New guide helps kids deal with concussions

Parents, one thing you want to keep on your radar with fall sports underway is the risk of concussions.

Recovering from one requires a team effort from parents, coaches, and teachers.

As classes get underway, 14-year old Tyler Casto is hoping things go a bit more smoothly than last year.

A snowboarding accident left him with a concussion. His mom Liz Casto had no idea what recovery would mean for her son.

"I had no idea. I had no idea that he would miss so much, so many sports and so much of school. It was a month of school work we had to make up," says Casto.

Many teachers are surprised the effects of a concussion can linger for weeks.

But it's in the classroom that some feel a team approach to helping these kids can be most effective.

Steevie Carzoo a certified athletic trainer with Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio says, "The doctor's the expert in the medical side of things, but the educators are the ones who can really take the reigns on this and really, really help get the student through this really rough time."

To help them do that, Carzoo and a team of concussion specialists developed one of the first and most comprehensive concussion toolkits out there.

It not only has information for parents and coaches, but also for teachers and even school administrators.

Carzoo says, "We realize every school has different resources. So, it helps assign roles to each of the members in this process and what their responsibilities are."

Teachers for example can help identify symptoms day to day, counselors can help make accommodations for the students to help them cope, and administrators can communicate between families and school staff to chart a child's progress.

If your child suffers a concussion, be sure to let their school know immediately and monitor their symptoms closely.