Education Resources Blog

New Awards Program for School Based Therapy – Deadline Extended

Posted on August 18, 2017 by Mandy Washington

Education Resources Inc. is extending the deadline for nominations for two new awards to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of school based therapy.
We realize that you are just heading back to school, and we wanted to give you more time!

We will be honoring two unsung heroes. 
One for his/her significant contribution to evidence based practice in the field of school based therapy, and one for his/her significant contribution to therapy practice in the field of school based therapy. 

Please click on the links below to send in your nominations:

Excellence in Evidence Based School Practice Award
This award will be given to a therapist or therapy assistant whose research has contributed to the body of evidence that supports the underpinnings and practices of school based therapy. 

Excellence in Creative School Based Therapy Award
This award will be given to a therapist or therapy assistant who has excellent assessment and intervention skills, uses those skills to meet students’ needs in unconventional and unique ways, and collaboratively engages teachers and staff within the students’ team. 

Award recipients will also demonstrate the core values of collaboration, leadership, integrity, and a passion for improving the lives of his or her students. 

New deadline for submission is September 29th, 2017.

The award recipients will be announced and honored at the
Eighteenth Annual Therapies in the School Conference (November 16-17, 2017)

THERAPIES in the SCHOOL 2017
November 16-17, 2017
Framingham, MA
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE PRICING AND REGISTRATION DETAILS

and 
RETURNING THIS YEAR
we are thrilled to bring you an optional Pre-Conference: 
The Zones of Regulation® 
A Framework to Foster Self-Regulation and Emotional Control
Wednesday November 15, 2017
Framingham, MA
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE, PRICING AND REGISTRATION DETAILS

Register for Therapies in the School (2 days) and the pre-conference and save!

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Speaker Spotlight – Rona Alexander PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, C/NDT

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Mandy Washington

Education Resources Faculty - Rona AlexanderRona Alexander is a speech-language pathologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of oral motor, feeding/swallowing, and respiratory-phonatory function in infants and children with neuromuscular involvement. She is a longtime, well respected member of the Education Resources (ERI) faculty, teaching for us for more than 15 years. Dr. Alexander is a qualified speech instructor in Neuro-Developmental Treatment, delivering expert clinical knowledge and a personable instructive style through her basic pediatric and advanced NDT courses. She is an accomplished author; a co-author of the book, Normal Development of Functional Motor Skills: The First Year of Life, and co-developer of The ABCs of Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing. She also has served as a member of the ASHA Steering Committee for Special Interest Division 13: Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Dr. Alexander maintains a private practice, provides consultation services and conducts workshops on oral motor, feeding/swallowing, and respiratory coordination development, assessment and treatment.

Rona Alexander, speech-language pathologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of oral-motor, feeding/swallowing, and respiratory-phonatory function in infants and children with neuromuscular involvement.

Rona Alexander SLP – specializing in the assessment and treatment of oral-motor, feeding/swallowing, and respiratory-phonatory function

“The best course I’ve been to, all information I can use on Monday when I get back to work! Any pediatric SLP should take this course.” -Melissa Eck, SLP

“Excellent workshop. Huge amount of update – even for a therapist with 40 yrs of pediatric experience! Able to cue in to current philosophies and treatment regimes for immediate affect on the treatments I do in the medically fragile setting. Thank you.” – Cynthia Johnson, OT

“It is a genuine privilege to learn and be taught by Rona Alexander, a master clinician in her field.” Diane Soohoo,OT

“Rona was absolutely outstanding. She has a rich experience and complex understanding of oral motor, feeding and swallowing that is hard to find. throughout her presentation she provided invaluable precious nuggets of information to help all pediatric therapists.” Rebecca Pokluda,OT

Rona’s popular course:

Assessment and Treatment of Children with Oral Motor, Feeding/Swallowing and Respiratory Function Challenges: Children with Neuromuscular Involvement
This course delivers clinically relevant assessment and treatment strategies.  A special emphasis is on postural alignment and control as well as on sensory factors that can influence a childs feeding and swallowing. Effective treatment strategies to improve cheeks/lips, tongue, jaw and rib cage function will be highlighted. 

