Workshop Descriptions
Bi-Manual Therapy
Speakers: Dr. Brian Hoare and Dr. Susan Greaves
Review of the literature for effectiveness for children 18mo-3 years as well as identification of criteria for best candidates.
Examples of application in clinical settings will be provided. For example, children with poor hand and arm ability may be encouraged to use their affected hand and arm to support objects during two-handed activities.
Provide examples of how to develop dexterity when grasping, manipulating and releasing objects with their fingers for infants at high risk/with diagnosis of CP.
Brain and Spinal Cord Development
Speakers: Dr. Deborah Gaebler-Spira, Dr. Katharina Quinlan, Dr. Nayo Hill, Dr. Colleen Peyton, Dr. Theresa Sukal Moulton
Review development of motor types early: (dystonia).
Review of evidence based to early injury and implications for treatment of motor impairments in babies with cerebral palsy.
Discussion of Case Studies and common implementation strategies.
Causes of CP - Genetics andthe Wh- Questions
Speakers: Dr. Betsy Ostrander and Dr. Michael Kruer
Understand fundamental genetic concepts and how these relate to clinical genetic testing for CP.
Evaluate a genetic testing report and interpret different test outcomes (negative, positive and uncertain significance).
Discuss the implications and challenges of genetic counseling for patients with CP and their families.
Customize patient management based on results of genetic testing.
Communication and Language Assessments
Speaker: Dr. Lindsay Pennington
Translate best evidence in research into a whole team approach to communication teaching.
Build realistic expectations of parent training programs to promote responsive interaction and communication.
Case study examples of how different communication and language assessments have been applied in high risk follow up.
Development of Gait in the under 3
Speakers: Dr. David Scher, Jennifer Jezeuel, Dr. Paulo Selber
Overview of the development of gait patterns in infants with CP from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.
Quantitative evaluation and how the use of 3D gait analysis (kinematic/kinetic/EMG analysis) has changed how we understand, classify, and treat infants and children with CP.
Overview and case examples of interventions and best evidence for management that are driven by understanding gait patterns and development including underlying pathophysiology, planes of deformity and anatomical level.
Early Childhood Soft Constraint Therapy for Sensory/Motor Impairment in CP (APPLES) in Practice
Speakers: Dr. Nathalie Maitre and Lindsay Pietruszewski
APPLES is the only upper extremity intervention shown in a large randomized clinical trial to improve developmental skills, smoothness of reach and tactile processing in the brain of infants with asymmetric forms of CP, as early as 6 months of age. It also includes a form of constraint that is scientifically proven to be safe for sensory development and motor skills in infants.
Learn about implementation of a multi modal parent administered, therapists coached, upper extremity intervention for children with asymmetric cerebral palsy.
Early Motor Interventions to Improve Gross Motor Skills
Speakers: Dr. Diane Damiano and Dr. Ginny Paleg
Compare the evidence for gross motor interventions and upper extremity strategies in the 0-2 age group at high risk or with CP.
Make informed choices about which can feasibly be implemented in your own program.
Early Orthotic Management
Speakers: Dr. Kristie Bjornson and Dr. Mary Rahlin
Discuss benefits of early detection of cerebral palsy (CP) for family education in timely
orthotic intervention.
Verbalize principles of appropriate postural alignment for standing and upright mobility.
Apply a collaborative approach to pediatric orthotic goal setting when working with
families of young children with CP.
Compare walking activity levels in toddlers developing typically and toddlers with CP.
Apply evidence and principles of motor learning to support the development of mobility
programs for toddlers with CP.
Effective auditory based interventions for high-risk infants in the NICU
Speakers: Dr. Nathalie Maitre and Dr. Caitlin Kjdelsen
Review experience expectant and experience dependent phase of auditory development in the early months- focus on possible challenges of infants at high-risk for CP.
Discuss the results of published studies leveraging auditory stimuli to improve neurodevelopment of infants at high-risk for CP in the first months.
Demonstrate the use of contingent caregiver’s voice exposure to impact tuning to specific voices and improve suck-swallow breathe coordination in infants with neural insults.
Demonstrate use of foreign language to improve speech sound differentiation plasticity of hospitalized infants in the first months.
Hip Surveillance
Speakers: Dr. Benjamin Shore and Stacey Miller
Overview of evidence and literature.
Review AACPDM Care Pathway for Hip Surveillance.
Practical examples and worksheets that can be used in your clinic.
Learning the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS)
Speakers: Dr. Andrea Duncan and Dr. Laura Johnson
Present research about the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and its use in infants with cerebral palsy 0-3 years including feasibility, properties and limitations.
Discuss and compare solutions on how to implement within clinic.
Demonstration, practice and video examples of each of the 12 items will be given and case studies reviewed.
Models of Care in the NICU
Speakers: Dr. Darcy Fehlings, Lynn Boswell, and Susan Horner
Outline models of care in the NICU focused on SBU and BPD units
Early Detection implementation for infants for specific patient populations in the SBU and BPD units
Implement an early referral process from the NICU/Follow-up to Developmental Care/Rehab using referrals to Baby CIMT as an example
Multidisciplinary Feeding Evaluations & Interventions
Speaker: Dr. William Sharp
Briefly review elements of feeding difficulties common to high-risk infants in the early years (<3).
Demonstrate the utility of multidisciplinary approaches and teams specialized high-risk infants.
Evaluate the feasibility of building such multidisciplinary approaches in various settings and possible (components, communication, program types).
Neurosurgery Surveillance in High Risk Infants
Speaker: Dr. Michael DeCuypere, Dr. Robin Bowman, and Dr. Sandi Lam
Children with CP are often those who have perinatal brain lesions making them at risk for needing surgical interventions.
Review easy ways to identify neurosurgical involvement.
