THE ALTSO VISION
According to UNICEF, there are an estimated 200 million disabled children living in developing countries. These children often remain uneducated, simply because they are unable to walk to school. Without an education, their working lives are compromised; they face a sad, troubled future, with very little hope.
In many countries, physical disabilities are considered shameful, and children born with disabilities are sometimes mistreated or abandoned by their families. But the real tragedy is that the hardship faced by so many of these children could be eased with medical assistance. An estimated 70% could be rehabilitated with the proper care.
A Leg To Stand On was founded to give these children a chance, and its core mission is to define and deliver three fundamentals for this constituency. We call them the "three T's:"
- Training: ALTSO's Fellowship training program is directed at medical professionals in our target countries, including local doctors, prosthetists and rehabilitation specialists. It brings to these professionals unique training opportunities in advanced orthopedic surgical techniques, prosthetic design and rehabilitation practices.
- Treatment: Children are referred to the ALTSO programs by local doctors, educators, community leaders, family and friends. Their condition is evaluated, and appropriate treatment is delivered, sometimes corrective surgery, prosthetic limbs or orthoses and health education.
- Therapy : To ensure that our Treatment programs are successful, ALTSO also supports post-operative physical therapy and rehabilitative activities, including the collection and maintenance of medical records for proper follow-up and reporting. Our goal is to provide high-quality, continuous care for the patients who have been treated through ALTSO programs.
We understand that the promise of this vision can best be achieved by working  closely with established organizations in developing countries. ALTSO's aim is to transfer specialized knowledge to those who can make the best use of it.
ALTSO exists to bridge the gap between the developed and developing worlds, and to define effective, context-sensitive programs that make a real and on-going difference in the lives of our patients.
* International Disability & Development Consortium, 1997
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