What resources are available to the amputee?

Your Prosthetist

There are many organizations across the country that offer information and support to amputees. Amputee support groups and peer visitations can be invaluable to you as a new amputee facing life’s challenges. You may want to contact:

Amputee Coalition of America
900 East Hill Avenue, Suite 285
Knoxville, TN 37915
(888) 267-5669

In addition there are other organizations that publish information about prosthetics:

American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP)
1650 King Street, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 836-7118
Home Page: www.oandp.com/academy

AAOP is the professional membership organization for orthotic and prosthetic healthcare professionals certified by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics, Inc. (ABC).

AAOP publishes a number of booklets for amputees such as: For the New Amputee, You Have a Choice: Improving Orthotic & Prosthetic Outcomes, Care & Use Guide: For Below-Knee Amputee, and Care & Use Guide: Plastic Ankle-Foot Orthosis.

Capabilities
Northwestern University
Rehabilitation Engineering Program
345 S. Superior St., Room 1441
Chicago, IL 60611-4496
(312) 908-8560

You may wish to visit your local public library or the library of a nearby college or university to locate additional printed materials about prosthetics. In addition your prosthetist may be able to provide you with a reading list of books that contain information to help you to become a successful wearer of a prosthesis.

There is also a growing amount of information available on the Internet:

Internet
Via the Internet you can access current information by searching with key words like: amputee; prostheses; artificial limbs.


Also visit The Amputee Networks Resources Page at http://homepage.mac.com/birdhousestudios/resources.htm