"If you feel like you want to hide your brace, you can wear your pants/shorts over your brace, then wear spandex or bike shorts under the brace. This way if your shirt comes up you see regular pants. Just make sure you keep an eye on your pants, you can’t feel them if they fall down 😂" - Claire 

"Legging leggings leggings!!! If you don’t wear uniform" - Holly

"Everything oversized (tees, hoodies) and leggings or sweatpants are lifesavers" - Iliana

"Wear a tee one size down from your regular size under your school blouse/shirt. You could also seek permission from your school to wear your blouse as a tunic instead of tucked in for your comfort." - Ann

"The hard plastic chairs stink and can be super uncomfortable. Ask your teachers for a different chair. In past years they’ve given me the soft office chairs which are soooo helpful!"

"You can make a little pad to make the chairs more comfortable (it helped me more when I didn’t have my brace but it could be helpful with a brace)" - Karen

"Offer to run papers for the teach so you can get up and walk around!" - Madelynn

"I like a backpack with thicker, more padded straps so they don’t pinch my skin (between your brace and backpack)." - Claire

"My daughter used a rolling backpack when she wore a brace. We made sure to put it in her 504 plan, because some schools don’t allow rolling backpacks." - Vickie

"I always make sure the straps are opposite the curve. My left shoulder is higher than my right, so I put the left strap higher than the right to even myself out a bit." - Madelynn

"When I was in bracing I used a smaller tote bag that I could just carry by hand instead of putting all the weight on my shoulders." - Ky

"We love this brace bag for her and anyone that fits perfectly and is a tote on both shoulders so as not to pull shoulders down and increase the curve, she can change for athletics and use her bag fir books and storage www.embracebags.com" - Leslie

"My daughter (7) starts school on Monday. Got the brace 2 weeks ago. We are planning to have a Q&A session with her class. Met with the school nurse today to coordinate her accommodations. My hope is that the other kiddos will be curious and open to em"bracing" this change" - Callista 

"Just try and be as open as possible. Let the questions come, as curiosity is powerful. People will stare less if they have knowledge. For me personally, my teacher let me go in front of the class, talk about it, and then take questions."

"Never assume that when a person comments on your brace, that it's always something negative or that they're being rude to you. Most of the time, people are just curious and have never seen a brace before! Use this as an opportunity to maybe educate them a little!! I've had a ton a girls coming up to me and asking on my brace, and a few of them (once I explained everything) even discovered they had scoliosis too!" - Kat

"If you need help carrying books, ask a friend who you trust!" - Hailey

"Ask for an extra set of books to keep at home." - Kymberly

"At my daughters middle school, they had top lockers and bottom lockers. We always made sure she got a top locker, so she wouldn’t need to squat. And she used a rolling backpack. She also got a second copy of all of her textbooks, so she wouldn’t have to carry them in her backpack." - Vickie

"I played sports when I had two curves over 50°. Something that helped me was taking my medicine right before practice/games. Definitely helped with pain. Extra stretching helped me so much, too! It may sound silly, but yoga can help, as well!" - Juliette

"Talk to your teachers/admin! They can’t do anything if they are not aware you need support." - Wren

"Doctors note!!! Neither my middle school or high school accepted parent notes, so just make sure you have a doctors note that specifically says things you can’t do or says you can decide what you feel comfortable with."

504 Education Plans