first time AFO (ankle foot orthotic) advice?

[bzeetyd]

Our daughter (13mo - hypotonia/gross motor dev delay no DX yet) is being fitted/casted for AFOs tomorrow and I was just wondering what kind of advice anyone who's been in them has for us.

Background: She is not standing on her own yet, and needs to be held by her hips or under her shoulders to stand, for example she can't hold onto us and stand herself. Her left foot over pronates considerably and her right one seems to be stronger and more typical.

I believe she'll be getting a non-hinged kind to aid in her attempts to stand, to try and strengthen her knee and hips by locking her ankles into place. There was talk of it being hinged later or being able to unlock it and have it be hinged.

I don't know anyone IRL yet who has a kiddo who's had othotics so it's really our first time with any sort of experience with them.

Thanks much!

[toastie]

Hi! We've gone through it about 10 times between the 2 kids. Bring snacks, iPad, etc. basically they wrap your kids foot and leg in plaster, they hold it in position for a few while it hardens, then cut it off with scissors? It only takes about 5 minutes to set so it's actually a pretty quick procedure. My boys hate when they hold it in position because they have short heel cords and can't get flat footed.

Then you can choose a pattern to be applied for the afo. In about 2 weeks you'll come back and they will fit them. That appt took a while, because they like you to leave them on for about ten minutes and then take them off to check for red marks. Don't forget to bring high socks for that appointment.

Good luck!hope it goes well.

[dixienormous]

Definitely take the orthodics with you when you get shoes. You might end up going up several sizes as well as taking out the inserts from the shoes.

There's not much to know about them other than follow the instructions from the PT and or the physiatrist.

I *will* say that PF's original PT was a whack job and wanted her in the AFOs 24-7. That resulted in corrections that are still being made by her current PT. Every kid is different and trust your team, but also trust yourself.

[bzeetyd]

Thanks SO much,everyone. We had the casting this morning and it went great! She was very tolerant, per usual, and we should have them already on Tuesday of next week. She'll just be wearing them when we're practicing standing for now and we'll get a schedule from the orthotist and our PT (who we love!).

The orthotist said he'd bring some shoes to try but since she's petite, her feet are very small - sizing up will help so hopefully we can find something that works well.

[pipsqueak]

My ds2 is getting his second set on Tuesday. He has SMOs under AFOs so we can quickly and easily switch between the two.

Baby leg warmers work great over the AFOs to keep little fingers from playing with the Velcro and to me it's easier than finding socks long enough to fold down over them.

[bzeetyd]

Mar 29, 2015 21:45:57 GMT -5 pipsqueak said:

My ds2 is getting his second set on Tuesday. He has SMOs under AFOs so we can quickly and easily switch between the two.

Baby leg warmers work great over the AFOs to keep little fingers from playing with the Velcro and to me it's easier than finding socks long enough to fold down over them.

Thanks for the tip! We have several pairs of legwarmers, so that's perfect.