KID’S BRAINS MATTER

The Mac Parkman Foundation for Adolescent Concussive Trauma was created to honor our son and brother, Mac Parkman who took his life after struggling with mental illness because of extensive exposure to concussive and subconcussive trauma from sports activities.

Uncover the hidden dangers of excessive repetitive impacts and extended contact sports seasons on children’s brain health. Understand how subconcussive impacts can lead to long-term physiological changes.

Watch our PSA by American Airlines to gain insights and protect your child’s future.

OUR STORY

The Mac Parkman Foundation honors the loss of a great young man to sports-related concussive trauma...

The Mac Parkman Foundation honors the loss of a great young man to sports-related concussive trauma. Our purpose is to increase awareness of concussion-related trauma, how it affects our kid’s mental health, and to improve long-term concussion management. We'd love to hear from you.

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THE SCIENCE

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HOW TO HELP

Learn how you can help the Mac Parkman Foundation and start raising awareness of Subconcussive trauma in our children...

By starting our children in sports at younger ages, extending their sports seasons, and allowing them to participate in contact activities before the age of 14, we have exposed millions of kids to billions of subconcussive events harming them along the way.

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Our Mission

The Mac Parkman Foundation is committed to raising awareness on the impact that Repeated Head Impacts (RHI) and Repeated Blast Exposure (RBE) have on the brain and mental health of children, athletes and veterans.

We aim to improve societal brain health by promoting education, early diagnosis, and innovative treatments to reduce and mitigate the long-term effects of subconcussive trauma to include mental illness and suicidality while promoting brain health as a priority for medical as well as psychological education and care.

Through advocacy and community engagement with parental, scientific, medical, psychological, sports and legislative communities as well as non-profit organizations focused on brain and mental health, we strive to create a safer environment in sports and military service, improving treatment for those athletes and veterans affected, and to ensure a healthier future for all.

From the Blog

Millions of parents permit their kids to participate in sports encouraging their kids to be active and healthy. However, over the years, these sports that were historically played during one season a year have evolved to elongated periods through multiple private and public programs available to child athletes issues. In our blog we will address some of these issues.

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My 2 Year Old Promise to Mac

I am sitting at the airport in Tokyo, waiting for my delayed plane to arrive so I can return to reality. I have spent a little over a week here with my brother-in-law...
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TES CAN be Diagnosed

We all know that there have been substantial studies and research going on as to how to diagnose CTE in life to identify individuals that are suffering and provide...
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How much PROOF do we need to stop kids from playing contact sports?

I just watched Malcolm Gladwell’s speech at Penn State regarding the burden of proof that is necessary before we take action.  For some reason there is a compelling...
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Let’s just call it what it is….Brain Damage

In my opinion, the primary issue with parents and athletes understanding the risks and dangers of contact sports goes to the mislabeling of those risks and outcomes by...
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Damn, I’m hanging up my rugby boots…for Mac.

See I love rugby, have loved it ever since I got pulled out of a gym when I was approached by this guy in short shorts while I was under a squat rack with over 500...
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Concussions, concussions, concussions everywhere, what about the real danger, subconcussions?

As I learn to twit [tweet] and observe a lot of commentary on social media, I am still amazed at the lack of knowledge regarding subconcussions, contact sports and the...
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Attention all Zombies: We need Brain Donations for CTE/TES research!

A few weeks ago, I was honored to take a tour of the Boston University Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy brain bank hosted by the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF)and...
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IT’S TIME TO REDEFINE CTE

Now is the time for society to recognize CTE as a threat to our children’s and young athletes’ well-being . . .
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NFL’s New Concussion Protocols Admit to Significant Neurological Damage

After suffering a severe concussive tackle during a nationally televised football game, the NFL was under severe pressure to answer questions as to why Tua Taravailoa...
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CTE is not an Adult Disease

One concern I frequently think about is how the press portrays CTE. The press represents CTE as a disease that primarily affects adults. While it’s true that most cases...
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