How to Spot Signs of a Concussion in Kids

How to Spot Signs of a Concussion in Kids

by | Oct 10, 2023 | Sports Medicine

Head injuries in children, especially children who play sports, can have long-lasting impacts. Knowing the signs of a concussion in kids will help you get the treatment your child needs to avoid serious complications.

Concussion Basics

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that can occur when a child experiences a sudden blow to the head. The impact causes the brain to jostle around the skull’s interior, damaging brain tissue and brain cells.
Although concussions during football get a lot of attention, these head injuries can also be caused by falls, collisions during other sports, bicycle accidents, and even minor car accidents. Particularly concerning is that having a concussion increases a child’s risk for having another one.

Immediate Warning Signs of Concussions in Kids

When your child hits his or her head, it’s natural to wonder if they’re okay. You may see your child jump up and keep playing, and you assume they aren’t injured. But you should monitor them closely for signs of a concussion because not all children will show immediate symptoms. In fact, according to the International Concussion Society, 90% of concussions that occur during sports don’t cause the person to black out or become unconscious.
“When in doubt, sit them out,” said Shane M. Miller, M.D., sports medicine physician and concussion expert. “If your child seems dazed, stunned, dizzy or is complaining of a headache, it’s safest for you or their coach to remove them from play immediately. The ‘tough it out’ mentality could prolong recovery and make them more susceptible to a more severe injury.”
Immediate symptoms of a concussion to look out for include:

  • Confusion
  • Dizziness
  • Memory loss
  • Nausea
  • Severe headache
  • Vomiting

If any of these symptoms are present, stop your child from playing or participating in an activity. More than 50% of child athletes continue playing a sport after experiencing a concussion, often because they don’t realize they’ve had a concussion or they don’t think their symptoms are that serious. However, continuing to play can slow recovery, increase the chances of having another concussion and lead to long-term symptoms, such as a headache that lasts for months.

Delayed Symptoms

Concussion symptoms can appear a few hours and even days after a concussion. Some symptoms may show up as much as a week after a concussion.

Even if your child seems fine after a short time, watch out for the following signs and symptoms:

  • Changes in alertness, such as difficulty staying awake, becoming unusually tired or having trouble paying attention
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Emotional and behavioral changes, such as mood swings, irritability, a sudden change in your child’s personality and unexplained emotional outbursts.
  • Headaches, especially persistent headaches, and those that worsen over time
  • Losing consciousness
  • Memory problems
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Sensitivity to light or noise
  • Trouble with balance and coordination, for example, unsteady movements, clumsiness and stumbling

When to Take Your Child to the ER for a Concussion

Concussions are always serious, but in some cases, the injury requires immediate medical attention from specialists at the closest emergency room (ER). Signs that a visit to the ER is necessary include:

  • Prolonged confusion
  • Seizures
  • Vomiting repeatedly
  • Worsening symptoms

At the ER, health care providers will perform a detailed physical exam, looking for visible injuries and symptoms, such as headaches and dizziness.

The ER team will also take your child’s medical history and ask about the incident and any previous concussions. The providers may order a comprehensive neurological assessment to test your child’s cognitive function, coordination, reflexes and responsiveness. They may also send your child for an imaging test, such as a CT or MRI scan.

Creating a Long-Term Plan for Concussion Recovery

In general, concussions heal in a few weeks. However, children require more recovery time from a concussion than adults, so help your child be patient during this process. Remind them that not taking enough time to heal could result in a more severe injury, including another concussion. The more concussions a child endures, the higher the likelihood of long-term damage to the brain.

Your child’s pediatrician can work with you to develop a plan to treat your child’s concussion. This plan will include plenty of time to rest and recover.

Gradually, your child will be able to return to normal daily activities, including sports, but only after you get the all-clear from their pediatrician or sports medicine specialist.

