I wore my braces all the time. I had surgery- both hands, but the braces helped a world before the surgery. I could type and do a lot of other things- I had mine for several months and you do get good at using your hands with them on.
After surgery, it took a year before I really felt my hands weren't clumsy- I think they need to do Physical Therapy to get the strength and dexterity back rather than just assuming it will come back on it's own. It won't. It wasn't until I really started weight lifting with the hand and forcing myself that I got full control back, ie, finding exercises on my own to do.