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What is a concussion?
A concussion is a brain injury that cannot be seen on routine X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs. It affects the way a child may think and remember things, and can cause a variety of symptoms.
What causes a concussion?
Any blow to the head, face or neck, or a blow to the body which causes a sudden jarring of the head may cause a concussion (e.g., a ball to the head, colliding with another person).
What should I do if I suspect my child has a concussion?
In all suspected cases of concussion, your child should stop the activity right away. Continuing increases their risk of more severe, longer-lasting concussion symptoms, as well as increases their risk of other injury.
Copyright © Parachute
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For more details about concussion symptoms and guidance download a copy of Parachute's Concussion Guide for Parents and Caregivers:
Less than 20 per cent of reported bicycle injuries involve collisions with cars. Most occur in falls, or as a result of riders losing control. A bad fall can result from a skid, catching a wheel in a crack or even getting a shoelace caught in the chain.
In a spill, the forehead usually hits the ground first. Head injuries cause most bicycle-related deaths and can result in serious injury such as brain damage. Up to 88 per cent of serious head injuries could be prevented by wearing a helmet.
It is critical for you and your children to wear a bike helmet that fits properly and is certified by CSA International
Insist that your children always wear a helmet when riding. (It goes without saying that parents must set an example by always wearing theirs when cycling)
Remember, a helmet only works when you wear it!
Source: Canada Safety Council
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What are the rules?
Download and print a copy of Parachute's Facts and Myths about Helmet Legislation:
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Being proactive about brain health is something we can all do. Protecting your head is an important piece of the puzzle in reducing your risk for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers have found that people who have experienced brain injuries, especially repeated concussions have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Protecting your head at every age makes more sense than ever.
Young people are at a greater risk for head traumas that can affect their brain health in the future. It is important to wear a helmet during activities like:
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But how to you choose the best helmet?
No matter your age, download and print a copy of Parachute's "Which Helmet for Which Activity?" to guide your choice of helmet based on what activity you will be doing.
Less than 20 per cent of reported bicycle injuries involve collisions with cars. Most occur in falls, or as a result of riders losing control. A bad fall can result from a skid, catching a wheel in a crack or even getting a shoelace caught in the chain.
In a spill, the forehead usually hits the ground first. Head injuries cause most bicycle-related deaths and can result in serious injury such as brain damage. Up to 88 per cent of serious head injuries could be prevented by wearing a helmet.
It is critical for you and your children to wear a bike helmet that fits properly and is certified by CSA International
Insist that your children always wear a helmet when riding. (It goes without saying that parents must set an example by always wearing theirs when cycling)
Remember, a helmet only works when you wear it!
When choosing a helmet:
A trained salesperson will help you ensure the fit is right.
Source: Canada Safety Council
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Copyright © Parachute
As the Canadian population ages, injury and death from falls are on the rise. And a serious head injury -with loss of consciousness, is associated with a higher risk of developing dementia.
Here are few recommendations for proactively preventing falls in your home:
Although we are all at risk for head injuries, young people tend to suffer more head traumas. Therefore, it is important to protect your head, at any age, for lifelong brain health.
Here are some important tips:
Note: Your abilities, health and interests should be taken into consideration when choosing brain healthy activities. If you have questions about your own situation, speak to your doctor or health care provider.
Source: Alzheimer Society of Canada
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Check out this video for more tips about protecting your head:
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Step 1: Pull up the video you want the transcript of on the YouTube app.
Step 2: Click on the arrow next to the description to bring up the video details.
Step 3: Scroll down and click 'Show Transcript.'
Being proactive about brain health is something we can all do. Protecting your head is an important piece of the puzzle in reducing your risk for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers have found that people who have experienced brain injuries, especially repeated concussions have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
Protecting your head at every age makes more sense than ever.
Young people are at a greater risk for head traumas that can affect their brain health in the future. It is important to wear a helmet during activities like:
For older people or a person living with dementia taking care to avoid a fall is key. Most head injuries in older people are caused by falls. Try...
Wearing a seatbelt is important at any age and exercising is a great way to improve your strength and balance which could also help avoid a fall.
Research has made it clear how important it is to protect your head no matter your age for lifelong brain health. Consider sharing this information with friends and family and take some time to think about steps you could take in your home to avoid a fall.
Source: Alzheimer Society of Canada
,
Check out this video for more tips about protecting your head:
,
Step 1: Pull up the video you want the transcript of on the YouTube app.
Step 2: Click on the arrow next to the description to bring up the video details.
Step 3: Scroll down and click 'Show Transcript.
Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide is designed to help us make wise food choices by translating the science of healthy eating into a practical pattern of food choices that meet our need for nutrients, promote health and minimize the risk of nutrition-related diseases.
Learning more about Canada's Food Guide will help you and your family know how much food you need, what types of foods are better for you, and the importance of physical activity in your day.
Having the amount and type of food recommended and following the tips included in Canada's Food Guide will help:
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Click on this image to download and print a copy of Canada's Food Guide.
Canada's Food Guide is also available in a number of formats and 10 additional languages. Click here to see more.
Source: Health Canada
What questions do you have from the information you've received in this program?
Joint our Client Services team for either a virtual (online) discussion or attend one of our in person First Link Connection sessions. Dates are available from the Client Services Team.
Alternatively, carry on the conversation today by joining the online discussions at Dementia Talk.
If you are unable to attend one of our virtual or in person First Link Connection sessions, you can also clickhereto access the Dementia Talk. In this forum you will be connected with other members of the dementia community who will be able to share their experiences and possibly answer your questions.
Clicking on this link will take you to a new window in your internet browser. To return to the HelpForDementia you will need to return to this tab in your internet browser.
We hope our analogy of brain function as a highway system has been helpful to you.
If you'd like to watch the explainer video again from beginning to end or are doing so for the first time, please feel free to pause it whenever you need and jot down any questions that arise.
Our Client Services team invite you to join them at a virtual or in person First Link Connection session to discuss the information shared in this short program.
Please ensure you have the sound on when watching this video to benefit from the full experience, or alternatively review the transcript below.
Introduction
It may be helpful to imagine the brain of a person without dementia as a solid stable highway system just like the one illustrated here.
Travelling around this highway system are couriers that deliver and retrieve information to and from different areas of the brain
Think of the area responsible for thought as the control center. Couriers are dispatched from here to retrieve and deliver the information required.
One of the areas the couriers visit is the short term memory. The short term memory holds small amounts of information recently received. Imagine that the information is held in a small filing cabinet in the short term memory.
Next, let’s consider long term memory. Long term memory is stored in a different location of the brain than short term memory. Think of long term memory as a large room with many big filing cabinets.
Let’s assume these large filing cabinets store ten years of memories. The courier will go to the filing cabinet where the memory is stored to retrieve the information needed. For example, if we are asked “Where did you go to high school and when?” , the courier will go to the filing cabinet that holds the memories for that period of time in our life.
Let’s now consider how the brain handles reasoning.
Reasoning is the process we go through to answer questions or complete tasks. We all reason differently.
We’re going to explore three types of reasoning questions or tasks.
Firstly, opinion questions. Opinion questions take more than just memory. They require reasoning; the brain’s ability to put multiple ideas together, weigh the consequences and make a decision. It can be as simple as being asked your opinion about how you feel about something.
For example “how do you feel about online banking?” Whether you like online banking because you think it’s convenient and saves time, or you don’t like online banking because you think it’s not secure or it’s confusing, there is no right or wrong answer.
Next, let’s consider processing questions and tasks such as activities of daily living. For example, “How do you make a pot of coffee?” Would you agree that the answer can be broken into maybe five steps? This type of question would result in more or less the same answer for most people.
However, higher level processing questions or tasks are more complex. They require more thought and reasoning than a simple processing question, and take more time to come to an answer. For example, “how would you downsize the contents of a house into a two bedroom condo?” This takes longer to figure out. It’s likely that if we were all asked this question, our answers would be very different. Someone might say they would make a list first, someone else might say that they would pick a room and start sorting. Complex questions and tasks like these require much greater reasoning abilities.
We should also point out that, so far, we have only been discussing questions that require a verbal response so all these questions have gone to the communication area of the brain.
Because we have only asked verbal response questions the courier has travelled to communication where the answer is delivered. Instead of a verbal response question, if we asked someone to show us how they would scratch their back, they first have to use their reasoning abilities and then send messages to their arms so they can show they would lift one arm over their head, bend it at the elbow and place their hand on their back.
So that is how a brain without dementia works: couriers are dispatched from the thought center and drive back and forth along the highways delivering and retrieving information to and from different areas of the brain.
Introduction
Now, let’s talk about the brain of a person who is living with dementia and consider once again the idea that the brain can be represented as a highway system.
In this situation there is an eighteen wheel truck carrying a big load of boxes traveling down the highway to short term memory. This is where we first begin to see glitches in the memory. Think about that smooth solid highway. At some point a large crack has developed causing the truck to drop a couple of boxes off the truck. Eventually that crack develops into a large gap leaving all those boxes behind. The solid highway to short term memory is gone. This is when carers may need to develop strategies to compensate and more effectively communicate with persons living with dementia.
