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For parents & guardians

Know your kid has a baseline before the first hit.

Concussions happen. When they do, the single most useful thing a doctor can see is how your child’s brain worked beforethe injury. That is a baseline — and most kids don’t have one.

To take
15 min
iPhone or Android
Any phone
If your school has HQ
$0
The data
Yours

Why a baseline

What a baseline actually gives you.

Here is the part nobody explains well: a concussion is a brain injury, and the symptoms — headache, balance problems, difficulty concentrating — vary wildly from kid to kid. One sixth-grader’s “mild headache” is another’s emergency. Without a baseline, doctors are comparing your child’s test scores to population averages. That’s fine, but it’s not as good as comparing them to your child.

What you actually do

Your athlete takes a 20-minute test on a phone before the season. They hear a list of words, repeat them back, answer a few orientation questions, balance on one leg for 20 seconds, walk a straight line, and tap a target when they see it. That’s it. It’s quiet, it’s private, and it’s scored automatically.

What happens if they get a concussion

The same test runs again — on the sideline, in the athletic training room, or in a clinic. HQ automatically compares the post-injury results to your child’s personal baseline and shows clinicians exactly where things changed. This is the conversation you want to have with a doctor, not a guessing game.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the same thing the NFL uses?
Professional sports use more elaborate protocols, but the underlying concept — a pre-injury baseline compared to a post-injury test — is the same everywhere. HQ Baseline gives school, club, and parent programs a mobile tool for collecting that pre-injury data.
My kid's school doesn't use HQ. Can I still take a baseline?
Yes. Parents and athletes can start an individual baseline from our Get Started page. Your athlete will have a baseline on file that any clinician can reference in the future.
Is my child's data safe?
Yes. HQ is HIPAA-aligned, we never sell data, and access is role-based. Your athlete's baseline belongs to you — you can export or delete it at any time.
How often should they re-baseline?
Annually is the standard. Adolescent brains change, so a yearly baseline keeps the comparison fresh. Definitely re-baseline after any concussion.
What if my kid has a learning difference?
Every prompt has on-screen text as well as voice, every instruction can be replayed, and reading speed is adjustable. The test is designed to be accessible.

Get your athlete a baseline before the season starts.