Foot in a cast
A cast changes daily life overnight. Suddenly there is no running, no showering as usual and no putting on both shoes. The visual support below shows the foot in a cast resting on a cushion and helps your child understand why rest is now part of the day.
Foot in a cast
A foot in a white cast rests on an orange cushion.
About this visual support
When a child gets a cast, a whole set of new rules comes with it. The foot needs to stay raised for the first few days, the cast must not get wet, and crutches or a wheelchair may be needed to get around. To adults these rules make sense, but to a child they can feel random and unfair. It gets easier when there is a picture that shows what it should look like, instead of your child hearing no and wait all day long.
Use the picture of the foot on the cushion as a clear marker for rest breaks. Put it in the daily schedule after school or after meals, so resting gets a fixed place and does not just appear when the foot starts to ache. You can also add your own pictures for other parts of the cast weeks, such as a plastic bag over the cast in the shower or the crutches by the door.
Think about what can be done instead, too. Games, puzzles, books and crafts at the table make resting less dull, and a picture of the activity next to the rest card shows there is something to look forward to. Follow medical advice on how long to rest. In the Routined app you can quickly add temporary steps to your child's schedule and remove them once the cast is off. You can try the app for 14 days without paying.
Use this image in a schedule
Build your own visual schedule with this image and download it as a print-ready PDF. Completely free.
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In Routined you build schedules from these pictures, add timers and voice instructions, and your child follows the day on their own.
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