Intervention will be discussed including management of hydrocephalus, head shaping.
If identified early many of these problems can be addressed in ways that will promote optimal development.
Participants will leave with easy tools to perform surveillance in their own practice.
Optimizing Sleep and Mitigating Pain in Infants with CP
Speakers: Dr. Iona Novak, Dr. Kelly Tanner, and Dr. Lisa Letzkus
Assess and monitor pain in infants with CP.
Answer parent questions regarding non-pharmacological options for pain and sleep management.
Conduct sleep screening and utilize evidence-based interventions to promote better sleep.
Discuss new holistic approaches (e.g. Mindfulness, REIKI).
Parent Well-Being and Effective Parenting Interventions
Speakers: Dr. Mary Lauren Neel and Dr. Sheena Carter
Identify and advocate for available resources to enhance parent wellness.
Identify challenges and solutions unique to your own healthcare system in delivering parenting interventions.
Discuss common problems faced in parents and infants with high risk or diagnosis of CP in the NICU and outpatient settings.
Compare Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) versus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approaches.
Utilize best practice tools and approaches to assess the impact of an infant with special needs on the family.
Review evidence base for current programs (e.g. Triple P, Legacy).
Discuss group versus individual model in parenting.
Preschool Readiness and Resilience
Speakers: Dr. Hudson Taylor and Dr. Sarah Winter
Focus on assessment of trajectories of cognition throughout the early years, review evidence and psychometric properties in high-risk infants
Discuss implications for pre-school readiness and possible early educational supports
Introduce the concept of resilience and demonstrate how it could apply to infants at high-risk or with CP
Apply knowledge gained to clinical scenarios in multidisciplinary team of attendees.
Preventative Care for Sensory Comorbidities
Speakers: Dr. Belinda Deramore Denver and Dr. Celine Richard
Ensure appropriate surveillance and referral pathways hearing and vision from birth to 3, taking into account differences for patients with high-risk for CP.
Implement treatment and management plans for patients at high risk for CP that are based upon current literature, guidelines, and/or protocols.
Focus on recent systematic reviews of hearing and vision.
Review of Hand Assessment of Infants (HAI)
Speakers: Dr. Susan Greaves and Dr. Lena Krumlinde-Sundholm
Demonstrate how to select appropriate toys for a HAI play session.
Understand the constructs upon which the HAI is based and describe early psychometric evidence.
Interpret and communicate outcomes from the testing procedures.
Selective Motor Control in Practice
Speakers: Dr, Barbara Sargent, Dr. Colleen Peyton, Dr. Eileen Fowler, and Dr. Theresa Sukal Moulton
Explore the concept of selective motor control by discussing and establishing a collaborative definition of this construct.
Video and case examples will be shown of children with decreased selective motor control, along with opportunities to clinically assess and interpret findings on a basic examination.
The discussion will relate the neuroscience behind altered selective motor control, particularly in the developing infant, with a focus on animal and human research to support observations.
Clinical tools, including targeted observations and validated outcome measures, to evaluate selective upper and lower extremity motor control in infants.
Presenters will provide clinicians with ideas for influencing selective motor control in children with cerebral palsy in the early years and explore the potential of the nervous system to respond to intervention.
Shared Decision Making - How to Reach and Teach: Parents as Partners
Speakers: Dr. Peter Rosenbaum and Dr. Elizabeth Chan
Overview of best practices for shared decision making.
Discussion of issues in early childhood for children with CP.
Anticipation of issues in adolescence with emphasis on gender- and sex-specific issues.
Speech and Language Interventions
Speaker: Dr. Lindsay Pennington
Discuss role of assistive communication in early intervention.
Assess language, communication, and behavior for each of the three interrelated topics; best evidence in standardized assessment will be reviewed.
Feasibility of screeners versus assessments will be discussed.
Q&A session will be focused on choices for all three in individualized settings.
Stem Cell Update
Speakers: Dr. Iona Novak, Dr. Madison Paton, and Dr. Megan Finch-Edmondson
Review the types of stem cell interventions used to impact outcomes of young children with CP and hypothesized mechanisms of action.
Discuss targeting of stem cell therapies to address CP-specific morbidities and enhance recovery after injury.
Practically address issues related to patient care, with regards to common questions and concerns of families surrounding access, knowledge and dangers of stem cell therapies for CP.
Supporting and Enhancing NICU Sensory Experiences (SENSE)
Speakers: Dr. Roberta Pineda and Dr. Kathryn Knudsen
Review the published evidence demonstrating effectiveness of SENSE.
Introduce the scientific concepts and literature underlying the multi-modal approach to positive sensory exposures across hospitalization for high-risk infants in the NICU.
Characterize the principles of education in the NICU to engage families in providing developmentally appropriate positive sensory exposures to optimize outcomes for their infant(s).
Elements include: medical terminology, fetal development in the final months of pregnancy, the sensory environment of the NICU, sensory development, reading infant cues, identifying readiness for sensory exposures, how to provide different sensory exposures, and a week-by-week guide* on specific doses and timing of sensory exposures to ensure consistent and developmentally appropriate delivery of positive sensory experiences at each postmenstrual age.
Tone Management and Considerations in the High-Risk Infant
Speakers: Dr. Nathan Rosenberg and Dr. Jilda Vargus Adams
Review evidence for tone management in infants pointing out gaps and lessons extrapolated from older children.
Focus on recent systematic reviews.
Apply knowledge to clinical scenarios.
Encourage discussion of options when evidence is lacking.
Upper Limb Motor Interventions
Speakers: Dr. Jill Heathcock and Dr. Kelly Tanner
It is the policy of CPF that no recordings are permitted in the workshop sessions. Audio or video recording is strictly prohibited
