This is a part of the podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Returning to School After Burn Injury. Maria Elena Tome discusses medical and physical challenges a child may face when returning to school after a burn injury. 

I think there’s  many challenges that children can have returning to school. Some of those would be the physical challenge. What accommodations do the schools have? Do they have an elevator? Say they can't walk or they have to have a walker. Are the classes really far away from each other? So those kind of accommodations would be very important to set up prior to the child going to school, for them to allow enough time for a child to travel. And if they do not have an elevator and the class is on the second floor and the child can't master that, what is the possibility at that particular time? I think some of the other challenges would be, you know, long days and, and them still feeling tired. Many children still have to have multiple surgeries and laser surgeries, which makes them tired. So they have to go back and almost feel that, you know, they're starting all over again.  

I think another challenge would be there's children that have to wear garments and have to wear pressure dressings, and, you know, if it's really hot outside and it's a hot day and can they have a place to take them off? Can they have a private place to take them off? Can they have, maybe not have to do PE. That would be another challenge for children. A lot depends on the age of the child, though, too, because, you know, I think we're talking generally about younger children, but for adolescents there's so many other things because those are the age, you know, there's other adolescent issues. So, so much depends on the developmental stage of the child that would create issues for them.  

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.