The Glasgow Coma Scale is a tool used by doctors to assess a person’s level of consciousness following a head injury. The scale, which essentially will assess your child’s ability to speak, move, and open her eyes, can be used—albeit loosely—to predict the long-term prognosis of the injury.

If a doctor has recently given your child a score on the Glasgow Coma Scale, you are probably wondering what it means. Generally speaking, the higher the score, the better chance your child has of a complete recovery. Scores of 13 or above indicate an excellent chance of long-term recovery, while scores between 9 and 12 indicate moderate brain injury, and scores that are below 8 indicate severe brain injury.
Glasgow Coma Scale
Eye Opening

4 = Responds spontaneously
3 = Responds to voice
2 = Responds to pain
1 = No response
Best Motor Response

6 = Follows commands
5 = Localizes to pain
4 = Withdraws to pain
3 = Decorticate (produces an exaggerated posture of upper extremity flexion and lower extremity extension in response to pain)
2 = Decerebrate (produces an exaggerated posture of extension in response to pain)
1 = No response
Best Verbal Response

5 = Oriented and converses
4 = Disoriented and converses
3 = Inappropriate words
2 = Incomprehensible sounds
1 = No sounds