Dynamic Foot Orthosis and Motor Skills of Delayed Children

In Brief The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a minimum control dynamic foot orthosis (DFO) on the locomotor skills of children with gross motor delays. The gross motor skills of 25 children (age = 46.6 ± 10.6 mo; 2 Down syndrome, 3 cerebral palsy, 20 developmentally delayed) were evaluated within 7 days with and without a DFO, and evaluations were repeated for 17 of the children following 2 months of wearing a DFO. Gross motor skills were evaluated using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales Test–2. Significant (p < 0.05) motor improvements were seen initially (i.e., within 7 days) for raw scores (without DFO = 110.8 ± 22.6, with DFO = 115.2 ± 24.1) and age equivalent scores (without DFO = 25.7 ± 8.7 mo, with DFO = 27.3 ± 9.4 mo). Similar results were seen following 2 months of wearing a DFO. Results of this study suggest that DFOs could play a significant role in improving the locomotor skills of children with gross motor delays. However, the disability category demonstrating the largest improvements included children who were developmentally delayed. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a minimum control dynamic foot orthosis (DFO) on the locomotor skills of children with gross motor delays. The gross motor skills of 25 children were evaluated within 7 days with and without a DFO, and evaluations were repeated for 17 of the children following 2 months of wearing a DFO. Results of this study suggest that DFOs could play a significant role in improving the locomotor skills of children with gross motor delays.