Concussion Action Plan
For Children Up To The Age of 8
Your child has had a concussion, fill in this Concussion Action Plan to assist in their management.
Childs Name:
Date of Injury:
Description of what happened:
Childs D.O.B:
Location of Injury:
Tick the Symptoms Appropriate to Your Child
Physical
Headache
Nausea
Fatigue
Vomiting
Dizziness
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Sensitivity to light
Sensitivity to noise
Numbness/tingling
Visual problems
Balance problems
Cognitive (thinking)
Feeling mentally foggy
Problems concentrating
Problems remembering
Feeling slowed down
Emotional
Irritability
Sadness
Feeling more emotional
than usual
Nervousness
Sleep
Drowsiness
Sleeping more than usual
Sleeping less than usual
Trouble falling asleep
Over the next few days, symptoms may worsen or other symptoms may appear.Â
Watch out for HEAD BUMPS (symptoms listed below).
If they occur, seek urgent medical attention.
HEAD BUMPS
H
E
A
D
Headache, seizure, unconscious.
Eye problems (blurred/double vision).
Abnormal behaviour change.
Dizziness, persistent vomiting.
B
U
M
P
S
Balance dysfunction with weakness or numbness in legs/arms.
Unsteady on feet, slurred speech.
Memory impaired, confused, disoriented.
Poor concentration, drowsy, sleepy.
Something’s not right (concerned about child).
Program
Have your child complete the following zone and stepwise program.Â
Seek urgent medical attention if your child’s symptoms worsen or if other symptoms appear.Â
RED Zone
REST PERIOD: Days 1 and 2 following injury:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Date started: )
Rest your child from any physical or cognitive activity.
Supportive care
• Encourage good sleep patterns. Rest your child with no TV, phone or disruptions.
• Provide regular meals and a minimum of 2L of water per day.
• Use over-the-counter headache medication as needed.
• Complete the Symptoms Log Sheet, monitoring your child’s symptoms and signs. Continue using the sheet until your child reaches 14 days
without symptoms.
• Encourage your child to have a positive mental attitude towards their recovery.
After 2 days of acute rest, you may move on to the next zone.
Use the Symptoms Log Sheet to record any symptoms that your child develops. If your child develops symptoms during an activity, stop the activity and let your child rest. When the symptoms are gone, have your child try the activity again.
ORANGE Zone
RELATIVE REST PERIOD: Days 3, 4 and 5 following injury:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Date started: )
Recommendations:
• Start low-level physical and cognitive activity. Your child can now move around more freely.
Activities may include:
less than 20 minutes daily walking balancing activities like walking on tip-toes and hopscotch thinking tasks like drawing and colouring
Supportive care
• Try to reduce and/or stop headache medication once your child is more physically/mentally active.
• Should sleep pattern remain a problem, then further assessment and possible treatment with Melatonin may be considered.
This will require medical supervision and is best discussed with your local GP
Your child is to be symptom-tolerant before moving on to Step 1 in the yellow zone.
Use the Symptoms Log Sheet to record any symptoms that your child develops. If your child develops symptoms during an activity, stop the activity and let your child rest. When the symptoms are gone, have your child try the activity again.
YELLOW Zone
GRADED RETURN TO ACTIVITYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Date started: )
Step 1 – Light cognitive and physical activity
• Progress toward more challenging thinking activities like reading and puzzles
• Your child can now engage in short (less than 20 minutes) bursts of play. Keep the activity relatively gentle i.e. playing on equipment,
kicking ball, structured games.
Progress to the next step if your child is symptom-free for 24 hours.
Step 2 – Moderate cognitive and physical activity
• Part-time school with accommodations (rest breaks, sitting at back of classroom) until able to concentrate without difficulty.
• Increase the duration of play time and commence more moderate intensity activities for 20-30 minutes i.e. skipping, jumping,
less controlled play.
Progress to the next step if your child is symptom-free for 24 hours.
Step 3 – Extended activity
• Progress towards full-time school with minimal accommodations. Your child may continue to display changes in behaviour and emotion.
This needs to be monitored by the teacher, and may continue for some time even after other symptoms have resolved.
• More intense aerobic and skill-based activity on a more regular basis
Use the Symptoms Log Sheet to record any symptoms that your child develops. If your child develops symptoms during an activity, stop the activity and let your child rest. When the symptoms are gone, have your child try the activity again.
GREEN Zone
GREEN ZONE
RETURNING TO PRE-INJURY ACTIVITYÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Date started: )
Once your child is performing regular cognitive and physical activity without symptoms, they are ready to progress as follows:
Step 4 – Normal activity
• Full-time school with minimal accommodations progressing when able to handle all classroom activities.
• Engage in normal play without any restrictions on duration or intensity. Continue to monitor for symptoms and allow child to rest and return
when symptoms have settled.
• Continue to keep an eye on behavioural changes and regression. Remember that this is normal and will resolve over time. Try to be patient
and encourage good behaviours, remember they have just undergone an injury that has significantly altered their normal sense of wellbeing
and routine, maybe for the first time. If you do not believe that these behavioural/emotional issues are improving then they may need to be
treated separately from the concussion and you should speak to your GP.
Symptoms Log Book
Use the checklist below to keep track of your child’s signs and symptoms. Take this log sheet with you to your appointments.
Physical
Headache/s
Nausea
Vomiting
Feeling tired
Dizziness or balance problems
Vision problems
Bothered by light or noise
Tingling feeling or numbness
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Thinking or Remembering
Difficulty thinking clearly
Problems concentrating
Problems remembering
Feeling slowed down
Feeling hazy, foggy or groggy
Â
Social or Emotional
Irritability
Nervousness
Sadness
Feeling more emotional than usual
Sleep
Drowsiness
Sleeping more than usual
Sleeping less than usual
Trouble falling asleep
Parents Observation
Dazed or confused
Slower to answer or react
Difficulty remembering
Personality changes
Sleep problems
Day
1
Day
2
Day
3
Day
4
Day
5
Day
6
Day
7
Day
8
Day
9
If your child has 6 or more symptoms on any given day, and the number increases the following day, please visit your GP for further assessment.