September 15-17, 2017 – Johnston, IA
October 6-8, 2017 – Valhalla, NY
March 9-11, 2018 – TBA
April 13-15, 2018 – TBA
June 22-24, 2018 – TBA
October 5-7, 2018 – Houston, TX
November 30 – December 2, 2018 – Tulsa, OK

Watch for new dates and venues being added very soon!
Please click here for detailed course information, CEU information, to download a brochure and to register

Join our mailing list to ensure you receive up to the minute information

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NIDCD Research – More Than 1 in 20 U.S. Children Have Dizziness and Balance Problems

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Mandy Washington

The research was led by investigators at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services News Release: Wednesday, January 27, 2016

More than 1 in 20 (nearly 3.3 million) children between the ages of 3 and 17 have a dizziness or balance problem, according to an analysis of the first large-scale, nationally representative survey of these problems in U.S. children. Prevalence increases with age, with 7.5 percent of children ages 15-17 and 6.0 percent of children ages 12-14 having any dizziness or balance problem, compared with 3.6 percent of children ages 6-8 and 4.1 percent of children ages 3-5. The research was led by investigators at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers found that girls have a higher prevalence of dizziness and balance problems compared to boys, 5.7 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively. In addition, non-Hispanic white children have an increased prevalence of dizziness and balance problems (6.1 percent) compared with Hispanic (4.6 percent) and non-Hispanic black (4.3 percent) children. The findings were published online January 27 in The Journal of Pediatrics(link is external).

Please Click Here to Read the Full Report.

Look out for our new Pediatric Vestibular course coming in December 2017 and early 2018.
Vestibular Therapy for the School-Aged Child and Adolescent
Inger Brueckner
December 1-2, 2017 – Oregon, OH
March 2-3, 2018 – Portland, OR
April 28-29, 2018 – San Diego, CA
June 1-2, 2018 – Rockford, IL
October 5-8, 2018 – Cedar Knolls, NJ

This course is designed to help clinicians tailor their vestibular therapy treatments to meet the needs of children aged 5-18. New research has suggested that this population is vastly under served. Children are often difficult to treat effectively because they do not have the vocabulary to describe their complaints, and diagnostic testing requires full cooperation to be useful. This course was developed to address the gap in identification and treatment of common pediatric vestibular conditions such as mTBI, trauma, BPPV, migrainous disorders, autonomic dysfunction, oculomotor dysfunction, visual motion sensitivity vestibular neuritis, and dizziness/imbalance from unknown etiology.

This course will present current evidence, hypothesis of pathology treatment ideas for successful programs to help identify, and progress rehabilitation programs with the goal of improved postural and gaze stability. This course combines lecture, hands on lab, video and case presentations to help the practitioner diagnose and treat specifically for the younger patient. The techniques presented can also be applied to adult populations.

Join our Mailing/Email List Here – Learn about courses coming to your region

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Speaker Spotlight – Paula Cox, PT, DSc, PCS

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Mandy Washington

Education Resources Faculty member Paula Cox PT, DSc, PCS

Paula Cox, PT, DSc, PCS

Welcoming Paula to the Education Resources Faculty
Paula is a licensed, board certified, physical therapist with over 35 years of clinical experience in pediatric neurological and neuromuscular rehabilitation. She is a member of the APTA, the Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy (APPT), and the IL PT Association. Dr. Cox served on the APPT’s NICU to EI transition work group. She is committee chair for the APPT CE course Advanced Clinical Practice in Pediatric Therapy, an ongoing course that investigates current theories and evidence-based practice across settings. Dr. Cox presently works as an adjunct professor at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, Illinois. She operates a private pediatric practice in the Chicago area and provides ongoing mentoring to PT’s in the Chicago area. She developed and presented an evidence-based pediatric gait course “Walking in My Shoes.” Dr. Cox received her Advanced MS in PT from Long Island University and her Doctor of Science in Pediatric Rehabilitation from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Program. Her doctoral research examined the use of a robotic scooter, the SIPPC, to provide early autonomous locomotion for infants with Down syndrome.

We are thrilled to offer her course:
Tools to Enhance Motor Control, Motor Learning and Strength for Function
This intermediate level lecture and lab course will explore how characteristics of cerebral palsy, autism, and other neuromotor diagnoses influence motor control, motor learning, strength, and function for children from birth to teens. Evidence-based examination and intervention strategies will be presented to promote motor learning and achievement of personal, functional outcomes in light of a child’s specific diagnosis. Using the ICF as a framework for practice, case studies and lab sessions will provide attendees opportunities to integrate the information provided with clinical judgement to develop outcomes, examination plans, and intervention activities for a given child. Therapists will learn to apply valid and reliable tools to measure responses to intervention over time in order to set treatment priorities, document progress and modify intervention
Current scheduled dates:

October 28-29, 2017 – Los Angeles, CA
November 10-11, 2017 – Mountainside, NJ
May 19-20, 2018 – Washington, DC
Watch for new dates and venues being added very soon!
Please click here for detailed course information, CEU information, to download a brochure and to register

Join our mailing list to ensure you receive up to the minute information

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Welcoming A New OT Consultant To The Education Resources Team

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Mandy Washington

We are thrilled to welcome Nisha Hochman, MS, OTR/L as a valuable consultant to the ERI team.

