NEW NICU course for Neonatal Therapists with Distinguished Faculty Member Roberta Pineda

We are extremely thrilled to welcome Roberta Pineda as a new member to our Faculty.

[caption id="attachment_3458" align="alignright" width="150"]Roberta Pineda Roberta Pineda[/caption]

“Bobbi”  is a renowned clinician and research scientist and dynamic speaker with an interest in developing interventions that can optimize neurodevelopmental outcomes in high risk newborn infants, specifically born prematurely. Bobbi has more than 20 years of clinical experience as a NICU based Occupational Therapist and has been involved in defining and implementing interventions with families and NICU staff to optimize outcomes. Her research has been focused on investigating the effects of the early neonatal intensive  care unit environment on brain development.  She has published many articles in peer reviewed journals. She is certified as a trainer on the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Assessment and is certified in the use of Prechtl’s General Movement Assessment.  Bobbi is the chair of the Neonatal Therapy National Certification Board.  She is the mother of 3 prematurely born children.

Her NEW course titled: Assessment and Intervention with the High Risk Infant in the NICU and During the Transition to Home will focus on practical strategies to address behavioral, developmental and feeding assessment and intervention with high risk infants in the NICU.  Factors related to parenting, the NICU environment, and the effects of altered sensory and motor experiences will be explored.  Through video analysis, demonstration and case examples, participants will practice their clinical problem-solving skills for this specialized setting. Participants will enhance their observational and clinical skills, improving early identification of therapeutic needs that define targeted interventions in the NICU and during the transition home.

A study led by Bobbi Pineda, PhD, has documented the developmental differences between premature babies in the NICU and full-term babies. The research points to opportunities to intervene in the NICU, to improve preemies’ long-term outcomes. 
https://source.wustl.edu/2012/11/study-documents-preemies-development-in-nicu-suggests-early-interventions/

UPCOMING COURSE DATES:
October 7-8, 2017 – St. Louis, MO
November 18-19, 2017 – Portland, OR
January 27-28, 2018 – TBA
February 10-11, 2018 – Temple, TX
June 9-10, 2018 – Hollywood, FL
July 28-29, 2018 – TBA
October 6-7, 2018 – TBA
November 17-18, 2018 – TBA

Please click here for further course details, to download a brochure or to register.

Any Questions: 800-487-6530 ♦ info@educationresourcesinc.com

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST HERE

]]>

Questions from a Neonatal Therapist – Please offer your thoughts

We received these questions from a neonatal therapist, who is looking for your thoughts and advice:

I am looking for a more detailed assessment that I can use with our 35-36 week preterms which I screen for development and feeding. I am happy with my assessment of neonatal reflexes, posture, tone and feeding, but feel that my sensory assessment is too general, especially in regard to visual function.

My second question is in regard to the Prechtl training. Could you give us your opinion on whether this is worth the investment and also if there are components of the assessment that would be accessible to those who cannot afford this training but would like to be able to identify at risk infants?

Lastly, as all NICU therapist’s know, there are often restrictions in this setting for the amount of time a neonate is alert and active without heading toward the point of no return, so if you have opinions on what parts of the developmental screening that are most pertinent to look at or vice versa, what parts are not as pertinent, ie, parts that can be sacrificed when time is of the essence, please advise. In these cases, I usually look at tone and feeding and postpone the reflex and sensory portion of the evaluation.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Randi  MS, OTR/L

Please share your thoughts with our community of neonatal therapists
Thank you