Protective helmets for children with special health care needs

An illustrative case of a second traumatic brain injury in the same child r aises the issue of the criteria by which protective helmets for disabled ch ildren should be prescribed. There is a dearth of data substantiating crite ria for helmet prescription for special needs children and assessing potent ial adverse side effects of routinely wearing a helmet. Further studies see m warranted to determine whether protective helmets truly reduce the freque ncy and severity of secondary trauma and whether there are adverse effects that outweigh benefits.