will likely be normal.

I understand his struggle with the vacuum and clanking dishes. They can be auditorily over-stimulating. His awareness of needing to escape shows that he is understanding his symptoms well.

Interesting shiver comment. I have never experienced it 'that' way. I have experienced an overall shiver like a wave of nervous energy passing through my body.

It sounds like he just needs time with rest and quiet then a slow reintroduction to light and sound. Not much can be done from a treatment angle.

My best to you both.

Mark - thanks for the insight re scans.

The way I described the "shiver" is based on what I observe the action as - what he actually feels isn't a shivering sensation per se, but he hasn't been able to articulate why he does it or what he feels when it happens. He just says it feels good to do it when he does it.

Agreed re treatment. It's clear that the jump into the classroom after the weekend makes him feel lousy, and that the rest at home keeps him on an even keel.

I feel pretty lucky that what we're experiencing is very surmountable for now and relative to what others endure, pretty benign.

Just get work for home from school for when he feels like doing some.

that is what I would do.

Donna

Sometimes symptoms don't show up for a few days to a few weeks or a couple of months after a single mild concussion.

I'm glad he's taking it easy and that you and the people around him are taking this seriously.

update - boy's back in school this week. overall level of nausea had diminished, but some nausea still persists. he experiences some periods in the day of being symptom-free. motion - ie walking or driving - is still an area of concern.

teachers are being supportive, giving him lessened work and a quiet spot in the hall where he can take time if his anxiety increases.

If his anxiety increases, he should not be back at school. He should be able to remain symptom free, especially the anxiety sensitivity and nausea, before returning to school. The anxiety is cause by his brain being overwhelmed with stimuli. The sights and sounds are too much for his brain to process.

Has he tried wearing foam ear plugs to reduce the auditory stimuli? They might be just enough to prevent the relapses.

You should even watch for delayed symptoms. If he makes it through a day at school but feels poorly the next day, that is likely a delayed symptom of the previous day at school.

My best to you two.