It is important to note that treatments such as Reminyl, Exelon, Aricept, Donepezil and Ebixaact act like a snow plow or a grader, pushing the boxes off the road, keeping the road clear. Although there is no cure for the disease, these treatments may reduce the symptoms.
However, as time goes on, boxes continue to fall along the highway and even the snowplows can’t keep it clear.
Boxes build up first on the road to the short term memory. The road eventually becomes blocked and the courier will no longer be able to retrieve the information required. This is what is happening when a person with dementia says “I don’t know” or “I can’t remember”
By comparison, when boxes start falling in long term memory, the boxes will fall in front of the most recent memories first. In this case, they will fall in front of the 2020 filing cabinet, meaning someone with dementia will struggle with the most recent long term memory files first. They might not recall who visited last summer. As the disease progresses and more boxes start to fall, then getting information from the 2000’s, 90’s, 80’s, etc… will be a struggle.
We should also point out that the road to short term memory does not fill up with boxes before they also start to fall elsewhere. In order to get a diagnosis of dementia the boxes must fall in at least two areas of the brain. We are going to discuss some of these areas now. This is not necessarily the order that the disease progresses, everyone experiences the disease differently.
Reasoning
When we consider the brain of a person living with dementia and how it handles reasoning, and in particular, opinion questions, we note that people have typically held their opinions for a long time and so these questions are helpful as they are more connected to long term memories where there are less boxes on the highway!
What people with this disease tell us is that once there was a diagnosis, people stopped asking their opinions. Why do we ask someone’s opinion? We ask because we value what someone has to say. People with this disease need to feel valued.
If we consider a processing question or task such as the steps required to make a cup of coffee, people will often say there are around five steps. But there are actually around fifty steps. You need to go find the kitchen, know where the coffee is kept, how much coffee to put in, how many filters to use, etc. and so on.
The brain of a person without dementia goes through these steps so fast we don’t even realize how many are involved.
Think of another activity of daily living. Each time the person with the disease must go through fifty steps.
Sometimes the person with the disease will get stuck on a step. And our instinct may be to jump in and do it for them. Don’t take that task away from them. If the person with the disease gets stuck on a step, help them through that particular step. It doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t do the task.
However, if the disease has progressed to the point where the person living with dementia is struggling with all of the steps that go into activities of daily living like making a cup of coffee, or brushing teeth, we believe it isn’t fair to ask them higher level reasoning questions or expect them to engage in complex tasks or questions such as downsizing their home or managing their investments. Care partners may therefore need to assist with the higher level questions and tasks before assisting with the activities of daily living to avoid the person living with dementia feeling frustrated or inadequate.
So what types of questions should we be asking to help communicate more effectively with persons living with dementia?
Firstly, consider the types of questions you are asking; open-ended questions such as “where do you want to go for dinner?” can be overwhelming for a person living with dementia.
Try giving them two choices: “Do you want to go to Swiss Chalet or Denny’s?”
If you notice the person with the disease always chooses the last option you gave, try moving instead to closed, yes or no type questions.
If there are lots of conversations going on at once, the person with the disease may be overwhelmed or not be able to follow. Try and have a ‘one on one’ conversation with them so they can follow and participate.
As boxes build up on the highway to and from the communication area of the brain, the person living with dementia will have difficulty finding the right words. We can help them fill in the words, if we know what they are trying to say.
Or, redirect the conversation; “Oh, I’ve had such a long day, let’s go have a cup of tea and worry about that later”. Put the focus on you, not on the person living with the disease.
Be careful of your use of pronouns; he/she/we/they. The person living with dementia may not recall who ‘she’ is. Use people’s names when bringing them into your conversation.
What if I told you that there is an area of the brain that doesn’t have a highway? This area is called the emotional memory.
Emotional memory is part of a person until the end of life. The person living with dementia may not remember your name or how you connect with them but they will know how you make them feel. It is important to know even a small act like putting lotion on a hand or holding a hand for a moment provides an emotional connection. We therefore encourage care partners to use the senses: taste, touch, sound, sight and smell to be able to engage with the person living with dementia.
There are lots of other areas of the brain that we have not discussed in this short program such as awareness of time, physical movement, and more. More information about these can be accessed via our Client Services team or on the ASANT Café.
In conclusion, for most experiences of dementia the disease starts in short term memory and moves to other areas over time. Returning to our highway system, this is represented in the early stage with those few boxes in a few areas, in the middle stage more boxes in more areas and in late stage dementia lots of boxes in lots of areas.
