Persistent concussion symptoms (PCS) can restrict a child’s participation in daily activities for extended periods of time. This can have a negative effect on the quality of life of both the child/youth and the entire family, and increase the risk for secondary psychosocial issues. ReFrame is a 4-week group program focused on improving the lives of children experiencing PCS and their families through managing the psychological stress that can interrupt participation in daily activities and addressing physical and cognitive symptoms.

In 2015-2016, with the support of the Centre for Leadership in Acquired Brain Injury, the project team was able to complete an REB application, complete pre and post assessments for all 4 youth participants and 4 parent participants, and pilot ReFrame as a clinical intervention for youth with PCS and their families.

The ReFrame intervention was delivered to 4 youth and 4 parent participants. The pre-post assessment results from this pilot project have yet to be analysed but we are hoping to see positive improvement in participants occupational performance and satisfaction. The results of this study have the potential to make a unique contribution to the literature and aid in the development of further clinical programming.

We learned that a 4-week group based intervention is a feasible format for delivering an intervention to youth with PCS and their families. The youth and parents enjoyed participating in the group and found it to be a helpful and worthwhile experience. The results of the pre-post assessments are pending analysis.

The next steps for this project are to analyse the pre-post assessment results, modify the ReFrame program based on key learnings and participant feedback, and to apply for further funding to publish the results of this pilot project.