Scoliosis

KCD053109

Hi all; my DD (2nd grade and 8 next month) was recently diagnosed with scoliosis (30 degree) and will be getting her new brace on Monday. Naturally, I'm assuming there will be a need to shop for new shirts, etc. that will fit over the top of this. Her dr. has made it absolutely clear that she will be able to continue to participate in any and all physical activities that she is interested in while wearing her brace. We've also discovered that it is water-proof so she'll be able to swim wearing this (which thrills me since she LOVES to swim).

I'm a bit concerned about the peer factor. I expect that there will be curiousity about her brace (I'm currently unaware of any other students in her school that have scoliosis) and she may try to "milk" the situation. DH and I have already discussed this with her teacher and made it clear that she is able to participate in PE (something DD was hoping to get out of). I haven't discussed, yet, with DD any potential situations she might face regarding her peers.

Does anyone have experience with this? How did you go about keeping the discussions honest without creating a "victim" mentality? We're answering any questions she comes to us with as honestly as possible and letting her know that she can talk with us about any concerns she might have.

jlw2505

My niece who is now almost 14 has scolisis and wore a brace for many, many years - she was dignosed very young.  She is now done wearing it.  For her, the big thing was just explaining it to her peers.  When she got it, her parents came into class with her and they talked to her class about what the brace was and why she has to wear it.  My niece did this every year with her class and at one point, in front of her whole school.  It was an amazing educational experience for her and also took away some of the stigma.  Luckily the braces of today are nothing like kids had to wear when I was little (teen in the 80's).  It is hard with clothes today - the smaller, tighter tops just don't work.  She will most likely want to wear a tank top under the brace due to the sweat factor and buy loser, longer tops to cover it and nothing with a low neckline.  Talk to her about it and make her feel good about herself and special and that will show in her confidence and how she handles herself with her peers.  My niece is on swim team and this has never held her back, she is also in dance.  In the beginning, she had to wear it 22 hours a day.  Be strong and put on brave face even if you are nervous and scared, it will help.

KCD053109

It's been almost 2 mos. - and so far so good! She has adjusted well and has an amazing attitude about the whole scenario. As far as I can tell, her peers have been a non-issue - which I'm grateful about.

The clothing issue we're finding is actually pants rather than shirts. Short of over-hauling her entire wardrobe (the thought of which is mind-boggling at the moment) we're still struggling a bit. I bought a bunch of yoga style pants and have instructed her to wear them over the bottom of her brace; but of course they still slide down and she ends up revealing too much at times. We try to keep her in longer shirts; but we're having a hard time finding those. She is a major curve-buster (she is the height of most 11 and 12 year olds at 5') and needs plus sized clothes to top it all off so clothes shopping is such a challenge.

I h-a-t-e children's fashions; little girls do NOT need tight clothes!!!