Check out the cool artwork that students at the Livonia Student Center created on their new Apple iMac desktop computer for the 2012 Discover! Summer t-shirt and activity schedule cover. Even cooler, is that the students raised a big chunk of the money themselves to purchase the iMac. Their interest in getting the computer started when Livonia Job Coach and Team Leader Chris Waterman brought his personal MacBook to help student Daniel B. develop and produce the Livonia student newsletter, The Roots, which is now published every two weeks. With encouragement from Children’s Services Director Peggy Allen Boch and Livonia Manager Christine Morabito, the students began their quest to raise funds to buy the computer. “We thought it would be a great learning experience for our young adult clients to work towards getting the computer,” said Peggy.
In November, Chris and Daniel wrote a formal proposal to Peggy and CEO Joe Richert for approval to purchase the new computer using funds from the Livonia Ready to Shine carwash program and matching funds from Special Tree. Chris added a touch of humor to the whole process by vowing not to shave until the iMac was officially purchased! Several inches of facial hair later, Chris took ecstatic students to the store to buy the iMac in March. The students have been using it ever since to create the Discover! Summer slide show, the Discover! Summer t-shirts, The Roots, and a variety of other projects.
By Kit Pohl, PT, CBIS
Physical Therapist
Troy Neuro Skills Center
Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, there will be a new concussion protocol for all high school athletes who are governed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association. Under the new rules, any athlete “who exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion (such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems) shall be immediately removed from the contest and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health care professional.”
Game officials or coaches will no longer have a role in determining if an athlete has sustained a concussion. An apparently injured athlete must be examined by a health care professional to determine the extent of the injury. If the school’s designated health care professional determines that the student did not sustain a concussion, the athlete may reenter the competition. If a concussion is confirmed, the athlete may not return to competition that day. The return-to-play protocol requires: 1) only an MD or DO may clear the individual to return to competition 2) the clearance must be in writing 3) the clearance may not be on the same date on which the athlete was removed from play.
The MHSAA has also approved sanctions for non-compliance with the concussion management policy. With a first offense, the competition is forfeited and the school is placed on probation in that sport through the end of the following year. A second offense in that sport will result in an extension of the probation for an additional year and the school will be prohibited from participating in the MHSAA post-season tournament.
This ruling reflects the change in attitude that a concussion is more than a bump on the head. New studies are finding that repeated concussions can cause permanent brain damage that eventually shows up a depression, chronic headaches, early-onset dementia and/or adult-onset attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The MHSAA is working with the Brain Injury Association of Michigan to promote public awareness of concussions in youth sports and the new MHSAA concussion protocol.
