12 Jan 🥺Is your child with Special Needs crying whenever they have their AFOs on 🤔 Been told that your child just needs to get used to their AFOs

AFOs are Ankle-Foot-Orthosis used to correct or prevent foot drop in children with special needs, particularly when a child with special needs has high muscle tone in their calf muscles pulling their foot downwards. AFOs are often customised specifically for each child and should fit them comfortably. So when a child is crying, 😭 it is important to check their AFOs.

Here are 3 Common Reasons why your child is not tolerating their AFOs:
👧1. A child may not be tolerating their AFOs because they have contractures in their calf muscles. This often happens when a child has not been wearing their AFOs for a while, and their calf muscles have shortened with increased muscle tone and growth spurts.

👧2. AFOs limit the ankle movement and some children who are crawling and walking independently find it limiting to wear their AFOs because it stops them from being able to move from sitting to crawling to pulling to stand to walk. As a result these children refuse to wear the AFOs.

👧3. A child may be tolerating their AFOs because it is not fitting them well. AFOs are customised to fit the shape of each child, however, sometimes it takes a few adjustments to make the AFOs comfortable for the child. In addition, over time as a child grows, the AFOs may need have to be adjusted to accommodate their growth. Otherwise they might have pressure areas on their foot or ankle, which cause discomfort and pain.

If your child is not tolerating their AFOs, it’s important to speak to an Expert Paediatric Physiotherapist 🤓and an Expert Orthotist to have their AFOs reviewed.

If you are concerned about your child’s AFOs or gross motor skills, ring My Favourite Physio 📱on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today.

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