Sold Out // April 21-26, 2024 // Telluride, Colorado

Pediatric Foot and Ankle Deformity Management with Serial Casting

Early Registration: $1950, plus Housing Fee through March 9. Does not include travel expenses.

Regular Registration: $2200, plus Housing Fee beginning March 10. Does not include travel expenses.

NEW in 2024: We've revised this course to accommodate the common suggestion that students need more time devoted to cast fabrication. Thus, students will fabricate and optimize each cast type—the FlexCast© and the plaster and softcast combination case—twice and will experience wearing bilateral casts. This change in program content requires a significant increase in casting supplies, for which the tuition has been increased. We are sure that this new course will raise your confidence in your new casting skills.

Join the waitlist ↓

Please fill out the form below if you wish to waitlist for future Pediatric Serial Casting courses held in Telluride, Colorado. We will notify the entire waitlist at once, and registration will be offered on a first-to-register basis.

Six Days, Six Colleagues, World-Class Instruction

And hours of hands-on practice — all leading to new understanding and new skills to add to your toolbox.

In this practice-changing live course, your instructor, Billi Cusick, will identify and describe common developmental foot deformities in terms of plane-based anatomical components.

She'll also review musculoskeletal assessment procedures, as the findings you generate will equip you with a systematic clinical decision-making process regarding orthotic design. You'll learn to consider factors such as:

desired load-bearing foot and limb joint alignment,

magnitude of segment enclosure,

degrees of freedom provided or restrained, and

a wide range of posting options.

You'll learn how soft-tissue extensibility findings are also used in the documentation of the effects of assorted orthotic intervention strategies.

You'll discuss and gain an understanding of orthotic options, including Elaine Owen’s Tuned AFO/Footwear Combinations, heel lifting and weight-line training, orthotic posting and foot packaging principles and strategies, positioning, resting splints, stretching, and serial casting.

Extensive Hands-On Lab Sessions

Lab sessions feature closely-supervised trials of several ankle and foot assessment procedures, with findings applied to orthotic posting and design. Materials will be provided for an introductory practice lab on undertaking on-site posting trials to preview effects of proposed orthotic modifications, and for a day of training in fabrication of two types of below-knee cast: plaster and SoftCast combination and FlexCast.

Special Note: Casts are made to be removed without a motorized cutter, even when reinforced with fiberglass cast tape.  

The content covered in this in-person course and hands-on lab includes the following topics:

👉 The emerging sciences of postural control acquisition and maintenance, including the role of the somatosensory system as it is currently understood in relation to the load-bearing alignment of the torso, lower limbs, and feet.

👉 Postural control deficits and body weight distribution on the foot in standing and walking as causative factors in contracture formation.

👉 An update on the role of spasticity in equinus deformity development.

👉 Foot and ankle functional anatomy, biomechanics, development, and pathomechanics in relation to body weight orientation over the base of support and to designing orthotic modifications to optimize foot development and function.

👉 Muscle and soft-tissue adaptation to chronic use of compensatory postural control mechanisms.

👉 A review of conservative strategies for contracture reduction and management.

Earn Them

CEUs

PHYSICAL THERAPISTS & ASSISTANTS: This course is approved for 40 contact hours — which are accepted for PT continuing education credits in over 40 states via Redefine Health Education. For a list of states that accept these CEUs and information about obtaining them in those that do not, please visit Redefine Health Education's website

ORTHOTISTS and PROSTHETISTS: Email us for further details.

Real Student Reviews
This course was everything I hoped for - it exceeded my clinical expectations and I truly felt I gained new skills and information. Thank you for all you did to make this happen!

Registration and Housing

Location // Telluride, CO

Airports // Fly into Montrose (MTJ) or Telluride (TEX)

Check-In // Saturday, April 20

Check-Out // Saturday, April 27

Course starts at 12:20 p.m. April 21, and ends April 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Shared Housing //
$600 USD for Course Classroom Condo
$700 USD for Residence-Only Condo
Each student will have their own separate bedroom and bath.


We hold the course in two 3BR/3BA condos in The River Club, located on the west side of Telluride. 
The Classroom Condo is where we set up the classroom and lab areas in the living room for the duration of the course
The Residence-Only Condo is where we host a couple of group dinners, otherwise, it's your 'quiet space'.

Registration //
$1950 USD for Early Registration through March 9.
$2200 USD for Regular Registration beginning March 10.

Note: We require a minimum of four attendees per session and a maximum of six. Your reservation for the session of your choice will be pending. Which means you should not finalize travel arrangements until we have four reservations for your session. 

Bonus: Attendees are welcome to undergo Certified TheraTogs Fitter - Level 1 training and credentialing after hours at no additional cost. This training is optional.

COVID Considerations

Traveling and Staying in Telluride

Here are the factors we’re working with:

Per our normal practice, we select course dates in Telluride’s two off-seasons — to keep your housing costs low. The off-season is a time of peace in Telluride — no summer crowds, no ski crowds … no crowds, period. All of which reduce the risk of COVID exposure from the community, or from the lower numbers of visitors from out of town.

We reserve two spacious condos at The River Club, each with three bedrooms, and each bedroom with its own bathroom. Due to the off-season schedule, The River Club facility is typically nearly vacant during our courses; we anticipate it will be at no more than 50% capacity during the course.

We hold the course in one of the largest condos in the facility, and arrange seating to keep attendees apart. We know we cannot separate you during foot assessment and casting labs, but face masks and gloves will be available. In addition, we keep the space well-ventilated, and we practice careful vigilance and cleaning protocols.

Telluride is located in San Miguel County — 8,000 residents spread over a 1,289 square miles region. The county’s public health team does an excellent job of reporting on COVID test results, cases, and trends, and has been on top of things since the pandemic started. We follow their recommendations and requirements in regards to public gathering.

Please contact us if you would like further or updated information.

Given that circumstances can always change, we STRONGLY recommend that you purchase refundable/changeable airfare, once your course registration is confirmed. Progressive GaitWays is not responsible for your travel expenses if you cancel your reservation, or if we cancel or postpone your course session due to public health requirements.

Cancellations and Refunds

In general, if you have registered for an in-person course but can't attend, we encourage you to find a colleague to take your place. (If you cancel 45+ days in advance, and we can find a replacement, we'll refund you 95% of your registration costs.)

If we have to cancel an in-person course, all registration and housing fees will be refunded.

Progressive GaitWays is not responsible for any travel, lodging, or related expenses incurred by a registered attendee, regardless of the source of cancellation.

Review our Course Cancellation and Refund Policies for full details.

Meet Your Instructor

Billi Cusick

Billi Cusick, PT, MS, NDT, COF/BOC, is an internationally known pediatric physical therapist whose specialty is the orthopedic development and orthotic management of children with cerebral palsy and other neuromotor deficits. 

She has been teaching these and related topics since 1978, including presentations by invitation for the APTA, AACPDM, AOPA, and AAOP and more than 460 full programs and workshops worldwide.

Billi received her BS in PT from Bouve College at Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 1972, and her MS in Clinical and College Teaching for Allied Health Professionals from the University of Kentucky in Lexington in 1988. She is an Associate Professor for the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions – Pediatrics Program – Provo, Utah (2006-present) and is NDT basic- and baby-trained.

Digital Training On-Demand Courses, Webinars, Online Assets, In-Person Live Courses Cancellation & Refund Policies
Registration payments for online training products and events, whether offered live or in pre-recorded form, are generally not refundable.
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