“Concussion management is a team approach, but the care is individualized to the needs of each athlete,” Miller said. “Unfortunately, injuries occur during sports, but how you respond is critical. Early recognition and treatment, with a supportive family and coaches leads to better outcomes and a quicker return to play.”

If your child took a baseline concussion test before the injury occurred, the goal is for their test results to be back to baseline levels.

Even after your child gets back on the court or field, you should monitor them for symptoms mentioned above. Symptoms that don’t go away or reappear after your child starts playing again could be signs of post-concussive syndrome, a rare condition that can develop in children who have had more than one concussion.

Trust your instincts when it comes to your child’s health. If you suspect a concussion, call our expert team now at 469-515-7100. We provide specialized care to ensure your child’s well-being and quick recovery.

Hidden Signs of Dyslexia: Beyond Reading Challenges

Hidden Signs of Dyslexia: Beyond Reading Challenges

by | Oct 7, 2023 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders

Many people associate dyslexia with reading and writing problems. Although it is true that this learning disorder primarily affects reading and writing skills, children who have dyslexia may have other challenges parents and caregivers may miss. Knowing these less familiar signs of dyslexia can help you get your child the care they need early so they can succeed in school and in life.

Rhyming Words

Dyslexia causes problems with phonological processing, or the ability to hear, store, recall and make different speech sounds, according to the National Center on Improving Literacy. It also causes issues with a child’s working memory, the cognitive skill that allows them to remember and store information he or she has learned.

Children with dyslexia may not recognize that two words sound alike, or they may struggle to remember a word that rhymes with another word.

Mixing Up Letters

Children with dyslexia may confuse letters that look similar, such as:

  • “b” and “d”
  • “p” and “q”
  • “m” and “w”

This is sometimes called letter reversal, and the cause isn’t fully understood. Some children may have issues processing visual information, leading to the confusion of letters that look alike. Letter reversal can impact a child’s reading skills as well as their ability to write and spell.

Older children may confuse these letters when writing, and as a result, many people think writing backward is a sign their child has dyslexia. However, it is not uncommon for children to write letters backward as they are learning to write, even if they do not have dyslexia. 

Remembering Word or Event Order

The same challenges with working memory that can make it hard to rhyme words can also lead to difficulty remembering the steps involved in a task. Whether the task is tying shoes or doing a chore, you might see a child struggle to complete the task, do things out of order or skip steps altogether. A child with poor working memory may also have trouble learning math.

Confusing Directions

People with dyslexia may have problems with spatial reasoning, or the ability to tell left from right or up from down. All of us mix up our lefts and rights on occasion, but we can often sort it out quickly. Children with dyslexia have a consistently hard time doing so.

Common Signs of Dyslexia

As with any symptom, parents and caregivers shouldn’t jump to conclusions if their child shows these less familiar signs of dyslexia. Getting your child evaluated will allow a dyslexia expert to consider those symptoms in context with other, more common symptoms of dyslexia, which can include issues with:

  • Learning letters and the sounds they make
  • Learning to read and speak
  • Pronouncing words properly or sounding out unfamiliar words
  • Reading aloud
  • Recognizing letters of the alphabet
  • Remembering dates
  • Speaking clearly
  • Spelling
  • Understanding mathematical concepts and numbers
  • Using the correct word to describe an object

Signs of dyslexia can appear in early childhood, well before a child reaches school age. The condition can also show up as kids get older and even into adulthood.

Early intervention is crucial to help a child learn and grow, as addressing these challenges right away can make a significant difference in a child’s ability to learn to read and write effectively. As kids get older, addressing dyslexia can improve their self-esteem and help set them up for success in adulthood.

Finding out your child has dyslexia can be a lot to process. The Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia & Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children is here to help. Complete an application request today to get started.

Donor Spotlight: We Are More – Empowering Patients Through Their Talents

Donor Spotlight: We Are More – Empowering Patients Through Their Talents

by | Oct 5, 2023 | Spotlight

On the stage shining bright with lights, Divya, of Frisco, bent over into a backbend. Viewing the world from upside down and backward, she reached over to her vintage Little Tikes xylophone piano and plinked “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” The crowd went wild!

