Upon completion of this course, participants will:

• Know the range of pediatric lower extremity bracing options available for a variety of patient presentations.
• Understand the development and theory behind dynamic bracing and the difference between DAFOs and traditional AFOs.
• Be able to observe a patient, describe gait deviations that can be controlled through bracing, and decide which gait deviations to address during the next bracing cycle (typically a 6 to 12 month period).
• Be able to identify a patient’s ability to voluntarily control the frontal, sagittal, and transverse motion needed for stance and gait, and plan a brace project for the best position of function for the patient.
• Be able to explain how this patient’s goals will be met by a particular brace design choice.
• Use the DAFO Planning Worksheet to organize and support the decisions made in brace planning.
• Be able to use the Cascade Dafo order forms to get exactly the brace you want for your patient, requesting optimizations when applicable (using the Optimizations Index as a reference).
• Be able to better meet patient needs by customizing your DAFO order beyond the standards and items in the Optimization Index.
• Know how to communicate with the entire clinic team and Cascade Dafo, Inc. when issues of concern arise

Cindy E. Diener, CPO
Cindy has been with Cascade P&O and Cascade Dafo since 1994. Her path to orthotics and prosthetics began with an interest in physical therapy, which led her to volunteer at an amputee rehabilitation facility. Now managing Cascade’s Ferndale office, she combines her desire to help her patients gain their best mobility with teaching opportunities nationally and internationally. She is an expert in biomechanical assessment and pediatric bracing. In her spare time, Cindy loves to hit the trails with her four horses. (University of Washington, 1994)