Date of Award

Spring 2020

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Major

Neuroscience

First Advisor

Sarah Raskin

Second Advisor

Molly Helt

Abstract

Return-to-learn protocols after concussion have received less attention than return-to-play protocols. Return-to-learn protocols are step by step guidelines for students and teachers to help ease concussed students back into their academic work. At Trinity College, faculty are given information on common effects of concussion and suggested academic accommodations. This study aimed to assess the entire return-to-learn protocol currently in place at Trinity College, with a specific focus on how well known the program is to students and how helpful they have found it, in an attempt to ascertain what aspects of the protocol work well and what could be improved. Faculty were surveyed to gain their input on how the protocol has worked and how cumbersome it was for them; and coaches were surveyed to assess if they had any role in helping their athletes return to the classroom as well as the playing field. Students who have been concussed were also given a series of cognitive measures to determine if particular cognitive profiles led to greater difficulty returning to the classroom. A majority of surveyed students and approximately half of the faculty and coaches were unfamiliar with the protocol. A deficit in executive function was found to correlate with current concussive symptoms. Severity of current concussive symptoms was found to correlate with severity of depressive symptoms. The results of this study suggest that the Trinity College community needs to be better educated on the return-to-learn protocol, extra care should be taken to account for potential rises in depressive conditions of concussed students, and accommodations for executive functions should be regularly provided.

Comments

Senior thesis completed at Trinity College Hartford, CT for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience.

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