This course will focus on the cardiopulmonary implications for the premature or medically-complex infant as related to physiological stability, evolving motor control, sensory stability, and transition to oral motor skills that support feeding. It will focus on advancing the critical reasoning skills of the neonatal therapist to support the infant’s ability to obtain foundational motor and sensory skills. These skills include the ability of the infant to cough, produce audible phonation, oral motor skills, swallow skills, trunk facilitation, gestational age appropriate positioning/handling to support the emergence of gross motor skills for postural stability. You will learn movement analysis skills (via lab time and video presentations) to assess breathing patterns, facilitation techniques to support trunk development, positioning strategies to support chest wall development, and feeding techniques to maximize postural control. We will discuss current literature as relevant to this topic and apply a systems theory approach for case study treatment planning.
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to do:
- Discuss anatomical and kinesiological developmental changes for the newborn chest wall
- Discuss affects of prematurity and cardiopulmonary co-morbidities on chest wall development
- Integrate chest wall movement assessment and treatment strategies to maximize infant outcomes
- Design developmental positioning and handling interventions to reduce chest wall deformities
- Incorporate postural support with positioning and handling of infants for improved chest wall mobility during oral feeding
- Integrate a systems approach to individualized care plan for the infant with cardiopulmonary compromise
