Therapist seeks your help and advice for patient with severe ASD

Jennifer Posts:

DEAR ERI COMMUNITY: Hi everyone. I’m having a hard time with a patient I’m working with and would like some advice/tips please. I’m working with a 12 y/o female dx with severe ASD. She is almost completely nonverbal with the exception of “yes”, “go”, and basic animals. She is a very tall and strong girl that can easily over power me. The problem is she becomes very aggressive, increasing verbal stims, and begins hitting herself and others. She is very difficult to calm. I have identified many of the cues she gives before becoming aggressive and have identified some causes including bright lights we now work in a dimly lit treatment room with minimal natural light, and have changed the tx time to the early afternoon at a less busy time in the clinic. We have tried vestibular, deep pressure, vibration, etc. Do you have any other calming techniques that I haven’t tried yet? Thank you!

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Enter to win a free CEU course by sharing clinical challenges and tips with ERI

We would like to bring back our popular blog discussions, and build on our community of therapists. Our therapists found this avenue for discussions about clinical cases, problems and therapy tips to be invaluable.

We are offering you the opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a free CEU course. All you need to do is submit a blog entry which can be:
1. a clinical issue that you are seeking opinions about. 
2. a case problem that you are struggling with. 
3. a therapy tip that you would like to share.

The post can be of any length (up to 500 words) and photos and videos are great, as long as you have obtained written permission.

We will enter the first 50 blogs in a drawing for a free ERI course. 
Deadline for entry is October 31st, 2013 winner to be announced in November

Please post your blog in the comments section below…… you will then see your entry posted as a separate blog

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and sharing them with our ERI community.

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School-Based CEU course for therapists – a popular conference, don't be disappointed!

Therapies in the School - Education ResourcesTherapies in the School 2013 

Join us at this year’s highly acclaimed conference which will enable you to provide effective evidence-based strategies that foster increased academic performance, social participation and inclusion for all children with special needs including those with severe involvement. 

Learn to judiciously select assistive technology, appropriate assessment tools, 
sensory-based strategies, movement-based strategies and environmental/technology adaptations to facilitate student access and participation in school programming. 
Learn best practices for successful collaboration, creative solutions to workload management and new opportunities for the emerging role of therapists in addressing wellness in school settings.

November 21-22, 2013
Framingham, MA
Please click here for more information, to download a brochure and to register 

This conference filled last year – Don’t be disappointed!

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The Role of PT and OT in Cancer Rehabilitation

Due to advances in the medical management of cancer, survival rates are steadily improving. However, many cancer survivors will have at least one side effect of the cancer treatment. As therapists, we are committed to improving function based on evidence based tools and strategies for these survivors in order to improve their quality of life. 

Understanding the sometimes predictable impairments allows therapists to proactively empower cancer survivors to maintain their own health through an individualized exercise and wellness program. Typical treatments consist of fatigue management, strengthening, aerobic conditioning, minimizing edema, and maintenance of motion due to surgical scarring as necessary. 

To this end, it is also crucial for therapists to understand the typical side effects from the particular chemotherapy that was given, and to identify problems early on when they are at a less severe state. 

Lisa VanHooseWe are pleased to announce that we are sponsoring a new continuing education (CEU) course for Physical therapists, Occupational therapists and assistants based on these principles given by Lisa VanHoose, PT, Ph.D, CLT-LANA, President of the Oncology Special Interest Group of the APTA.

Cancer Rehab and Survivorship: Evidence Based Treatment to Address Common Impairments 

Please let us know what topics and content you would want to hear covered in her course and look for it in 2014!

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