This is a part of the podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Returning to School After Burn Injury. Sarah Stoycos discusses how connecting with friends help a child with the challenge of returning to school after a burn injury. 

So when I start working with a child and family, some of the things that I think about and it's, and try to get a sense of is what was the child like before the burn, especially with relation to their social connection, their learning abilities and how they were in school … and the ways that they coped with difficult circumstances. We know that in recovery from a burn, those are what we call protective factors. So they can help a child and family recover well after the burn, especially from emotional challenges. So trying to get a sense of was the child shy or outgoing? Did they have friends or not? How did they relate to their siblings? How did they fit in with the family dynamic? And then that gives us information about areas we can bolster and try to build up … things like their relationships with their siblings and the parents but also bringing in peers sooner in the process. So it's not uncommon if the family wants it, that I may push to try to have a friend visit during hospitalization or to start FaceTiming or talking on the phone with a child.

Paying attention to those things can be really helpful from a resiliency based perspective because they help kids adjust later with school. So anything we can do to reduce their stress, increase their safety and sense of excitement to go back to school will also impact their learning, cause we know that stress and isolation can impact a child's ability to take in information in the classroom.

 Visit https://msktc.org/burn and get the answers you need from experts who conduct innovative and high-quality research, provide patient care, and work to improve the health and overall quality of life for people with burn injury. That’s https://msktc.org/burn.