New Footwear for Alice

On the recommendations of her physical therapist, Alice went to an orthotist who feels that she will benefit from a DAFO. Rather than try to describe it, I'll borrow some information from Wikipedia:

A DAFO (Dynamic Ankle Foot Orthosis) is a brand name for some lower extremity braces that provide thin, flexible, external support to the foot, ankle and/or lower leg. Designed to help a patient maintain a functional position, a DAFO can improve stability for successful standing and walking.

Different from a traditional Ankle Foot Orthosis (AFO), which is typically stiff and rigid, a DAFO is characteristically thin, flexible and wraps around the patient’s entire foot in order to provide improved sensation and alignment. Initially designed for use by pediatric patients but now sometimes used by the adult population, a DAFO encourages range of motion, allowing children to learn movement by moving and providing minimal support, only where the patient needs it. DAFOs are frequently prescribed to assist with mobility and motor skills of children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, clubfoot and autism.

Alice isn't thrilled about it, but she's not acting too put out. We spent a good bit of time looking at all the color options a few weeks ago. She went back and forth between something as inconspicuous as possible or making a statement with colors and patterns. Guess which one she decided on --

We stopped a Target to find new PINK shoes (the DAFOs don't fit inside any of her old ones). She also needs knee high socks to wear with them. Soccer socks are recommended, but we picked up these socks to get us started.

Walking comfortably in the DAFOs is going to take some time. They alter her "normal" gate, imposing proper alignment which feels very foreign to her. She almost fell several times during her first few laps through the house.

BTW - the fancy shirt is her art project from summer school. They wore them today for the last day of school on their field trip to the US Naval Academy. She didn't get her DAFOs until after school - thank goodness.