Nisha received both her bachelor of science and post-professional master’s degree in occupational therapy from Boston University. She has been practicing occupational therapy in a variety of school settings since 2000, most recently and for the last 8 years, she has been working for the Dover Public Schools in Massachusetts . Her responsibilities entail direct service, consultation and staff training.  

She is certified in Sensory Integration and Interactive Metronome.

Nisha will be working with our team advising on current topics, trends , and the therapy needs within school systems. She has devoted a lot of her research this year to helping our own in house therapists develop the content for our upcoming Therapies in the School Conference in November in Massachusetts.

Please join us in welcoming Nisha to the ERI family.

If you have any ideas for future topics or speakers please do contact us here:
info@educationresourcesinc.com

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2018 CEU courses Now Being Added

Posted on July 26, 2017 by Mandy Washington

2018 CEU courses

We are very happy to annouce that our courses for 2018 are now being scheduled and added to our website.

Please Click Here to Search for Courses

We are thrilled to continually be adding new renowned speakers to our faculty who are presenting on such dynamic topics. Here are just a few:

Melissa Gerber
Visual Processing, Visual Perception and Visual-Motor Skills

Holly Schifsky
Baby Beats and Breaths:  Therapeutic Interventions for the Premature Infant with Cardiopulmonary Compromise

Lynn Wolf and Robin Glass
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (TBD)

More information coming soon!

Please follow our blog and join our email community for all our news and up to the minute information

 

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Latest NICU News from Renowned Clinician and Research Scientist Bobbi Pineda

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Mandy Washington

Neonatal therapist week - Education ResourcesWe would like to share this newsletter from our popular speaker; Bobbi Pineda. Her work in the Washington University OT NICU lab centers around bridging the gap in services from NICU to home, so that infants can continue to receive quality and continuous therapy services to improve health and well-being.  The OT NICU lab is part of Washington University, where she mentors OT graduate students on neonatal therapy and aids them in conducting clinical research that can impact the lives of those who start their lives in the NICU.  

NICU LAB SPRING 2017 Newsletter

Currently, the lab is working on the pilot phase of the Supporting and
Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE) Project and looking to jump
straight into the randomized control trial. This project involves providing positive
sensory experiences for infants in the NICU as well as educating parents on how
to provide for their child’s sensory needs every day of NICU hospitalization.
When parents do not engage in the NICU, a sensory support team addresses the
infant’s sensory needs. The sensory support team is made up of OT graduate
students who provide positive sensory exposures to infants in the NICU at the
bedside. We thank the University Research Strategic Alliance and the Betty and
Gordon Moore Foundation for their support of the SENSE project.

We are excited to have been awarded an SBIR grant from NIH for the
development of a new bottle technology, the Preemie Pacer. The goal of this
bottle is safe oral feeding through paced feedings during a time when suckswallow-
breathe coordination is suboptimal. The first phase of the grant involves
prototype development, laboratory testing, and focus groups.

Baby Bridge started as a pilot program in January of 2016 in order to address a
gap in therapy services for infants following discharge from the NICU. Since the
onset of the program, Baby Bridge has seen 70 infants in the NICU and in their
homes. Baby Bridge has seen many changes in the past year and now provides
treatment for infants born preterm as well as others who are eligible for First
Steps early intervention programming and live in the immediate St. Louis area
and surrounding counties. We welcome Elizabeth Heiny as our newest
occupational therapist in the OT NICU lab, who serves as the Baby Bridge
therapist.

The development of the Neonatal Eating Outcome (NEO) assessment was
completed September 2016, and now the tool is available to the public for
research and clinical practice. The NEO is a developmental feeding assessment
of oral motor and feeding skills, designed for preterm infants prior to and at term
equivalent age. It attempts to gauge normal versus abnormal progression of
feeding across differing postmenstrual ages (PMA). It can be used with breast or
bottle-fed infants. Reliability and validity have been assessed. RASCH analysis
and other psychometrics continue.

