Head injury: Dealing with an important mental health concern in youth

Recently, the Globe and Mail reported that the Province of Ontario had decided to introduce legislation that would require schools to instate head injury prevention and management programs across the province. Read the article here.

In my opinion, this is a welcome and innovative direction for Ontario’s education system. Laurel Broten, Ontario’s Minister of Education, deserves high praise for this step forward.

Head injuries (or concussions) are a significant mental health problem in young people. While most are sports related, concussions can be the result of a car accident, a fall, foul play or other recreational activity. The fact is they can happen almost anywhere.

Concussions can range from mild to severe, depending on the strength of the impact and where the hit occurred. A little known fact is that with today’s technology and research, helmets do a good job preventing brain injuries. Although, just because your wearing a helmet, doesn’t mean your invincible.

There are some other facts that we should all become more aware of.  First off, teenagers who suffer a concussion may take longer to recover than adults do. Second, many teenagers who suffer a concussion return to play before they’re actually ready, which can increase the chances of worsening the damage to the brain. Third, depression can be the result of a concussion. Fourth, because the teenage brain is in a rapid and important phase of growth, damage at this time can cause long term problems. Lastly, treatment is very helpful, but teens need to understand it takes time. Be sure you’re cleared by a medical professional before returning to play.

The first step to effectively addressing this problem is awareness.  Our team at the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health will soon be launching two brain injury guides across Canada. Brain Injury Guide for Youth is written with the assistance of the Chair’s Youth Advisory Committee. This guide provides teens with the best available information about concussions, how to try and prevent them, what to do if they occur and how they can be helped if they receive one. Understanding Brain Injury in Adolescence is written for parents, coaches, teachers or any other adult working with youth. This guide helps the reader understand what a concussion is, what its signs and symptoms are, what needs to be done to help prevent concussions, what must be done if a concussion is suspected and what should be done if a young person sustains a traumatic brain injury. Together these guides will help create awareness, while educating youth and the people who care about them.

Keep an eye on our website TeenMentalHealth.org for future information.

- Stan