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Avoiding under-stimulation with a broken arm?

Rosie232 profile image
8 Replies

My 6-year-old just broke his arm. We get the cast tomorrow, so I'm sure the doctor will give us instructions on what my child can and cannot do.

If your child has broken an arm, how did their recovery go? What did you do to keep your child stimulated?

I'm sure eventually my child will figure out how to do things with one arm- but since he has low tone and gross motor delays, I'm worried he will have a lot of struggles.

Any advice is appreciated.

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Rosie232 profile image
Rosie232
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8 Replies
Smfdaisy profile image
Smfdaisy

I’m so sorry your son broke his arm! I hope I can ease your mind a little. My daughter is ten and just got her splint removed yesterday after a cast, then surgery for a broken arm. She broke her left arm and she is right handed, so that definitely made things easier.

I was very worried, but she handled it all really well. She couldn’t do sports and her doctor offered to give her a note to get out of PE. The doctor will probably tell you to put a trash bag over the cast for bathing, but that was tough for us. I got a cast cover for bathing on Amazon that you just slide on over the cast and it worked great.

The other thing to make sure of is that the cast isn’t rubbing his skin anywhere. They pad around the hard part of the cast very well, but it does still happen.

Other than that, the cast wasn’t much of a bother to her. Kids are so different, but I hope your son’s healing process is smooth and easy as possible!

I asked my daughter if she has any advice and she said “Don’t worry about it!” 😆

Rosie232 profile image
Rosie232 in reply toSmfdaisy

"Don't worry about it" was perfect advice. As soon as my son got his cast on, he was running and playing like normal.

The first two days after the break were rough, and I was surprised how much better he felt with the cast on.

We got a cast cover for the shower and my son has figured out how to get it on all by himself. I've been so impressed to see how independent my big 6 year old has gotten. It seems like he's growing up so fast.

Smfdaisy profile image
Smfdaisy in reply toRosie232

I’m so glad! And thank you for letting me know. It made my daughter feel really good to hear that her advice helped!

BLC89 profile image
BLC89

Hello Rosie232So sorry you little one is injured. If you are concerned about him getting frustrated make learning one handed things a game, maybe earn rewards. It's a great time to practice self- kindness and allowing learning and stumbling and getting back up again.

Acknowledging that being able to come back from frustration is a major skill. My kids stood taller and took on the challenge when I would say "if you can do that (calm self, etc) you are doing better than a lot of grown ups, it's not easy. "

You could join in on the fun and do things one handed also.

If you and he can keep it light it should be smooth sailing.

I hope that helps, good luck.

BLC89

Rosie232 profile image
Rosie232 in reply toBLC89

I've been so impressed with everything he can do. He has continued to build his lego sets and can dress and buckle himself!

BLC89 profile image
BLC89 in reply toRosie232

That's fantastic

Hi! My 8 year old daughter has ASD, ADHD, very low tone & significant motor delays. She now has a cast for a broken arm. We were very worried she would fall again or struggle with only 1 arm. She amazingly has figured it out! We hold her hand walking outside everywhere. (We do that anyway). We go back in a week to see if the cast can come off. Best of luck! I bet he will do great.

Rosie232 profile image
Rosie232

The first two days of a broken arm without a cast, my son could only sit with his arm elevated. As soon as he got his cast on he was running and playing just fine. I was so worried that he would have nothing to do for 4+ weeks but we are halfway through and he has been able to do almost everything.

The doctor said that he could ride a bike, but when we tried in a dirt trail, his arm hurt. Everything else has worked out as normal.

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