School making DS write with broken wrist !!!

emmaBZ

just a rant really my son just turned 12 broke his wrist and his growth plate is out of alignment which may require an operation to fix if the cast doesnt sort it...he did this about 2 wks ago. got a cast for 5 weeks to heal break , and was told NO USING HIS HAND ATALL by orthopidic doc who he saw plus he had to have his cast set in an awkwrd angle to get things rectified, ....anyway i phoned his school as soon as he had been sorted and spoke to his HOY , and told her what happened and as he is right handed and its his right arm he wont be able to do any written work in school untill he has been re assessed she told me that she would tell his teachers so he didnt get in trouble ect, however he said this morning his wrist still hurts and really hurts when he has to write at school.... i told him hes not to but he said he gets shouted at and told of if he doesnt write,
its only his first year at secondary school so he probably feels very nervouse ect anyway,....OMG i am fuming :mad:
i called to speak to HOY but got call back later, sorry just riled me up today but i will tell her that if he tells me this again then i will be keeping him off school untill i know he wont be MADE to write..

mrcow

He needs to start practising with his left hand and make the effort to write. Or ask for a computer so that he can type up anything he needs to write down. Or make sure he gets copies of notes from another student.

A teacher shouldn't be shouting at him for this. But don't take him out of school either - that won't solve anything - and will only mean he misses lessons.

tamlem

My son (11) broke his finger a few months ago, not as dramatic as a wrist though!

I wrote a letter for his teacher personally, explaining that he wouldn't be able to use his right hand (he's right handed) for a couple of weeks. His teacher made him use his left and he wasn't exempt from any work at all but was very understanding about the fact that his work rate was slower and messier than usual!

Son was happy with this and so was I.

I think you should give him a letter to show to individual teachers so they understand the situation but be prepared that they may expect him to use his left hand.

emlou2009

my school kept laptops for those with broken/sprained/injured arms and hands to use. that was 10 years ago now, i would assume schools still did the same thing now? or do you have one you could send him with? he does still have a left hand as well, you'd be surprised how quickly he could adapt to using it - if he tried!

you shouldnt take him out of school because he cant write, he still needs to learn. he will end up going through life with the attitude of giving up when he cant do something instead of looking at other ways round it.

pinkshoes

I broke my right arm/wrist when I was 14, and had to have it set at a very funny angle, with my thumb in plaster too, so definitely no writing.

I was expected to write with my left hand, and to this day still can!!

I took a dictaphone with me to school, then had to spend my evenings re-listening to the lessons and filling bits in that I'd missed, or borrowing someone else's notes.

aliasojo

I'm right handed and wouldn't be able to write with my left at all. In fact, I've just tried and it took me ages to write my name. I can't see that being a good way to help a kid? It'll end up making him frustrated and way behind in his written work.

A laptop is a good idea, ask the school if they are able to supply one. Even if they dont have spares, the LEA should be able to source a loaner for short term use.

tamlem

aliasojo wrote: »

I'm right handed and wouldn't be able to write with my left at all. In fact, I've just tried and it took me ages to write my name. I can't see that being a good way to help a kid? It'll end up making him frustrated and way behind in his written work.

A laptop is a good idea, ask the school if they are able to supply one. Even if they dont have spares, the LEA should be able to source a loaner for short term use.

I think perhaps the younger you are the easier it is to adjust to but no, I agree, it's not easily done.

My ds was hoping for a laptop as another child had done this the year before (and ds could even have taken ours in) but the teacher wanted him to use his left hand so that's what he did.

He's lucky and his teacher is very encouraging. So even though he'd struggle at the beginning to get much done that was legible I saw lots of positive comments in his book like "well done X, you've really worked hard and put in loads of effort given your hand problems at the moment, i'm really impressed".

I think it was a real challenge for DS but he rose to it and got positive encouragement and FB from his teacher so turned out to be quite a useful learning experience.

That said, a laptop is of course a useful way to deal with the issue too. If the teacher/school choose to allow it.

aliasojo

tamlem wrote: »

I think perhaps the younger you are the easier it is to adjust to but no, I agree, it's not easily done.

Good point.

tamlem

aliasojo wrote: »

Good point.

Not that we're not young on here of course;)

Just not as young !:o

Zoetoes

Write with your left hand? I'm going to try this now to see if it's legible!

I think a laptop would be a better idea.

Zoetoes

Well I can't read it and I know what I wrote!