24-Hour Postural Care, part I – Implementing a Family-Friendly Approach to Prevention of Body Shape Distortion for Children with Movement Challenges

Course Description

This introductory course seeks to help PTs, PTAs, OTs, OTAs, other healthcare providers, and caregivers learn about a person-centered approach to understanding and implementing gentle night-time postural care as an essential part of 24-hour therapeutic positioning for children with movement difficulties.   Attendees will examine the biomechanical forces that contribute to body shape changes and deformity and learn how to use these same forces to correct, prevent and provide comfort through gentle supports. Examples of simple, safe, common-sense postural care strategies will be presented and explained, as well as how consistent implementation of these strategies may improve the overall health and well-being of anyone with movement disorders from childhood through adulthood.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Discuss relationship of positioning and development
• Describe and analyze basic skeletal and internal body structures on diagrams, radiographs, and palpation
• Recognize and evaluate risk factors for body shape changes due to an individual’s habitual posture and movement patterns: including pathological reflexes, muscle tone, muscle weakness, contractures, and pain
• Identify pain and non-pain related behavior in individuals who communicate in non-traditional ways
• Identify and evaluate destructive and supported lying postures, and the potential positive impact of consistent, long-term, 24-hour therapeutic positioning
• Describe how a ‘person-centered’ postural care approach provides balance for caregivers and individuals with movement challenges for maintaining/improving body alignment

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Basic

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to complete a 10 question post-test with a minimum passing score of 70%.