Water-Based Interventions for the Pediatric Therapist 2019

Water-Based Interventions for the Pediatric Therapist is organized by Texas Children's Hospital and will be held from Feb 09 - 10, 2019 at Blue Lagune Therapy - Aquatic & Land Physical Therapy, Katy, Texas, United States of America. This CME Conference has been approved for a maximum of 16 CCU Credits.

Course Description:
This 16 hour seminar on water-based interventions is designed to rapidly introduce pediatric therapists to motor, sensory and play-based interventions in water. Participants will create a series of aquatic therapeutic movements, tasks, or exercises designed to alleviate the most common problems associated with the pediatric population and then adapt these ideas to novel situations. Participants will briefly examine research which supports aquatic therapy for the child and explore contraindications, including prevailing precaution myths.

Course Objectives :
• Discriminate between aquatic precautions and contraindications specific to the pediatric client. Defend any choice, on a case-by-case basis, to label a condition as a precaution and not as a contraindication.
• Explain why aquatic therapy may be the treatment of choice if
• the patient has poor head or trunk righting/control,
• the patient has spasticity,
• the patient has difficulty with transitional movements;
• the patient has poor sensory processing;
• the patient has speech/language deficits; or
• research supports its use.
• Design a sample aquatic treatment session demonstrating 2 ways to divide labor between PT, OT and SLP. Compare and contrast 5 ways that the goals of 3 different disciplines should differ. Recommend 3 ways to co-treat in water and be reimbursed for the services provided.
• Originate, integrate, and combine ideas into a plan to implement augmentative communication in the therapy pool setting. Incorporate low-tech augmentative communication methods during labs to improve communication.
• Gather and organize the latest aquatic research to bolster the case for treatment and to aid in the writing of letters of medical necessity. Appraise, assess, or critique strength of evidence on a basis of the Pedro scale.
• Describe the 16 treatment stations which can be created in the therapy pool, then independently adapt each aquatic concept learned (e.g. sensory integration) to each station.
• Mimic standard aquatic positions taught by the instructor, then teach these positions to others as appropriate.
• Gather information from payers (including Medicaid) relating to medical necessity for aquatic therapy for the pediatric patient.
• Make a 3 minute verbal “case” for providing aquatic therapy services for a pediatric patient. Synthesize the evidence with experience and values to make an evidence-based “case” for providing aquatic therapy services for a pediatric patient.
• Describe the 16 treatment stations which can be created in the therapy pool, then independently adapt each aquatic concept learned (e.g. sensory integration) to each station.
• Mimic standard aquatic positions taught by the instructor, then teach these positions to others as appropriate.
• Gather information from payers (including Medicaid) relating to medical necessity for aquatic therapy for the pediatric patient.
? increase strength
? improve ROM
? improve oral motor skills
? normalize sensory input (vestibular, visual, auditory, tactile, proprioceptive)
? normalize tone
? improve head and trunk righting
? encourage play, verbalization and social interaction
? improve posture, weight-bearing, balance, gait and proprioception
? normalize transitional movements (lab 
• Progress a specific aquatic task from a lower level of function towards increased independence. Independently adapt the task or skill learned to a novel situation or challenge.
• With a partner, design and implement a 15-minute aquatic treatment plan (including equipment selection) for 1-2 of the following:
? Non-progressive neurological disorder (e.g. cerebral palsy)
? Progressive neurological disorder (e.g. muscular dystrophy)
? Pervasive developmental disorder (e.g. autism)
? Failure-to-thrive and developmental delay
? Trauma (lab)

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.