The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1 - 61

Training College Staff to Recognize and Respond to Concussions

by encouraging professors to provide class
notes, extend deadlines for assignments and
tests, provide a distraction-free testing environment, and provide students the opportunity to
record lectures (Hux et al., 2010; Kennedy et
al., 2008). Other services include tutoring and
mentoring; help with planning, prioritizing,
and organizing responsibilities; and facilitating communication between students and
professors to ensure that appropriate accommodations are in place (Todis & Glang, 2008).
However, these services are often underutilized for a variety of reasons. In some instances, students with concussions believe that
these services are unnecessary or the stigma of
needing help prevents them from asking for it
(Todis & Glang, 2008). Kennedy et al.'s (2008)
study of students with TBIs showed that the
number of students needing help did not equal
the number of those receiving help from the
school's disability services ofﬁce. When this
discrepancy was investigated, the authors discovered that students with TBI simply did not
request the services, or they did not know of
the ofﬁce's existence. When college students
are unaware that services exist to help them,
they are left to continue their education facing
many academic challenges that could have
been avoided.
In addition to disability services, many
campuses also employ mental health and
physical health professionals who provide services for students who experience academic as
well as social/emotional challenges (Sulkowski, Wingﬁeld, Jones, & Coulter, 2011). These
services are particularly beneﬁcial to students
with concussions because they can experience
both academic and non-academic challenges
post-injury and thus may require access to

more comprehensive services than those provided by the campus disability services ofﬁce
(Kennedy et al., 2008; Todis & Glang, 2008).
While campus disability services and counseling services can beneﬁt students who are
recovering from concussions, students typically are expected to seek out such support on
their own. Those struggling with the effects of
a concussion may not know about these campus-based services, particularly if they did not
enter college with special learning or mental
health needs. Thus, it is helpful if college
staff-such as residence hall advisors-are
trained to understand the effects of concussions and what campus resources are available
to help concussed resident students.

TARGETED TRAINING PROGRAMS
Programs for Residence Life and Campus
Recreation Staff
While students with concussions may not
seek services from campus disability services
or student health centers, they may talk with
friends, roommates, sports teammates or
coaches, or their residence hall advisors (RAs).
Twale and Muse (1996) noted that RAs often
have more encounters with students than
other campus professionals do. This interaction allows RAs to notice a change in a particular student (e.g., a student who has sustained
a concussion) and intervene immediately to
connect that student to the help needed. Taub
and Servaty-Seib (2011) state that sufﬁcient
training can allow RAs to develop important
skills to help students in distress and to serve
as valuable sources of support in the aftermath
of an injury or other crisis. Students who have
sustained a concussion may be more comfortable approaching a trusted RA who is trained to
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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 45, No. 1