A recent graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and former Scottish Rite for Children patient, Divya shared her talent in the We Are More Talent Show, a fundraiser that she created seven years ago to support patient care at Scottish Rite. “I wanted to give back,” she says, “and I realized there were probably a lot of other kids who wanted to give back but didn’t know how.” From rock bands, dancers and acrobatic yogis to an amputee playing the ukulele, an artist without hands painting and a child quickly solving a Rubik’s® Cube — a wide variety of talents have been showcased.

“When I started the show, my motivation was to raise money, but I realized it was more than just a fundraiser,” Divya says. “It had an impact on the patients.” The one-of-a-kind show encourages patients and families to bond and build community. There is no competition and no expectations. “You do whatever you want, have fun doing it, and everyone claps for you,” Divya says. “It creates a space for kids to be themselves, to feel included and supported.”

When Divya was 7, she was referred to Scottish Rite for joint hypermobility. “My ligaments were like rubber bands,” Divya says. “Instead of stretching and then recoiling back, they just kept stretching and stretching, so my kneecaps started dislocating.” Growing up, Divya had to sit out at recess and skip playing sports. She had multiple surgeries, but in high school, her family connected with pediatric orthopedic surgeon and medical director of clinical research Henry B. Ellis, M.D. He performed reconstruction surgeries on her knees that she says changed her life. “I never thought that I could do the things that I can do now, but after my last surgeries, I was miraculously fine,” she says.

Divya’s journey inspired We Are More. “I wanted to show that kids who go to Scottish Rite can still do cool things, that we are more than our disabilities.” The Association of Fundraising Professionals of Greater Dallas has recognized Divya with the 2023 Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy award. “We are so extremely proud of Divya,” says Stephanie Brigger, vice president of Development. “She has touched the hearts of so many people and contributed so much to Scottish Rite.”

Now, Divya is applying to medical school to become a doctor. She feels that her experience at Scottish Rite will position her to do more advocacy in the field. “Scottish Rite gives families hope,” Divya says, “not only because their kids receive the utmost care, but also because they don’t have to worry about whether they can afford it. There’s no other place like it!”

Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia

Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia

by | Oct 3, 2023 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders, General News

