Acquired Brain Injury Program & Concussion Services

The Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Team at KidsInclusive provides multidisciplinary assessment, consultation and treatment/intervention for children and youth aged one month to 18 years (or leaving high school) who have experienced an acquired brain injury. This service is recognized as the Southeastern Ontario Pediatric Brain Injury Program. The team will see children/youth with conditions such as: traumatic brain injuries, infections of the brain, stroke, brain tumours, history of chemotherapy/radiation, multiple concussions and post concussion syndrome. In keeping with recent research, post concussion syndrome will be defined as a mild traumatic brain injury with symptoms persisting 1 month post injury.

Together with the family, the ABI Team will assess the child to identify changes or emerging problems with issues such as; fatigue, headaches, physical function, sleep, attention, memory, learning, language, or organization. Appropriate intervention can then be determined and may include direct treatment or recommendations for adapting home and school environments. The ABI team provides support and education to the family and consultation with the child’s school or daycare.

Concussion Services

For acute referrals, our team will attempt to do an initial triage within 2 weeks of the referral. This triage will be performed by a physiotherapist or occupational therapist, along with a social worker. The purpose of the triage will be to gather a history of the most recent concussion and any previous concussions, perform a brief assessment using the SCAT-3 (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool) and to provide education and resources to the client and family. From this triage it will be determined, which members of the team need to see the client and a plan will be established.

Our team follows the Guidelines for Diagnosing and Managing Pediatric Concussion which can be found at: