Cait Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I have a little boy starting in October who has a spica cast because of a dislocated hip since birth. He's only been in it 3 weeks, but will be wearing it for 6 to 9 months. It isn't a seating cast, he is flat. I've chatted to Mum about it - about his special nappy changing, and the fact that he is either "horizontal or propped up" and just wondered if any of you lovely people has had a child in a similar cast and what options there were for preschool activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I have had a child in one but it was a sitting one.. this caused less of an issue as she took part in most of the play btu was not mobile.. so we had to take her to them .. we tried hard to ensure she had a wide range of experiences as was possible.. she was very vocal and chatty so was able to let us know what she wanted and where she wanted to be... one of our obstacles was the other children.. they tended to treat her like a baby and try to do things for her all the time, take toys to her, try to make her the 'baby' in role play area.. took a bit of educating the others to realise she could do all they did but just not able to walk to them, while she was with us the cast was removed so she then had to learn to walk... by the time she left she was mobile and although she was left with a slight limp could not tell... ( hers was not picked up until she was 18mth-2ys and only because I asked when mum brought in older sibling if there was a problem and perhaps get her assessed as she seemed to have one leg longer than other! this was never fully corrected) we tried to ensure her keyworker was there every session she was, and she became very good at adapting everything if needed, allowing access to almost all activities... garden play/ outdoor was one of the areas we had more problems with than inside.. if I remember we had a areas with things she could access outside.. Inge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 We had a boy (aged 3 yrs) that was run over and had one of these casts on for 6 weeks, (laying flat). We used bean bags to enable the child to play with the sand on the floor, we would also put toys on the floor for him. He used a skate board to get around the setting and at home, so he was pretty mobile and the other children were great at helping him and being careful of his legs. We took our lead from mum and dad, who stopped for the first few sessions, and the child himself. Sarah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katekit Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 My son was in his cast for 16 weeks, he was transported flat on an adult wheelchair. he travelled to school by taxi. can you get a board that tilts for him? so that he can have things over his chest? or a frame if he is on the floor, lots of pillows and beanbags are neccesary. He should be able to manage some things at the side of him so longs as he doesnt twist too much. mind out that bits of lego or sand don't disapear down his cast! there is a support group called STEPS (I'm going back some years but it was a great help to me) they will probably be able to give some advice. Who will be lifting? Matt had a pole between his knees to help to lift him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cait Posted July 23, 2010 Author Share Posted July 23, 2010 We're waiting to see what cast he has on in October before we purchase anything specific I think, other than the usual beanbags. Those funny beanbag chairs for using xbox or whatever look as if they might be just the ticket. Lifting will be me or one of my assistants who has also recently done some lifting and handling training. We've contacted EY team for some input too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 difficult to help until you have some more details and input from the professionals involved - make sure mum/dad give you all the details from OT etc as they tend to be bad about sending them on to settings (well round here anyway!) Ikea have foam bolsters which we have used effectively but again this depends on flex in back etc. He may need a standing frame and these should be available through disabilities service in your area. we tend to make sure there are lots of floor and shoulder height activities for all the children so that everyone is included - you might even need to create a breakfast bar for snacks! access is always a problem try to walk through the setting and see it from a new angle- can he get easy access to toys/equipment/loos/entrance/exit/fire exits etc etc you will never be able to adjust everything - just go with what you can. will try to have a think about the other things we've done and get back to you anything in particular you think might be a problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finleysmaid Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 so sorry forgot to ask age just started spouting off! try this for info.. http://www.hip-baby.org/index.html (been a long week - sorry!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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