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Season 1: Episode 8 - Things To Know About Going To School With A Brace

Season #1

This week we are talking about Braces and school. So as we get ready to go back to school in the next couple of weeks here, one thing that we talk a lot about in our office is we have new classes, we have new teachers. We sometimes have new schools if we're going from middle school to high school or elementary school to middle school.

And so what does that look like and how do we need to approach that so that we are successful. Listen in to find out helpful tips and be sure to check out the links below for more information!

 

*****Resource Links You Need:

 

 *****Transcript*****

ā€ŠHi, I'm Dr. Mandy Dietz and you're listening to the Behind the Brace podcast. Each week I'll be sharing conversations and resources to help families and providers navigate the world of scoliosis. This is your place to find hope for a better solution so that you can live your best life.

Welcome back. This week we are talking about Braces and school. So as we get ready to go back to school in the next couple of weeks here, one thing that we talk a lot about in our office is we have new classes, we have new teachers. We sometimes have new schools if we're going from middle school to high school or elementary school to middle school.

And so what does that look like and how do we need to approach that so that we are successful? So one thing that I have noticed is of course the first week of school there's a little bit of leeway because we're trying to figure out class schedules. We're trying to figure out how our week goes, and especially for those kids that are in middle school or high school, we've got a whole new set of classes.

Where's my locker? Or can I even fit my brace in my locker? Do I have a locker? Some of those schools do not even have lockers. So what do we do with our brace and how do we manage that? So the first week, we kinda give some leeway. Kids get to go to class, figure out their schedules, and then we come in and we talk about the struggles they might be having.

Now, when I say struggles, it's mostly about trying to find a way to make the brace wear work with their classes and where they have to go in the school. Now, obviously if they're in elementary school, they are in the same class, they have the same teacher. It's actually pretty, it's actually easier because they're just there and they take it off if they go to gym class and they might take it off if they have a field trip or recess or, you know, something of that nature.

Um, and then put it right back on. So, for an elementary, aged child, the best thing that you can do is make sure that you're talking to the school counselor and their teacher before they go to school, so that way they can have that discussion and kind of figure out how do we need to make this work throughout our day?

And then that way they're not surprised. That's one of the biggest things I would recommend to you. If your child has one specific teacher all day long, make sure they know that ahead of time. Now, I will say a lot of families end up having, what's called it's 5 0 4 plan. And so basically it's just accommodations, meaning that the school knows that they have a scoliosis brace and they're wearing it to school, and they have specific accommodations for that so that they can be successful in wearing their brace.

So that goes through all grades, whether you're elementary, middle school, or high school. So that's definitely an option. I've had some parents say that they're like, nah, we don't need one. You know, our school's small enough, the teachers are really good about it. Like, we don't need to do a 5 0 4 plan. And so I think that's where really you kind of get to choose if you are having trouble, in a specific class, teacher, school. That's where I would say it's time to reach out to the counselor. Talk about doing a 5 0 4 plan. That way it's written down, it's in writing. The school knows what you're, you know, working towards and everybody's on the same page so that you have accommodations to make sure that this brace wearing is successful.

Because the last thing we wanna do is put in a ton of hard work at home. You know, wearing it overnight while you sleep. And then missing out on the entire day of school because there's not great communication with the school or the teachers or the staff. So that's an option to you. You don't have to use it.

Just be aware that if you need it, that's something that your provider and the school can work together with you on. And my experience has been is that schools are really willing to work with you, but they can't help you if they don't know about it. So if you're struggling, you just need to be able to connect with the right people.

So I would start with the counselor. If they aren't available or if they can't help you, if you're not getting anywhere there, you know, then go up into, whether that's the principal or somebody else in that area that can get you the information or at least connect you with the right person to get, the right people together to have the conversation and get it put into place.

Now, when we're talking about middle school and we're talking about high school. These kids are a little bit more independent. They're going to different classes. They generally have gym, they've got lunch, they've got lockers. They're doing all of the things. I have found that they're a little bit more reluctant to talk to their teachers about it. Especially if you have a kid who doesn't really want anybody to know that they have scoliosis. And so we want them to be successful in wearing their brace if they need to be wearing it to school. Sometimes what that looks like is having a conversation again with either the counselor or maybe their home-based teacher.

I guess depending on the size of your school, if you have a really like small community school, then obviously it will be easier for you because you'll already know all of these people. In bigger schools, that's where we have to really make sure that we're getting the communication to the right people because we don't always know all of the teachers. We don't always know who's going to be and which classes at what time. And we wanna reach out to the team so that they know what's going on.

In high school, a similar thing as middle school, there's definitely the ability to have different accommodation plans and the one thing about the accommodation plan is a lot of the high schoolers will ask me, will everybody know if I have an accommodation plan?

Will they know if I have a 5 0 4 plan? Because they don't want, a lot of times that attention. And so I really reassure them, it's something that the school has in writing so that everybody can come back to it. Everybody knows what the expectations are and so that way everybody has the same standards.

