This text-based course is a transcript of the webinar, “Vanderbilt SLP Journal Club - Returning to Learning Following Sports-Related Concussion: The Role of the SLP,” presented by Michael de Riesthal, PhD, CCC-SLP.
>> Dr. Michael de Riesthal: Welcome to the first Vanderbilt Speech-Language Pathology Journal Club. I will be coordinating the journal club presentations from here on. The plan is that each year, my colleagues and I will present on four different topics that are current and clinically relevant. We are going to start with a presentation about a timely and important topic that has received significant attention in the news media and that many of us deal with in our clinical practice: the cognitive-communication deficits resulting from concussion and the successful return to school. What we are going to work toward is an understanding of the role of the speech-language pathologist.
Before we get started, I would like to ask a few questions to get a sense of the audience for the journal club. How many of you work in an acute care setting? How many of you work in an outpatient rehabilitation setting? How many of you work in a school setting? How many of you work in a private practice? How many of you today have worked with a child or adolescent who has suffered a concussion? It helps to have knowledge of where everyone is coming from as we are going through the presentation.
Introduction
It is estimated that 3.8 million children and adults sustain a concussion each year. The concussion is sustained typically as a result of recreation and sports-related pastimes. Because of this, the majority of the focus on concussion management has been centered on diagnosis, education of key stakeholders regarding the problem, and the timing of safe return to play, including sports and other physical activity. Unfortunately, in children and adolescents who suffer concussion, not as much attention has been given to academics and learning, and how concussion may affect successful return to school. Two recent consensus reports or recommendations have been published on the topics of return to play and returning to learning following concussion. Both reports are excellent in fulfilling their intended purposes, but neither report identifies the role of the speech-language pathologist in the successful return to activity and academics following concussion. While some SLPs are involved in the management of successful return to sports and school for children and adolescents post-concussion, overall, the field seems to be underutilized in these efforts and not recognized as an important player in the process.
Today we are going to discuss four articles associated with sports -related concussion. These will also inform the management of non-sports-related concussion; certainly not every child who comes in with a concussion sustained it through sports, but that seems to be where the literature is right now.
