<p>My high school Freshman will be in a lower leg cast when school starts next week
Any tips? I thought there might be some out there with
a similar experience</p>
<p>Speak with the Principal. Will he be able to take an elevator and have extra time from class to class? Don’t advise crutches on the stairs. Daughter was in casts several times in HS, (dancer with injuries), they allowed someone to go with her class to class to carry books. Sometimes in the first few days with a cast, she had to elevate her leg on a chair in the classroom. Of course, she had a pass for gym class, went to the library or media center instead. Good luck.</p>
<p>No personal experience, but I would think the first thing to do would be to contact the school now to find out what kind of accommodations will be needed. Unless your freshman (boy or girl?) has spent a lot of time in the school already (are there older siblings that were/are students there now?), it might be kind of intimidating to make sure he/she can get to all his/her classrooms in a timely manner if they’re not familiar with the school’s layout. </p>
<p>Don’t wait until the first day of school to get this information, if at all possible.</p>
<p>Thanks
I talked to them already and they were very supportive. </p>
<p>I am worried about books and changing classes the most I think.</p>
<p>Ask for a set of books to keep at home, while the classroom teachers keep a copy in the classroom. That way notes can travel to and from school, but the books won’t need to.</p>
<p>thanks
That is a good idea</p>
<p>Biggest thing is just letting them know. This is something I actually deal with on a somewhat regular basis. Last year I had 5 of my athletes on crutches at the same time!</p>
<p>Depending on the school, sometimes they will allow a student to carry a backpack in this situation…</p>
<p>hops_scout said the same thing I was going to say as I started reading this thread. Check with your school, they often will forgo the no backpack in the hallways rule for kids with leg casts. If not, they generally can find someone to carry the books. Good luck!</p>
<p>Would one of these make sense? I would look into renting vs buying. Insurance will typically cover some of the cost. </p>
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<p>Yes! My H had foot surgery and we rented a knee walker. He was much more mobile and can’t imagine his recovery without the walker. There are lots of models to chose from.</p>
<p>My D had a foot cast in 8th grade, from a dancing injury. Her teachers would let her out of class a few minutes early so that she could navigate the hallways to her next class before they were crowded. Also, a friend went with her to carry her books. My D could use a backpack, but found it difficult to manage a heavy backpack with crutches without falling over backwards. The other perk that D got was a key to the school elevator, which was much coveted by the other kids, so she had no problem finding a friend to help carry her books in exchange for getting to ride the elevator. </p>
<p>Does your student have friends that will attend the same school? It’s tougher to have this happen to a freshman who is new to a school and lacks familiarity with it. Lining up friends in advance to help carry books would probably be helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks all
This is very helpful</p>
<p>Do you have transportation to and from school worked out? If he/she normally rides the bus, getting on and off the bus can be difficult. My D had a dance injury in high school and was in a wheelchair for a week and then on crutches for about six more weeks. We were able to get a temporary handicap hang tag for the car so we could pull in to a handicap parking spot for drop off and pick up. (There were often able-bodied people parked in those spots, but that’s a rant for another time.) Her high school was a very old building and not very accessible, which meant long detours to reach elevators and to avoid areas with a couple of stairs. It sure opened my eyes to the daily inconveniences faced by those with a disability. Something else to ask about–what plans are in place to evacuate disabled students if there is a fire. D’s school was a three-story building. There are places in the stairwells where they are supposed to shelter in place and wait for rescue by emergency personnel. The concept made me nervous, but I think it is better to be proactive and know what you are supposed to do.</p>
<p>One of my kids had a leg cast in MS and he said the best help was being let out of class just a minute or two early with a friend to carry the books. Crowded hallways can be a nightmare of bumping. If your HS has gym, I would push to have it second semester so your child is not just sitting on the bleachers.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Understand that in this situation, both the student with the cast and the helper are responsible for completing any homework assignments that the teacher may give after they leave the room, even though they were not present when the assignment was announced.</p>
<p>In his first month of middle school, my son was asked to be the helper for a student on crutches who had an almost identical class schedule. Both of them got zeros on assignments that were announced after they had left the room until they caught on to the problem and identified an additional person in each class who acted as an extra set of ears for them and let them know if the teachers said anything significant after they had departed.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wheelchair athletics may be an option. People using manual wheelchairs are often very fit, and can move pretty quickly (and often learn how to go up and down curbs in their wheelchairs).</p>
<p>Of course, some other types of exercises, like pullups, dips, one leg squats, etc. can still be done with one leg immobile.</p>
<p>I don’t know how your HS is ucbalumnus, or the OP’s, but our HS gym classes will have 50 kids and I think it’s challenging enough for the PE teachers to handle the 20+ kids that don’t want to be there, let alone come up with alternatives for a student in a cast. When my son was in a cast, he was bored silly and just read books during gym period. Since his accident happened pretty deep into the semester, it wasn’t worth doing anything about it. Just seems easier all around to see if second semester gym is an option.</p>
<p>I’d encourage you to email each of your student’s teachers, the school nurse and the guidance counselor. Inform them about the cast, limitations, etc. Teachers are glad to have this information prior to the start of school and I wouldn’t count on the administration to do the communicating. Counselor may be able to tweak class schedule to make travel, etc a bit easier. This is especially helpful if your school is on a semester schedule and certain classes can be scheduled for spring semester when mobility won’t be restricted. School nurse may need communication from your health care provider and can serve as a ‘go to’ person as she/he has certainly dealt with other students in a similar situation. To limit some of the inevitable anxiety and if possible, go to the building and ‘get a lay of the land’.</p>
<p>My d will also be going to school with hopefully a walking boot by then. She’s on crutches right now. She’s also on an open campus and twice a day she has to go ‘up the hill’, a 5 minute walk with two good feet.</p>
<p>She’s allowed to leave class early and arrive late and she can have a friend drive her back and forth.</p>
<p>She’s bringing one notebook with her and she’s going for the ipad this year to download the school books. She can manage a backpack with the crutches as long as it isn’t overloaded. She may also need to ask to keep her foot up on a chair sometimes as over time keeping it down can really make it throb. She’s going to have to have friends carry her tray for lunch.</p>
<p>She’s to report to the counselor the first day of school to work out arrangements. </p>
<p>Kids injure themselves all the time, and it won’t be the first time the school has a kid on crutches. I’m sorry to hear it’s for an incoming freshmen. My d’s first year at this new school she started off with a big cast from a broken elbow.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone
I have been out of town and just got back to this thread
I appreciate all your great ideas. She doesn’t have gym this semester -so we don’t have to worry with that one.</p>