SPD and Scoliosis Brace

by Lori
(Oklahoma)

My verbally gifted son, age 12, has sensory issues, low muscle tone and dyspraxia. He used to have trouble with clothing tags and socks. Now he has trouble tuning out pain from the scoliosis brace he has to wear. Since he is close to my size, I decided to try on his old brace and wear it for an hour. It is very uncomfortable, made of hard plastic with straps in the back that have to be tightened to the point that he can't breathe easily. It is hard to bend over to pick something up off the floor, it is hard to sit, it is hot, it is hard to do anything with the brace on. I couldn't even tolerate it for an hour and I don't have SPD.

Somehow he needs to learn to tune out the pain and discomfort so he can concentrate on things like math. Before the brace we took lots of breaks to exercise and play catch in the house when he needed a break from homeschooling. This worked really well for him. That all stopped nine months ago when he started wearing the brace. He has to wear it all day, every day, until he stops growing, so at least 4 more years. Any ideas on how we can get through this?