EVERY Member of Every Team is Important!

Each team has an important role during different parts of the recovery process.

First: The School Team (coach, athletic trainer, playground supervisor) and/or the Family Team (parent) play a very important role at the start. They may be the first to notice the signs of a concussion and remove the student from play right away.

Second: The Healthcare Provider (HCP) Team has the important job of diagnosing the concussion and making sure there is not a more urgent medical problem.

Third: For the next 1 to 4 weeks, the Family Team (FT) and the School Academic Team (ST/A) do most of the management. They help by reducing activities at home, socially, and at school so the brain can rest and heal.

Fourth: When all four teams agree that the student is fully back to normal, the HCP Team can approve the step-by-step Return to Play/Sport (RTP/S) process at Step 4 (per the 2022 Amsterdam Guidelines).

Finally: After the student finishes all the RTP/S steps successfully, the HCP Team gives final clearance for full return to sports.

Throughout this book, the terms Return to School, Return to Learn, Return to Activity and Return to Sport are used distinctly and intentionally. However, because they all start with the words “Return to …”, there is much confusion. These definitions will help:

Return to School - This means the student is physically back at school — "seat in a seat." The parent usually helps decide each day if the child should go to school, often with advice from a healthcare provider (HCP). Symptoms will be there when the student returns to school but the student should be able to handle their symptoms well enough to sit in class, listen, and learn. See ADJUST/ACCOMMODATE.

Return to Learn (RTL) - This is the skill teachers have to help a student keep learning after a concussion without making symptoms worse. Teachers adjust schoolwork and classroom demands to fit the student’s needs. Their goal is to support learning while helping the brain heal. See ADJUST/ACCOMMODATE.

Return to Activity - This means slowly adding light physical and thinking activities in while the student is still recovering. Starting gentle activity early — without making symptoms worse — can actually help recovery. The increase in activity should be slow, safe, and closely supervised (Graduated Return to Play/Sports [i.e. GRTP/S] Steps 1, 2a, 2b and 3). Harder physical activity (i.e. GRTP/S Steps 4, 5 & 6) can only begin after symptoms are completely gone and are "approved" by a HCP to start.

Graduated Return to Sport/Play (GRTP/S) - This is a step-by-step plan to help athletes safely return to sports based upon the 2022 Amsterdam Guidelines. See PACE.

An “Interdisciplinary Team” = a group of adults who work together to support a student or athlete. They each share different points of view and use different types of information to check how well the student or athlete is recovering.

Who will be on the Family Team (FT)? Who from the family will watch, monitor and track the emotional and sleep/energy symptoms of the concussion and how will the Family Team communicate with the School and Medical Teams?

Who will be on the School Team/ Physical (ST/P)? Who at the school will watch, monitor and track the physical symptoms of the concussion? Who is the ST/P Point Person?

Who will be on the School Team/Academic (ST/A)? Who at the school will watch, monitor and track the academic and emotional effects of the concussion? Who is the ST/A Point Person?

Who will be on the Healthcare Provider Team (HCP/T)? How will the HCP/T get information from all of the other teams and who on the HCP/T will be responsible for coordinating data and updates from the other teams?