So for example, if you're wearing your brace and you're sitting in class in a desk and your arms are starting to bother you, or a part of the brace is starting to push on, say like, your hip and you need to stand up and take a break. What I've heard from students is they're like, well, nobody, nobody else is standing up. I'm not gonna stand up in class. Like, my teacher won't let me stand up. And when I ask them, I say, well, does your teacher know that you have a brace? And they're like, well, no, my teacher doesn't know that. And so that's where that communication is important, because when they're coming back into my office and we're talking about the fact that, Hey, we we're not getting enough time in your brace, and then they're saying that they have to take it off during certain classes.

They really wouldn't have to take it off for that class if the teacher or the staff in that class knew what was going on, they would be allowed to very quietly stand up, maybe go down the hall, get a drink of water, get some movement, come back in and sit down. Not being disruptive, but they wouldn't even necessarily have to be like a big conversation about it. They would just know that and know that if they stand up and do that, that it's because they need a break from their brace for a couple of minutes. So that's where I'm really encouraging families to reach out to the school ahead of time and to reach out to the teachers ahead of time, because I've seen situations where brace wear is fantastic in every other scenario, but then we look at our wear time monitors and they're supposed to be in it full time and they're only hitting maybe 13, 14 hours in the day. And when we talk through it, the times that we're missing are in certain classes because of either the. Seating options or, because they're afraid that they won't be able to, uh, move in a certain way or they'll say, oh, I have to pick something up.

I don't want them to know that I have this situation going on. And, it's really unfortunate because it affects the success of the care that we're providing and it creates stress for the student. So even though they think they're avoiding a stressful situation by not talking about it, it's actually creating more stress because now every single day it's coming up over and over again.

Where if we have that one conversation at the beginning, it might be stressful in that moment, but then it's planned out for them so they don't have to have that recurring stress every day about this battle in their head about, do I wear the brace? Do I not wear the brace? What if we do this today? Or what if I do this today?

And so that's, that's huge, especially for our older students and especially if they're driving. I found that if students are driving themselves to school, they're putting on their brace, they're going to class, they're really self-sufficient and sometimes we forget that they probably still need a little bit of support, uh, in that communication with different people in the school.

And so, talking to your student, your child, about those scenarios oftentimes it just comes up off the cuff over dinner or doing dishes or whatever it might be. When I've talked to these patients in my office, they'll share this information with me when we're doing really benign things. It just comes up naturally and then we're like, oh, hey, that's why we're really struggling with this time or this time. That makes sense now. And most of the time it has a really easy answer. So when we're going back to school, this is, you know, the key things are, uh, having communication early. Making sure that that first week we have a plan. So if a day is not going how we want it to go, then what can we do with that brace if we need to take it off.

And so a lot of students can either put that in a counselor's office if they don't have a locker. Uh, they can also put it in like the main office, they have a spot where they can put braces, like where the school secretaries are at. And so just talking about that as well, sometimes especially for like gym, music, orchestra, those are kind of the places where, if you have like choir or band, orchestra, stuff like that, technically yes, you can leave your brace on, but I have some students who try to leave it on and they struggle with that a bit. And so, talking about those types of classes of if I need to take it off in the middle of the class, where do I go and how do I do that?

And just having a place so they know if they need to take it off, they can go to this place, take it off, put it under the desk, behind the chair, behind the door, whatever it might be. And then when they're done, put it right back on and go. So early conversations definitely some leniency in the first week as they get used to their new schedule.

And then, also letting them know that, if you do have a plan, so if you set up a plan and you're getting into that second, third, fourth week of school and we're finding that the plan isn't working, it's okay to go back and have that conversation again and just say, Hmm, this is not working right now, what's another idea? Because there's lots of solutions and schools are really willing to help for my experience once they know what the parameters are and what the goals are, and to be able to help them be successful because there's more things that we do in school than just learn, right? We have to go about our day and take care of our health and all of those other things.

So as we're going back to school this year, really think about some of those people that are at your school, and if you don't know them, you can jump on the website and, and thinking about, you know, who are the counselors, who are the office staff, um, what type of classes are they taking? Uh, kind of talking through what might be some scenarios that they might run into and some possible solutions to those just so that it's not like a last minute trying to catch up, working from behind conversation.

We're now, we're like four weeks into school in crisis mode, and we haven't worn our brace because we weren't prepared ahead of time. So, really good conversations to have. Just a reminder to everybody that anyone that wears a brace is going through the same thing. You are not alone. It is not individual.

It is across the board. Anyone that's wearing a brace is going into the same scenario where they have new classes, new teachers, possibly new schools, and working that out. And it's very normal. Um, and very um. Able to be addressed in a certain way. So I hope it's encouraging to you to be able to have some of these resources and think through some of these things as you move forward.

And hopefully school is super successful in the first couple of weeks and everybody can get their braces on and worn and get into a routine as we move forward. So have a great week and we'll see you next episode.

Thanks for spending time with me today. If you could leave a review before you go, that would help us reach more people that need this message. To learn more about the services and resources that we have available, visit us at behindthebrace.com.

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