READ COMPLETE NICU LAB NEWSLETTER HERE 

Education Resources is offering multiple opportunities to hear Bobbi speak in 2017 and 2018

Assessment and Intervention with the High Risk Infant in the NICU and During the Transition to Home
October 7-8, 2017 – St. Louis, MO
November 18-19, 2017 – Portland, OR
January 27-28, 2016 – TBA
February 10-11, 2018 – Temple, TX
June 9-10, 2018 – Hollywood, FL
July 28-29, 2018 – TBA
October 6-7, 2018 – TBA
November 16-17, 2018 – Robbinsdale, MN
Please click her for detailed information to download a brochure or to register

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Welcoming Amber Valentine – Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Specialist

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Mandy Washington

Amber Valentine

Amber Valentine

Amber Valentine is a Speech-Language Pathologist who graduated from the University of Kentucky with her MS in Communication Disorders.  She is a Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders and an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.  She worked for Baptist Health Systems, Inc for 8 years before moving to Florida where she worked for Wolfsons Children’s Hospital and Mayo Florida.  She is now back in Kentucky working for Baptist Health Lexington.  She has experience in adults and pediatrics with feeding and swallowing difficulties including:  bedside swallow evaluations, Modified Barium Swallow studies, FEES, and pediatric feeding evaluations including NICU.  She has provided guest lectures for the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville on feeding and swallowing topics. She has presented at the hospital level, local, state, national, and international levels on pediatric feeding/swallowing and breastfeeding

We are excited to offer her course:

Treating Complex Feeding Problems: Infants, Toddlers, Preschooler
This course will focus on clinical decision making and treatment strategies to manage complex feeding and swallowing disorders in infants, toddlers and preschoolers across multiple settings including the NICU, Early Intervention/home, and outpatient settings. Participants will enhance their skills in assessment and integration of medical history when developing and implementing a plan of care. Focus will include specific treatment interventions as well as how to develop realistic programs for parents and for generalization across settings. Clinical reasoning skills will take into consideration current research, knowledge of outcomes and priority setting. Detailed discussions of medically fragile infants including treatment strategies for specific etiologies such as lip/tongue tie, Down Syndrome, IDM, cleft lip/palate, neurologic diagnoses will also be involved. Infant feeding information will include evaluation and treatment for both breast and bottle fed infants.  Discussions of more complex case histories will be provided during course to allow participants brainstorming and practice. 

October 14-15, 2017 – Brideville, PA
December 9-10, 2017 – Las Vegas, NV

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION, TO DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE OR TO REGISTER

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Education Resources, Inc. eligible to offer Category A CEUs for Athletic Trainers  

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Mandy Washington

 

Education Resources is proud to announce that we are offering Category A CEUs for Athletic Trainers for both live and online programs. This continued participation in the BOC Approved Provider Program means that athletic trainers can participate in our courses and receive CEUs.

We offer live courses on concussion management, vestibular and balance issues, taping, TBI, and other outpatient and rehab diagnoses.
Please click here for a listing of our relevant courses

We will be launching an online concussion course shortly!

If you are an athletic trainer we want to hear from you!

Please call or e-mail us to request a particular topic and/or location for a course.

We can list any of our courses in the BOC directory and thus provide AT attendees with CEUs.

 

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How do you deal with Professional Burnout?

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Mandy Washington

GUEST BLOGGER: Emily A. Zeman, OTD, MS, OTR/L

Now more than ever is the time for us to invest in strategies to combat professional burnout and stress and take care of ourselves.  Healthy living and self-care are popular with not only millennials but also older generations of working health professionals.        

The question is: What are you doing for self-care and what else can you do to remain client-centered and compassionate at the same time?  It’s time to invest in yourself so you can keep doing what you are good at- taking care of others!

Tips

Personal: Self-awareness & Presence

  • Spend time with family & friends
  • Jump on the mindfulness train: Take up yoga, meditation, or prayer (Go with a buddy!) Check out tips on getting started here: Getting started with mindfulness
  • Add more recreation & time-off to your calendar
  • Exercise, especially out in nature! Here’s why!
  • Participate in support groups & engage in health self-talk
  • Laugh

Work: Professional Resilience & Enrichment

  • Maintain professional identity- attend conferences!
  • Ask questions – be curious!
  • Use humor
  • Seek case consultation & dialogue with peers
  • Eat lunch with colleagues or walk outside for breaks during the day (That nature thing again…)
  • Diversify work load & responsibilities
  • Set good boundaries with everyone It’s important!

 Moving Forward

 Questions to ask yourself:

  • How do I restore my energy when away from work?
  • What do I already do in terms of self-care?

There are many ways to incorporate a few strategies to avoid burnout and practice self-care- even one will get you started on the right track!  Try one a week and see which one fits you best.  You and your patients will both benefit.

References:

  1. Lawson, G. & Myers, J.E. (2011). Wellness, professional quality of life, and career-sustaining behaviors: What keeps us well?  Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(2), 163-171.
  2. Wicks, R.J. (2008).The Resilient Clinician. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

 

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