What is Take Flight? Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia is a curriculum written by the staff of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children. Take Flight builds on the success of the three previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by the institution: Alphabetic Phonics, the Dyslexia Training Program and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Literacy Program. The curriculum was designed for use by dyslexia therapists with children ages 7 years and older who have developmental dyslexia. The purpose was to enable students with dyslexia to achieve and maintain better word recognition, reading fluency, reading comprehension and aid in the transition from a therapy setting to ‘real world’ learning. How is Take Flight Implemented? Take Flight is designed for small group instruction (two to six students) for a minimum of 45 minutes per day, five days each week. Alternatively, the lessons can be taught for 60 minutes each day for four days a week. Take Flight includes 132 new learning days and 98 application days for a total of 230 days of direct instruction. What is included in the Take Flight Program for Students? Take Flight contains the five components of effective reading instruction supported by the National Reading Panel research meta-analysis and mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and reading comprehension. With Take Flight, students will learn all 44 sounds of the English language, 96 letter – sound correspondence rules and 87 affixes. The student will also learn spelling rules for base words and derivatives. Practice opportunities are also provided that are designed to improve oral reading fluency. Finally, Take Flight introduces comprehension and vocabulary building strategies for both narrative and expository text in the context of oral reading exercises to prepare students for successful, independent reading. Key research findings on Take Flight include:
  • Students who complete Take Flight instruction show significant growth in all areas of reading skill.
  • Follow-up research with children who completed treatment indicates that students maintain the benefits of instruction on word reading skills and continue to improve in reading comprehension.
  • Take Flight is effective when used in schools by therapists with advanced training in remediation of students with dyslexia.
  • Students with the lowest reading skills acquire the strongest gains from Take Flight instruction.
There are 109 instructors that teach Take Flight to other dyslexia therapists representing 24 training courses. Because of this work with instructors and therapists, Take Flight is servicing children in 46 states and nine countries. Our team is now reaching more than 20,000 new students with dyslexia each year. Scottish Rite for Children also offers other supplemental programs:
  • Rite Flight: A Classroom Reading Rate Program was designed for use by classroom teachers, reading specialists and special education teachers with first through eighth grade students to help students increase their reading rate and fluency. It can be used as supplemental or intervention instruction for individuals, small groups or the whole classroom.
  • Rite Flight: A Classroom Comprehension Program may be integrated into a core reading program as a supplement to address reading comprehension more completely. It is designed for use by classroom teachers, reading specialists or special education teachers with first through eighth grade students as a tool for intensified comprehension intervention for struggling readers.
  • Build: A K-1 Early Reading Intervention is a 100-lesson reading intervention.  Build is a small group intervention that addresses the five specific components of reading intervention. Each component is taught developmentally using a direct, systematic, cumulative, multisensory method of introduction and practice to meet the specific needs of kindergarten and first grade students struggling in reading.
  • Bridges: A Dyslexia Intervention Connecting Teacher, Avatar & Student is a two-year curriculum that can be taught by a certified teacher. The avatar, Ms. Hallie, co-teaches by delivering the more complex aspects of the structured dyslexia intervention. Those familiar with Take Flight know that it was designed for use by academic language therapists. Developing that expertise is a two-year process, and at times, that can become a discrepancy between the number of students identified with dyslexia and the number of trained therapists available to provide services. Bridges is the carefully considered response to the complication.
  • Jet: A Fast-Paced Reading Intervention is a one-year curriculum that builds on the success of the four previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by the staff of Scottish Rite for Children. It was developed for individuals with dyslexia fourteen years and older.
Learn more about the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders.
Individualized Care for ACL injuries

Individualized Care for ACL injuries

by | Sep 27, 2023 | Sports Medicine

The experts at our Center for Excellence in Sports Medicine see hundreds of young athletes for the treatment of knee and anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, injuries every year. Our multidisciplinary team knows working together to tackle every angle of an ACL injury – from diagnosis using imaging techniques, surgical reconstruction with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon to rehabilitation in physical therapy and even checking in with a pediatric psychologist – will give our active and growing patients the best outcomes.

ACL injuries are on the rise. According to the National Institutes of Health, in the United States alone, approximately 100,000 to 200,000 experience an ACL tear or sprain every year. While ACL injuries may be treated nonoperatively in some cases, reconstruction is typically the treatment method for those with higher levels of activity such as young athletes. After surgical reconstruction, a careful plan for recovery and return-to-play is followed, involving the patient, surgeon and physical therapist. Since secondary ACL tears are a big concern, the recovery process takes nine to 12 months or more before an athlete can get back to their sport at their previous level.

Recently, our sports medicine experts and pediatric orthopedic surgeons Henry B. Ellis, M.D., and Philip L. Wilson, M.D., helped author a study looking at how young athletes in different sports recovered from their ACL injury and reconstruction. In the study, findings showed that young athletes, especially females, demonstrated sport-specific differences in functional testing scores. They also found that soccer players were cleared to return to play sooner than football players and that the level of competition influenced functional testing scores in all athletes. These results point to a clear need for individualized treatment and recovery for ACL injuries.

For our sports medicine experts, this study validates efforts that customize ACL treatment and recovery for each athlete. Our sports medicine team continues to conduct research to improve the treatment strategies, recovery timelines and patient outcomes. Additionally, our experts actively share what they learn about ACL treatment and recovery with others in the medical and sports fields to help update the standards of care for young athletes everywhere.

Learn more about our Center for Excellence in Sports Medicine.