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What happens next

If symptoms persist following a bump to the head, our symptom tracker can be used six weeks after the injury.

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Most children will recover well after a concussion, but symptoms can persist for a few weeks. It might be helpful to monitor your child's symptoms over the early weeks, noting any different behaviours and referring back to our information, such as the Guidelines on returning to school (or college/nursery/pre-school) & activity

If you notice things aren't quite right for your child or have ongoing concerns, you might find it helpful to use this symptom tracker about six weeks after the injury. 

If you require further support over this six-week period, you can contact your GP and the Brain Injury Community Service. 

When the doctor said our daughter had suffered a concussion, we were sent home with the advice of keeping an eye on her. We weren’t too worried, to be honest. Everyone has heard of concussion and we didn’t think it was too serious.

"But she really struggled to get back to her normal self, playing with her brothers and doing homework. She couldn’t concentrate and got tired very easily. It was then that we realised the full impact the concussion had on her. It took a lot of rest and several calls and visits to the GP for support and advice for her to fully recover." 

Our symptom tracker has been designed to pick up common difficulties your child may have (but this is not to say that they will).  

Please check the symptoms based on relevance to your child’s age. Should any of your child’s symptoms persist longer than six weeks, please contact us. We will be happy to work with you further to identify areas of need and provide more specific support, as required. 

Head injury symptom tracker – child aged 0-5 years

Children under 5 years

This checker is aimed at children between 0-5 years old who have sustained some form of head injury. You can also download a printable version here. 

The term mild head injury will be used if your child has had an accident where their head has been moved or hit with force. The term concussion is used if there is a sudden but short-lived loss of mental function following an accident – it is the most common but least serious type of brain injury (see the NHS concussion information too). 

There will be examples here that may not apply to your child as they have not reached that stage in their development. Please check the symptoms below that your child may be experiencing, based on changes since the head injury eg they may be more irritable, they used to talk in sentences and are now much quieter, or they used to sleep all night and now wake up several times.  

If your child is under five years of age and you have new concerns about his/her development, please also contact your health visitor. The NHS provides helpful guidance about typical baby development.  

Please check the symptoms below that your child may be experiencing, based on changes since the head injury.

If you have noticed changes that are not listed that concern you, please do not hesitate to contact us. This should be a change from what your baby or child was doing before their head injury ie a loss of a skill that they had before their injury.

    Physical 

  • Sleeping pattern: Difficulty getting off to sleep, staying asleep, sleeping more/less. 
  • Movement: Difficulty sitting up, rolling, pulling self up, holding and playing with objects. 
  • Mobility: Losing balance, bumping into things, not crawling as much.
  • Appetite: Always hungry and never full, not eating as much, don’t eat or drink like they did before. 
  • Energy levels: More tired than usual, having more rests at home, finding it hard to get through their days without rests or naps. 
  • Sensory disturbance: Not coping in busy environments, change to hearing, vision, smell, taste or touch. 

    Thinking skills, communication and interaction 

  • Early interaction: Not responding to your voice, looking at you, making noises, babbling.
  • Attention/concentration: Finding it hard to focus at home/school, flitting from one thing to another, not able to sit and watch TV programmes or stay focused on school/play. 
  • Talking: No longer joining two or more words together, taking an interest in words, talking more or less than before (over 2-3 years). 
  • Understanding language: Not responding to name, following instructions, answering questions, looking at person talking.  
  • Reading/writing at a different level: Changes noticed in school (only applicable to 4-5 years).  

    Behaviour, emotion and wellbeing 

  • Irritability: Seem more irritable, not settling, not as calm as usual.  
  • Tearfulness: Easily upset compared with normal, crying more, sometimes tearful without knowing why.  
  • Anxiety: Showing signs of being worried or anxious, being clingy, not wanting to be left, getting distressed in situations where they would be happy normally.  
  • Emotional needs: More or less emotional, out of character for them.  

    Participation in daily life 

  • Play: Less interested in play, not as responsive to objects and toys, noises, actions, not manipulating objects and toys in same way, not showing interest in play alongside peers (aged 3-4), less imaginative, less focused.  
  • Leisure and social activities: Difficulty accessing the same leisure activities as previously. Difficulty coping with social activities, such as parties. 
  • Motivation/drive to do things: Not bothered about doing anything, you have to suggest things and often get a refusal to participate. 

Head injury symptom tracker – children and young people aged 5-18 years 

Children

This checker is aimed at children and young people who have sustained some form of head injury. You can also download a printable version here. 

The term mild head injury will be used if you have had an accident where your head has been moved or hit with force. The term concussion is used if there is a sudden but short-lived loss of mental function following an accident – it is the most common but least serious type of brain injury (see the NHS concussion information too). 

Most young people recover quickly from their accident and experience no long-term problems.  

Please check the symptoms below that your child may be experiencing, based on changes since the head injury. If you have noticed changes that are not listed that concern you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

    Physical 

  • Sleeping pattern. Difficulty getting off to sleep, staying asleep, sleeping more.
  • Headaches. Having more headaches or they are worse than before the accident or illness.
  • Energy levels. More tired than usual, having more rests at home, finding it hard to get through days at school/college. 
  • Mobility. Change with balance or coordination, bumping into things, a weakness that was not there before.   
  • Sensory disturbance. Not coping in busy environments, sensitivity to light or noise, blurred vision, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears). 

    Thinking skills and communication 

  • Alertness. Feeling mentally foggy, appear a little dazed.
  • Attention/concentration. Finding it hard to focus at home/school, flitting from one thing to another, not able to sit and watch films or stay focused on school/homework. 
  • Thinking speed. Taking longer to take in what others say, or to give an answer to things, taking longer to put things into words, producing less work at school/college.  
  • Communication. Difficulties with word finding, finding it harder to understand instructions, misunderstanding what friends or family members have said, misreading people’s cues.  

    Behaviour, emotion and wellbeing 

  • Irritable: Seem more irritable than usual, not settling, not as calm as usual. 
  • Explosive/less tolerant: Go from being fine to exploding with nothing in-between, outbursts with no or very little warning, responses to things not being what you would expect given what happened. 
  • Tearful: Easily upset compared with normal, sometimes tearful without knowing why. 
  • Emotional: Feeling worried or anxious, sad or nervous, not wanting to be left alone, getting distressed in situations where you would normally be happy.

    Participation in daily life 

  • Friendships: Difficulty making and keeping friends, more falling out than usual, changes in friendship groups, friends have said something to you about your child not being the same. 
  • Leisure activities: Difficulty accessing the same leisure activities as previously eg Rainbows, Explorers, football.  
  • Social activities: Difficulty coping with parties, not going out as much, not wanting to do anything.
  • School work and learning: Complaining of not coping, not ‘getting’ the work, not able to do homework. Not being able to take in new learning. Progress report has been worse at school. 
  • Play: Not playing like usual, may be less imaginative, less focused, and find it difficult to occupy themself. 
  • Motivation/drive to do things: Not bothered about doing anything, you have to suggest things and often get a refusal to participate. 

Seek Medical Advice

If your child has a head injury we recommend seeking medical advice as soon as possible after the injury (call 111, your GP or in an emergency 999).

Explore our site

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Longer-term advice

Symptoms after a bump to the head might last for weeks or months – this is known as post-concussion syndrome.

Bumps happen

Explore our Bumps Happen information

Most head injuries are not serious but bumps do happen. Find your way around our information - we share the signs to look out for, and steps to take, in case your child has had a concussion.

Amelia

Contact our specialists

Looking for further advice and support? If your child’s symptoms persist longer than six weeks and you would like support from one of our specialists, contact our virtual ABI team.