<p>My son who is transferring this coming semester broke his foot playing basketball. Has anyone else had a situation like this? I have a call into the school to see if we can get any support services but I don't feel hopeful about it. He has to live off campus due to no housing available for transfers so he would need help getting to campus and to class, getting food, etc. Any suggestions appreciated.</p>
<p>I wish I could offer encouragement, but I found little help at my son's school a couple of years ago when he was on crutches following knee surgery. He was pretty much on his own. Call the health center and see if there are any electric carts that run disabled students around campus. Otherwise, possibly post an ad on craigslist asking for a student to assist him.</p>
<p>Try contacting his school's disability office.</p>
<p>Check with the housing office. If your student has a disability, even a temporary one, sometimes they can find space on campus to accommodate him. You may need to contact the university's Disabilities Services Office, as there may be other accomodations available. On my campus, there is a service that will transport students around campus who have disabilities.</p>
<p>Oh, Lilymoon, I am so sorry to hear this! I know how long your son worked on this transfer, and I know he is really looking forward to it. If the school won't provide help, maybe you could put up an ad & pay a student to help out. I know it's not ideal, but it might work ... and maybe his helper will turn out to be a new friend.</p>
<p>I would also try to contact the student health center. D1 broke her foot right before Thanksgiving her first semester in college. I will say it was the one time that she needed health services, that I was impressed. They made transportation arrangements for her to see an orthopedic a few miles from campus, and also offered to pick her up from her dorm and drive her to as close to classroom buildings that they could get. However, she had a little more than a week before she came home for Thanksgiving, then was here for a few days, and by the time she returned, she felt capable of getting herself around as she was basically in a walking cast at that point. But evidently the health center had some sort of protocol in place; her campus was kind of hilly, though.</p>
<p>lilymoon, I am so sorry. I hope that he feels better soon, and I do hope that you can find some assistance for your son.</p>
<p>Hope he won the basketball game? :)</p>
<p>Have you tried to contact the Health Services Office? I bet they have had to deal with this type of situation quite a few times over the years. I'd give them a call tomorrow and see if they can work out a plan to help your son. Chances are, they have ways to deal with this type of situation. Good luck and let us know what happens.</p>
<p>If he has a car, Health Services should be able to get him a temporary handicapped parking permit to use on campus. Make sure his physician gets him one to use around town as well.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your caring words and suggestions! It is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I am still waiting to talk to the schools Disability Resource Center after missing their call while we were at the Dr. yesterday. When I called the Health Center they just referred me to them anyway. If I need to I will put an ad on Craigs list for someone in the area that could help out, that's a good idea. I was also thinking of using a car service to take him to class every day and hope that his roommates will be cool about helping out at the apartment. I looked into hiring an aide through an agency nearby but they won't drive him around, so that was a dead end. He does have a car but can't drive it...so the parking is not an issue yet, but may be in the future so I will keep the handicapped permit in mind.</p>
<p>Keep your thoughts coming. :)</p>
<p>I am not sure how this works - should he get a temporary handicapped permit for a car anyway (even though he can't drive yet) so that if his roommate drives him somewhere they can park really close to the entrance?</p>
<p>Augh! Lilymoon, please, please, please do NOT do anymore for this beloved son. You've done WAYYY too much for him already. It is HIS job to call the campus health center. It is HIS job to check out housing options. It is HIS job to figure out rides to and from class (you can help by throwing some extra dollars in his checking account). </p>
<p>This kid has been blessed with a TEMPORARY hardship. If you will (please) get out of the way, he can learn a lot about coping, disabilities, and how minor frustrations can make or break a day -- he also has a fantastic opportunity to come in contact with a lot of new students (hey, could you give me a hand with this door? etc). </p>
<p>I have a major disability. I am a paraplegic. Having people wait on me hand and foot makes me grumpy, guilty and indulged -- I do much better when I am plotting, planning and DOING despite the handicap. </p>
<p>Chances are, (this being a male child) that he won't do things as soon as you would or in the order that you would -- but there is also a very high chance that he will succeed in getting himself to class (even if he ends up sleeping on the floor of the library for a night or two). Please have him solve some of his own problems!</p>
<p>^^ I don't see anything wrong with this Mom helping her son who is starting a new school with this disability. Even though it's temporary, this is a guy- and he needs help figuring this out. We're parents. It's what we do.</p>
<p>I agree... if this were a kid who was already established in a school and had friends, then it would be a different story. This is someone who's moving in, mid-term, when most friendships have already been established (not saying he can't make friends; he just may have to try harder to fit into already created groups/cliques of kids who began school in the fall together). </p>
<p>Now, if he's telling her not to interfere, and she is, that's a different story; she has not indicated that he has done so.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone! I appreciate all points of view. Here is the latest update. </p>
<p>At orientation, son met with someone from the Disability Resource Center. There is really not much that they do other than give safe routes to go from class to class and arrange schedules so it is easier for the student. He took a light load of classes this semester with no Wednesday classes and one evening class on Mondays. The other classes have a good deal of time in between to allow for slow going. </p>
<p>His roommates were great and all 3 offered to help him get where he needs to go. In addition, I placed an ad on a school message board and got a response from a student who is willing to help out.</p>
<p>If he gets stuck, he can always call a car service/cab. So, it looks like he has some good support for now and hopefully as he spends more time in school and makes new friends he will gain more options.</p>
<p>Thanks again for your input! :)</p>