In recent years, there has been overwhelming concern over sport-related concussions among young athletes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, traumatic brain injuries result in an estimated 435,000 visits to the emergency department every year among children up to 14 years old.

Now health experts are working to bring more awareness to this issue.

Dr. Todd Maugans, the chief of neurosurgery at Nemours Childrens Hospital, joins us to better understand concussions.

JACKIE BROCKINGTON: For those who don't know: what is a concussion?

DR. TODD MAUGANS: It's a brain injury, and it's where there's a body blow where energy is directed toward the brain and causes the brain to go into a state of dysfunction. It can be frequently temporary, maybe for the scope of a few seconds but frequently lasting minutes or longer.

JB: How serious of a problem is this? And what type of research is being done?

TM: As you mentioned, the statistics is profound. The incident of concussion is a bit higher than anyone expected. Therefore it's important for families to understand how to recognize a concussion in their child and how to appropriately manage it.

JB: You recently participated in a panel discussion hosted by President Barack Obama about this very topic.  What are some of the things that came out of that?

TM: The president basically asked for a call of action. Obviously there's been a lot in the press about concussions, largely the NFL and professional sports. But they happen in youth and yet we don't fully understand the problem in youth. The child brain is different from the adult brain.  Even though we are learning what's happening in the brain -- how to prevent and manage concussions -- the majority has been aimed at adults. He's called for us to step it up so we can better identify how to treat children's concussion.

JB: So you brought a book, what's the purpose of this booklet?

TM: I think education is the key. Families need to be educated. So in this kit we include a parent information sheet with signs and symptoms of concussion, along with do's and don'ts for the early management of concussions. It’s a symptoms guide so they can review the symptoms that their child may have.

Also in there are tools for physicians, because physicians are basically forced with the task in enforcing the law that says any child with a concussion must be cleared by a physician. But their training has been inadequate. This is my personal task. In addition to reaching out to thousands of athletes and trainers across Central Florida, I've also been reaching out to the primary care company through lectures and giving this tool kit to them and empower them to manage the concussion in children appropriately.