Each year, over 4,000 of Pennsylvania’s children survive traumatic brain injuries significant enough to require hospitalization. Many of these children are left with life-altering difficulties in physical, cognitive or behavioral functioning.
The Chester County BrainSTEPS Consulting Team, which is working with a reentry program to educate those who provide educational support to children with brain injury, is sponsoring a public awareness event – “Concussion 101: For Families, Professionals and Our Community” – on Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m.
The keynote speaker will be Chris Nowinski, the co-founder and executive director of the Sports Legacy Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis. A former Harvard football player and WWE professional wrestler, Nowinski was forced to retire after a series of concussions.
His challenging recovery from post-concussion syndrome led him to write the book Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, published in 2006, and updated in 2012, an effort to educate parents, coaches, and children about this previously hidden public health issue.
Nowinski co-directs the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, serves on the National Football League Players Association Mackey/White TBI Research Committee, and the board of directors of the Brain Injury Association of America. He was also a 2011 Eisenhower Fellow.
The presentation will include information on the causes and consequences of concussions and the long-term impact of repeated injury.
The free program will be held at the Brandywine Campus of the Chester County Intermediate Unit’s Technical College High. Participants should enter at the cafeteria – Entrance B. The school is located at 455 Boot Rd., Downingtown, Pa., 19335.
Light refreshments will be available. Attendees are asked to RSVP in advance at www.cciu.org/Concussion10.
