This page serves as a resource for helping districts serving a student who has suffered a brain injury.
Green Hills AEA provides services to students who have suffered a brain injury due to trauma, childhood cancer & subsequent treatment, infections, concussion, stroke, seizure, or non-accidental brain trauma. Services may begin with the transition back to school following an injury or illness. Other services may include onsite observation and provision of strategies to assist learning, memory, and behavior.
Iowa Concussion Management Protocol - REAP
REAP stands for Reduce/Remove, Educate, Adjust/Accommodate, Pace. It is a program developed by Karen McAvoy, PsyD as the result of a Colorado high school student athlete's death from Second Impact Syndrome (a second concussion before complete recovery from the first). It is a nationally recognized, systematic approach to concussion management for the time of injury through return to learn and play. Family team, medical team, school academic team, and school physical team roles are clearly defined. Work is currently underway for Iowa to adopt this program for concussion management.
Educator Resources
General Resources
Resources are available to educators through GHAEA Medianet or through your Green Hills AEA Special Education Representative or Field Director.
- Academic and Symptom Monitoring
- Concussions in Elementary vs. High School
- Concussion Symptom Wheel
- Extra-Curricular Participation After Concussion
- Fading Academic Post-Concussion Supports
- Handling Finals & Semester Grades for Students with Concussions
- How A Concussion Feels
- Inefficient Brain Cells - The Tree Analogy
- Post-Concussion Mental Fatigue in the Classroom
- Processing Speed Empathy Exercise
- Red Flags for School Nurses
- Response to Management (RTM) & Response to Intervention (RTI)
- Rest & Sleep Hygiene After Concussions
- Teenage Drivers & Concussions
- What to Do About Missed Instruction
- What to Do About Tests
- What to Do About Work Output - In-Class & Homework
Concussions & 504 Plans
For more information about 504 plans, please visit our Section 504 page.
- How to Write a 504 Plan
- What a 504 Plan is NOT
- When to Write a 504 Plan (Part 1)
- When to Write a 504 Plan (Part 2)
Strategies and Interventions
- Acquired Brain Injury - Ontario Teachers’ Federation
- Instructional Strategy For Elementary Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Instructional Strategy for Secondary Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Interventions for students with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)
- Strategies & Interventions for Executive Function Dysfunction in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Traumatic Brain Injury Meets Response To Intervention (RTI)
Additional Supports and Resources
When Might You Consider Additional Supports and Resources?
A student may consider additional support and resources when any of the following events occur:
- Trauma that causes either an open or closed head injury
- Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) or stroke
- Brain tumor or other childhood cancer
- Infection such as encephalitis or meningitis
- Non-accidental brain trauma
- A concussion that does not resolve in the expected amount of time
Additional Resources
- Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa
- Brain Injury Association of America
- CDC Injury Prevention & Control: Traumatic Brain Injury
- Centre for Neuro Skills
- Colorado Kids Brain Injury Resource Network
- Get a Heads Up on Concussion - CDC Site for Parents
- Get Schooled on Concussions
- Recovering from Mild to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury