Education Resources is Thrilled to Welcome Valorie Todd, Pediatric Occupational Therapist to our Faculty

Valorie Todd Valorie Todd[/caption]

We are all very excited to welcome Valorie back to the ERI faculty.

Valorie Todd, MA, OTR is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist who has worked in early intervention, preschool, and various school systems in NY and NJ over the past 35 years. She has taught Occupational therapy at Mercy College as well as in the Interdisciplinary Studies Dept. at Rutgers University.  She has provided continuing education programs for over 10 years through Education Resources, Inc. as well as the NYC and Los Angeles Departments of Education, by their invitation.  Her area of interest has long been on vision and perception and their effects on visual perceptual and visual motor assessments, as well as on classroom skills, especially handwriting. In terms of intervention, she has focused on developing a framework based on vision and learning strategies, while also incorporating principles of sensory integration and motor learning. She especially enjoys linking theory to practice and helps participants realize the importance of being able to describe the theoretical approaches they are using, how they work, and what else to consider when they no longer do so.

“Valorie was great! Fast, succinct, informed, knowledgable….. I have lots of thoughts about how to alter/modify my treatments” Teresa, DPT

“Valorie Todd is an unbelievable source of visual learning and her knowledge base keeps expanding, so see her more than once!” – Adrienne, OT

“Valorie held me captivated from beginning to end. I am totally excited to go back and begin to utilize not only her clinical strategies but her concept of helping us touch the students how to help themselves. I am taking away so much more than I expected from this workshop……..Thank you” Bryan, OT

Valorie’s Upcoming Courses:

Vision, Visual Perceptual and Visual Motor Skills: Assessment and Intervention for Children
August 28-29, 2015 – Puyallup, WA
October 16-17, 2015 – TBA

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SPRING PROMOTION – Discounted Registration Fee for PT’s OT’s and SLP’s

Education Resources Spring DiscountSPRING PROMOTION 
from
EDUCATION RESOURCES

Thank you for allowing Education Resources fulfill your professional development and continuing education requirements 

As a THANKYOU from us we would like to offer a $50 discount toward any live conference fee     

Register now through June 29, 2015 
Apply code: “Spring2015″ 

Not to be used in combination with other discounts or course credits. Non-Transferable. Only one discount may be used per conference. Must be applied at time of registration, not for conferences previously registered for. Not for online courses.  

 

You can register online, call the office or fax in your registration.
Just mention the code! 

Please call, email or visit our website with any questions

 Thank you Mandy 

  Please click here for our full listing of courses

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Rose Bigsby Honored for Contributions to Neonatal Care

 

Rose Bigsby Education Resources Rose Bigsby[/caption]

We would like to offer our congratulations to Rosemarie Bigsby, ScD, OTR/L, FAOTA, who has been elected as a recipient of the Pioneer Award for Neonatal Therapy.

Rose, renowned for her knowledge, skill and expertise, has worked as a pediatric occupational therapist and consultant for over 30 years, with over 20 years in the NICU, in the combined roles of therapist, educator and researcher. 

The Pioneer Award was created to honor neonatal occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech-language pathologists who contribute tirelessly to establish and advance the specialized field of neonatal therapy. This inaugural presentation of the award reflects decades of largely unrecognized work by those who established the art and science of neonatal therapy. 

She is Coordinator of NICU Services for the Brown Center for the Study of Children At Risk, Department of Pediatrics, Women & Infants’ Hospital, Providence, RI and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry & Human Behavior, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association, a contributor to the AOTA guidelines for NICU Practice, and the author of a number of journal articles and book chapters. She is coauthor of Developmental & Therapeutic Interventions in the NICU a book for NICU therapists, and The Posture & Fine Motor Assessment of Infants, and contributed to the development of the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS). Her research focuses on motor development, behavioral cues, physiologic regulation and interventions and developing an interdisciplinary approach to initiating and progressing breast and bottle feeding. 

Rose received her bachelors of science in occupational therapy and biology at Western Michigan, her masters degree in advanced pediatric practice and occupational therapy education and her doctor of science in therapeutic studies at Boston University. 

Bigsby has also been a recipient of the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Service Award and the Service Commendation for her authorship of “Specialized knowledge and skills for occupational therapy practice in the neonatal intensive care unit.” She also is a co-investigator and co-author of a recent report documenting the benefits of single family room model of care for NICU patients that was covered by the New York Times, National Public Radio, Reuters and other new outlets at the national level.

We are honored to offer Rose’s course:

Intervention for the High Risk Infant: Providing Services in the NICU and During the Transition Home

June 4-5, 2015 – Edison, NJ
October 15-16, 2015 – Weymouth, MA

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Treatments for Rocker-Bottom Foot

GUEST BLOGGER: Kathryn Biel

This clinical question was received from Holly:

Is there anything that can be done for a severe rocker bottom foot? Child is 8, spastic diplegia, has heel cord contracture, but has had two heel cord lengthenings. Currently not using AFOs, does have a slight crouch gait (was a toe walker before most recent heel cord lengthening). His foot hits the floor flat, but the mid foot then bottoms out and heel lifts during early stance. Is there any way to stretch gastrocs? I’d obviously love to avoid further surgery. 

Rocker bottom foot can occur in a number of situations. It can be a congenital condition in which the navicular is malpositioned at the neck of the talus. This condition is rigid, with the foot in and equinus position with dorsiflexion. It is common in chromosomal abnormalities. Treatment recommendations include early plaster casting in plantar flexion and inversion to stretch ligaments (talonavicular, deltoid, and calcaneal cuboidal) and muscles (triceps surae and peroneous brevis) that are tight. Surgical reconstruction of the foot itself is also used as treatment.

However, rocker bottom foot can occur in cerebral palsy as a secondary impairment that results from spastic plantar flexors. In this condition, during weight bearing, the spastic plantar flexors pull the hindfoot upwards, resulting a weight shift forward to the forefoot. The center of gravity is moved forward as well. Over time, with the weight bearing surface stretches out and then eventually reverses the longitudinal arch, resulting in a rocker bottom appearance. Additionally, the spasticity through the gasctrocs over powers the inverters, which results in a collapse into valgus.

When stretching in PT, it is important to maintain stabilize the subtalar joint (through a firm hold on the calcaneus) so that it does not further collapse into valgus. Stretch should not be applied to the forefoot alone.

Orthotics may be the best bet to  stabilize the subtalar joint while resisting plantarflexion. Orthotics that do not stabilize the subtalar joint will contribute to a further valgus deformity. The orthotics must include sufficient support and sculpting to hold the calcaneus stable. A skilled orthotist and close collaboration is key to make sure the hindfoot is stable in weightbearing.

Also, due to lengthening surgeries, the triceps surae is often weak, resulting in the crouched gait. Strengthening may be something to consider. Also, on going tone management (Botox or Baclofen, for example) is important to monitor as it is the spasticity that caused the deformity in the first place.

Does anyone else have ideas for how to non-surgically treat rocker bottom foot in a child with cerebral palsy? I’d love to hear what works for you. 

~Kathryn Biel, PT, DPT

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