wiredON Development Interviews

• A Human First Approach to Seating and Wheelchair Mobility

  Nobody becomes a pediatric therapists to make children’s lives miserable, or worse, create pain and life limiting boney deformities and yet, there’s a very real possibility that somewhere along your career path, that’s exactly what your suggestions or recommendations might have done. Now this is a confronting thought , but one that needs some airtime, with a little self-reflection and no judgement - certainly not from me, because I’m right there with you. I think it was Maya Angelou who said ‘do the best with the knowledge you have, but when you know better, do better’ which is a lovely quote to live by. With that in mind, this conversation with Sharon Sutherland and Jenn McKee is a not to be missed deep dive into what they call a human first approach to seating and wheelchair mobility, but what I’ll call a holy smokes - our solutions may have been part of the problem here people. Sharon and Jenn share how they support seating and wheelchair mobility with a beautiful human first approach. We discuss real clinical cases and dig into all the tricky bits we constantly run up against as therapists, managing head support and keeping feet on footplates, complex bodies, silent pain, navigating team disagreements and technology shortfalls, getting family buy-in, dynamic systems and pommels. There were so many essential topics we covered that this interview extends waaay over the usual hour. I was going to split it into two parts, but I’ve decided to try out a longer form interview. Please let me know if you like the longer interview - and if, like me, you had a couple of slap the head moments!! There's a ton of additional links and resources for you to grab at https://www.wiredondevelopment.com related to this conversation Enjoy!

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• Hippotherapy for Physical and Occupational Therapists in Pediatrics

  This was such a fun interview for me to do but be warned, once you’ve listened to Jane and Susie explaining the benefits and mechanism of equine assisted therapy, you are going to want to go find yourself a stable with a few horses and get trained in hippotherapy if you’re not already. . I was genuinely blown away by how the the horse can be used to impact motor learning, and how as therapists we can integrate the whole sensory motor experience into our therapeutic goals. This interview will take you on a fascinating journey into hippotherapy - enjoy the ride.

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• Dystonia and complex disabilities in childhood development with Karen Kanga

  From philosophy student and activist to pioneer in early childhood intervention approaches for therapists, Karen Kangas takes us on a journey of developing clinical excellence. She is an occupational therapists with over 50 years of experience, specializing in pediatrics, seating, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She has particular knowledge and expertise in working with children with significant disabilities, particularly those with dystonia and dystonic cerebral palsy. Karen beautifully bridges the gap between ‘old school’ hands on approaches and a more contemporary hands-off focus on participation and real-life activities and engagement. We cover seating and positioning, standing, walking and appropriate equipment use, developing clinical skills, the magic of the barrier vest and understanding movement patterns. You'll find links to everything we discussed at https://www.wiredondevelopment.com Enjoy!

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• The Real State-of-The-Evidence in Pediatric Rehabilitation with James Sulzer

  James Sultzer is an academic neurorehabilitation engineer and a father to a child with a significant brain injury. This conversation is a raw look at the real state of the evidene in pediatric neurodisability from the someone who is living through the reality of how it supports families to make incredibly difficult decisions as they seek out the best care for their kids. We move from discussing the value of goal setting and home programs all the way to trying to uncover the fraud and the pseudoscience that parents are navigating everyday. This is a profoundly important conversation that is a must listen for everyone working with families who have children with disabilities. I know you'll get a lot out of it. Enjoy! For resources mentioned jump to https://www.wiredondevelopment.com

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• An eye opening journey into neuroplasticity with Dr Susan Barry for pediatric OTs and PTs

  When it comes to understanding how the work that we try to do every day in the clinic actually works, this interview with Dr Susan Barry may be one of the most eye-opening interviews I have done so far - excuse the pun. Dr Barry is a a Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience and Behavior and (as she calls herself) a recovered Strabismic. Her story of fixing her gaze which started at age 48 gives us unmatched insight how neuroplasticity can be harnessed in every day therapy to drive recovery. WE cover so many topics that are near and dear to my beating therapy heart, and from the value of clinical wisdom and the cautionary tales of over interpreting published research to the importance of not being distracted by the obvious problems you see, but rather understanding the reason behind why you are seeing them. There’s so many nuggets to take away from this interview, you are going to love it - enjoy!

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