Head clashes dismissed too easily.

[Dogwatcher]

Mild bumps to the head dismissed too easily says VU researcher


A Victoria University doctoral thesis shows that even a mild bump to the head of a child or teenager can cause life-long brain damage and symptoms similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The alarming discovery, which is already generating interest from the medical profession, sports officials and psychologists in Australia and abroad, was made by Dr Steve Saflekas in his PhD research at Victoria University.

The Taylors Lakes’ resident will receive his PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology at Victoria University on Friday 2 November 2007 for his thesis, ‘Working Memory Impairments in Children and Adolescents after Traumatic Brain Injury’.

The results of Dr Saflekas’ research are surprising because they challenge the common assumption that the brain recovers to its same level after a small injury.

However, his research found that children who suffered head bumps might score well in basic hospital and standard clinical neuropsychological screening tests, but up to six months later, they can continue to have difficulty concentrating, especially with multiple visual and auditory sources of stimulation.

“A child with this type of head injury could listen to their teacher, but not write at the same time”, he said.

His thesis reports that around 40,000 children in Australia each year sustain brain injuries in accidents in the home, sporting fields, vehicles or playgrounds. However, a large percentage of those with mild injuries who attend a hospital emergency department frequently go home after diagnosis without proper testing.

Dr Saflekas said the study is a warning for parents and urged hospitals to provide more thorough screening for head injuries.

He said: “A large number of children are being wrongly diagnosed post-injury. Many are discharged without proper assessments and told there is no damage. Others are assumed to have learning disorders or ADHD when they show problems later, when in fact, it relates back to their bump on the head.”

Using innovative paper and pencil tests usually used on elderly dementia patients to test working memory, Dr Saflekas assessed 38 children and adolescents with varying degrees of head injuries against a control group of 60 healthy children.

He discovered the children with even mild bumps did not recover as well as expected when tested up to six months later.



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Dr Saflekas said children and teenagers assessed with mild brain injuries should participate as soon as possible in rehabilitation programs. Currently there are no specific rehabilitation programs available for these types of head injuries, but Dr Saflekas has recommended a range of strategies that could be developed.

“For example, some children post-injury may need a more structured environment with task lists and guidelines to help them learn more effectively,” he said.

Dr Saflekas expects his thesis’ findings to soon be published in international journals.

[smac]

We should encourage kids to play more bingo!

Interesting study though, would explain a lot of things about this site.

[Strawb]

We should encourage kids to play more bingo!

Interesting study though, would explain a lot of things about this site.

Smac how do you get a nice little old lady to say a nasty four letter word





have another little old lady shout out Bingo