Managing the Transition from Concussion to Return to Learn in Postsecondary Education - Strategies Based on Principles of UDL

Oct 15, 2026

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Concussion produces physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related symptoms that disrupt learning in postsecondary students. The Return-to-Learn protocol is established for younger learners, but postsecondary implementation is challenging because colleges lack comparable monitoring resources through campus wellness services. The paper examines recovery challenges for students and describes instructor-facing accommodation ideas, including structured symptom monitoring and options such as medical certificates, incomplete grading extensions, and policy alternatives to support course completion.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Concussion impacts and limits of standard imaging

Return-to-Learn challenges in postsecondary settings

Instructor accommodation responsibilities

Strategies for postsecondary return to learning

Monitoring and medical certificate protocol

Grading and course withdrawal options

Gradual return to activity and academic stressors

Executive function demands and anxiety

Managing the Transition from Concussion to Return to Learn in Postsecondary Education: Strategies Based on Principles of UDL Gail Frost & Maureen Connolly Brock University Concussion is a functional brain injury that can produce physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related symptoms that impede student learning. The Return-to-Learn protocol is effective for elementary and high school-aged students, but it is difficult to implement in a postsecondary setting as it requires a level of monitoring not generally available through college or university student wellness centres. As a result, course instructors are often given the task of providing accommodations to help students recovering from concussion. This paper discusses the challenges facing the postsecondary student recovering from concussion and provides accommodation ideas and examples that instructors may find helpful. Les commotions cérébrales sont des lésions fonctionnelles au cerveau qui peuvent provoquer des symptômes physiques, cognitifs et émotionnels ainsi que des troubles du sommeil qui ontdes répercussionssur l'apprentissage de l'étudiant. Le protocole de reprise des études est efficace pour les étudiants duprimaire et du secondaire, mais, comme il nécessite un certain degré de surveillance qui n'est pas communément offert dans les centres de bien- être étudiants collégiaux ou universitaires, sa mise en œuvre en contexte postsecondaire est ardue. Par conséquent, on demandesouvent aux enseignants de mettreen place des mesures d'adaptation pour aider les étudiants qui se remettent d'une commotion cérébrale. Cet article traite des difficultés auxquelles sont confrontés les étudiants qui se remettent d'une commotion. Il comprend des idées de mesures d'adaptation et des exemples que les enseignants pourraient trouver utiles. Concussion is a traumatic brain injury induced by biomechanical forces that can produce physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related symptoms. These symptoms may appear immediately or several hours, or days, after the injurycausing incident. Because concussion is a disturbance in brain function, rather than damage to brain structure, it is not identifiable using standard imaging techniques such as X-ray, MRI or CT scan. Diagnosis and management rely heavily on monitoring injury symptoms and how they change. In many cases, these symptoms may resolve within two weeks for adults, but recovery has been shown to take longer in children and adolescents (Crowe et al., 2016; Purcell et al., 2016). Research examining concussion recovery in young adults (i.e. 18-22 years) is limited (Zuckerman et al., 2012). Current best practices for identifying and managing concussion are reported after each meeting of the International Conference on Concussion in Sport (McCrory et al., 2017) and suggest that a large majority of athletes recover clinically within one month of injury. The reported incidence of concussion is rising and we are seeing more students in our post-secondary classes who have sustained this injury, some of whom are still dealing with symptoms. The 6-step Return-to-Learn protocol (Parachute, 2016) works well to manage the return to the classroom for elementary and high school-aged students; however, it is difficult to implement in a postsecondary setting, as it requires individual management, gradual resumption of schoolwork andreintegration into classes, and potentially extensive modifications in workload and assessment (McGrath, 2010) . While some of these services may be available to college or university students through campus wellness centres, often these centres are limited to assisting cases of documented chronic or permanent disability, leaving individual course instructors with the responsibility for helping students with acute concussion symptoms that will resolve in a relatively short period. At our institution, Student Health Services (SHS), the Athletic Therapy Clinic and interested faculty created a Concussion Me

FAQs

Why is Return-to-Learn difficult to implement in postsecondary education?

It requires a monitoring level generally not available through college or university student wellness centres, so instructors are often tasked with providing accommodations.

How does symptom monitoring influence concussion diagnosis and management?

Because concussion is a functional disturbance rather than structural damage, diagnosis relies heavily on monitoring symptoms and their changes over time.

What accommodation supports are described for instructors in the paper?

The paper discusses a Concussion Medical Certificate protocol that provides diagnosis and return-to-class information, a monitoring plan, general accommodation suggestions, and grading/course options such as an extended “Incomplete” period or back-dated withdrawal.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jay