An Academic Injury

It is great to see a discussion of the social and academic changes following concussion, as found in Brown's newspaper:

Much as they would like to, they cannot treat concussions - the most common prescription is a healthy dose of rest. In time, patients recover on their own. But the meantime can be stressful for collegiate athletes in ways that have no relation to school or sport.

(One student) recalls his injury changing all aspects of his lifestyle - athletic, academic and social.

"I didn't watch TV without my sunglasses on for a month," he says. "You wouldn't believe how it affects your social life."

...one of the harshest symptoms of his concussion was a social awkwardness that accompanied him wherever he went. "It's something that not too many people around you understand," he says. "You don't walk around with a sign up saying, 'I'm concussed.'"

...an injury - especially one as private as a concussion - could intensify the already-demanding pressures of Brown's academic and social environment.

"I think they affect academics not only in terms of material retained, but there is a very real concern that any injury makes you feel very self-conscious, especially within the academic milieu of Brown. You worry you're going to appear dumber than everyone else," she says. "Many injuries are visual - someone's got a cast, someone's got an ice pack - and we have a certain amount of sympathy. But when you have an injury like a concussion, and it isn't necessarily explained to everyone, I think that itself becomes an embarrassment and a frustration."