David Speers is an American Board Certified and Illinois Licensed Orthotist and Prosthetist who is a faculty member as a lecturer at Northwestern University Prosthetic Orthotic Center in Chicago, IL. He worked in clinical practice for 25 years at the University of Iowa, Scheck and Siress and Hanger Clinic in Schaumburg, IL. His practice included a great number of pediatric patients that needed orthotic management for scoliosis, fractures, club foot, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and toe walking. He also has helped to develop a femoral fracture brace, with orthopedic surgeons, to manage pediatric femur fractures in children 0-5 years old, which replaces the need for a hip spica cast.David spent two, one-week sessions in Germany with Dr. Manuel Rigo from Barcelona, Spain learning how to make the Rigo-Cheneau style scoliosis brace. This is the preferred brace used in conjunction with Schroth scoliosis therapy and focuses on three dimensional correction of scoliosis. David has also learned scoliosis bracing techniques from the National Scoliosis Center in Fairfax, Virginia.He is a member of the international Scoliosis group, SOSORT, and has presented his research for members of SOSORT in San Francisco, CA in 2019, Katowice, Poland in 2015, Chicago in 2013 and Milan, Italy in 2012. In 2015, David was invited to speak at a Scoliosis Symposium at the University of Iowa with the lead authors of the BrAIST study – Dr.Stuart Weinstein, MD and Lori Dolan PhD. The BrAIST study is groundbreaking research that states that scoliosis bracing is effective and prevents children from needing surgery.In 2018, David was a Howard R. Thranhardt Award winner for his paper titled Functional Bracing for Treatment of Pediatric Diaphyseal Femoral Fractures: An Alternative to Spica Casting? and presented the work at the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists annual meeting in New Orleans, LA.In addition, David is an active member of the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists and its Midwest Chapter and a member of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine. David was one of the co-authors of a paper that was presented at the 2016 Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America (POSNA) annual meeting regarding bracing for treating femur fractures on children ages 0-5, which was voted the best trauma paper presented at the conference. The title of the paper was Functional Bracing for Treatment of Pediatric Diaphyseal Femoral Fractures: An Alternative to Spica Casting?