Facilitating Transitional Movements Effectively: An NDT Perspective

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP

Through lectures, labs, and patient demonstrations, participants will have an opportunity to develop their understanding and skill in using transitional activities to remediate the functional limitations of patients with neuromuscular system impairments, across the continuum of care. Problem-solving for individual patient needs will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced.

Management of Upper Extremity Neurological Problems in Adults Using NDT

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, PTA, OTA

The goal of this seminar is to challenge participants to improve their clinical management of the upper extremity functional limitations and underlying impairments of individuals with a diagnosis of stroke or other neurological pathology. Various upper extremity challenges will be discussed within a problem-solving framework. Labs will allow time for participants to learn and practice hands-on treatment strategies for specific problems in patients with various challenges and at various levels of function. Application of these concepts to the evaluation and treatment of an actual patient will be demonstrated, with participants actively involved in the problem- solving process.

Use of NDT Principles to Manage the Adult Patient Who is Severely Neurologically Involved and at a Low Level of Function

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, PTA, COTA

Through lectures, labs, and patient demonstrations, participants will have an opportunity to develop their understanding and skill in treating the functional limitations of patients with neuromuscular system impairments, with an emphasis on individuals who are severely involved and functioning at a low level. Labs will provide an opportunity for assessment and practice of strategies for improving patient performance of functional activities and ADLs. Problem-solving for individual patient needs will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced.

Managing Adults with Hemiplegia: An NDT Perspective

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, COTA

Through lectures, labs, and patient demonstrations, participants will have an opportunity to develop their understanding and skill in treating the functional limitations of patients with neuromuscular system impairments, across the continuum of care. Labs will provide an opportunity for assessment and practice of strategies for improving patient performance of functional activities and ADLs. Problem-solving for individual patient needs will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced.

Neuro-Developmental Treatment: Focus on The Legs and Gait

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, COTA

This seminar is designed to address practical considerations faced by the therapist in acute care or rehab who is attempting to assist patients to achieve independent transfers and ambulation. Format will be an initial lecture/overview of content, integrated with discussion, and lab practice. Emphasis will be placed on strategies that can be immediately applied to patient care.

An NDT problem-Solving Approach to the Use of Treatment Adjuncts with Adults with Neuro Diagnoses

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, PTA, OTA

We are all exposed to the “latest and greatest” in treatment adjuncts, although some facilities have access to more options than others. Attend this seminar to step back and consider the rationale for use of adjuncts, and to explore the problem-solving that is essential to achieving effective use of adjuncts. Splinting and taping for the upper extremities will be discussed and demonstrated. Opportunities will be provided to consider additional adjuncts via videos and case studies. Adjuncts discussed will include, but will not be limited to: gait devices, AFOs, slings, wheelchair seating systems, and others. NDT clinical decision-making will serve as the framework for making all decisions, as well as for preparing participants to participate in team decisions regarding the use of botox, casting, body weight-supported gait training, ADL equipment, and other adjuncts.

NDT Update

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP

This seminar, designed as four separate, half-day topics, will challenge both new and experienced clinicians to take their treatments a step further. Goals include: problem-solving to determine the most appropriate system(s) to address in a session, development of treatment strategies that are specific to the individual’s impairments, and grading and modifying the strategy to achieve success in treatment. Elements of grading and modifying will be explored through interactive and hands-on sessions to determine ways to increase challenge or to decrease demand as appropriate for the individual patient.

Meeting in the Middle: Improving All Aspects of Function by Treating the Trunk: A One-Day NDT Seminar for PTs, OTs, & SLPs

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, COTA

Although we all learn about the “middle” of the body to some extent in school, as we deepen our understanding of the functions we are responsible for as therapists, we often find that we need to go back to the basics and improve our understanding and management of the trunk. Through its connections via the shoulder girdle, pelvic girdle, and neck, the trunk is an integral part of the functions that OTs, PTs and SLPs address every day in the clinic. A greater understanding of the trunk will prepare each participant in this seminar to assess proximal problems and potential, and to facilitate the postural control that is necessary for achievement of functional goals in each discipline. Lectures, lab activities, and videos will enable seminar participants to deepen their awareness of the interrelationship of the elements of trunk control, and the interaction of the functions addressed by each discipline.

NDT: Exploring Postural Control with a Focus on Upright Function and Gait

Instructor: Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, OTA, SLPA

Postural control is essential for all function. Participants in this seminar will gain understanding and skill in evaluating and treating the postural control problems of the individual with a neurological diagnosis, with an emphasis on the postural control components necessary for transfers, gait, and other aspects of upright control and lower extremity function. Lectures, labs, and video case examples will ensure effective carryover from the seminar setting to the clinic. Participants will learn how to recognize correct and incorrect components of postural control, and how to facilitate improved function through effective assessment and treatment of postural control. Problem-solving for individual patient needs will be discussed, demonstrated, and practiced.

Managing the Upper Quadrant and Odds & Ends of Documentation

Instructor: Cathy Hazzard, B.Sc, MBA, PT, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, OTA, SLPA

This seminar integrates contemporary NDT and the NDT Practice Model and its application for individuals post stroke and brain injury. Participants will engage in interactive laboratory sessions, group discussions, and observe a patient demonstration. There will be two main focuses of the seminar:

1. Explore a framework for facilitating recovery in the UE working through closed chain to modified chain and beginning to open the chain. Participants will spend time discussing and brainstorming intervention strategies in the framework that maximize clients’ functional outcomes, as well as practicing handling within these strategies in labs.

2. Discuss how to document evaluation findings at a functional level incorporating objective and specific measurable outcomes.

Achieving Functional Outcomes Through the Lifespan from Impairment Identification to Intervention Strategies *DUAL CREDENTIAL*

Instructors: Cathy Hazzard, B.Sc. MBA, PT, C/NDT (Adults) and Madonna Nash, OT, C/NDT (Pediatrics)

level: Intermediate (Adult & Peds)

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, OTA, SLPA

Practice and feedback are fundamental to learning new skills and re-learning old ones. Meaningful interactions in the environment shape plasticity. This is true for our clients, as well as for us as the therapists treating them. For therapists trained in NDT and working with children through the lifespan or have changed into adult practice, and for therapists who were trained in NDT with adults but are now working with children, do we need to do anything differently? Do the rules change? Are base of support, alignment, weight shifting, active support, and all the concepts you learned in your NDT course the same with a different size body and neurological diagnosis? How do you get that larger person up on his/her feet and optimize his/her outcomes without play? How do you engage and play with a child while also treating them? An adult course NDTA™ PT Instructor has teamed up with a pediatric course NDTA™ OT Instructor for this seminar. Participants will take part in choosing optimal assessment and intervention choices across the lifespan using contemporary NDT and the NDT Practice Model. Participants will participate in small group practice and discussions of case presentations and observe live patient demonstrations. Participants will be engaged in discussions of, and practice of the handling demonstrated, how to structure the environment, and making the right choices for tasks to optimize motor control during functional tasks.

Where to Start and What to Do With Individuals Who Are Low Functioning

Instructor: Cathy Hazzard, B.Sc, MBA, PT, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, OTA, SLPA

This seminar integrates contemporary NDT and the NDT Practice Model, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework, and best practices in neurorehabilitation and neuroplasticity for working with individuals who are lower functioning, bilaterally involved, and/or in the early stages of recovery post stroke and brain injury. Participants will be engaged in interactive, experiential laboratory sessions, group problem-solving discussions, and observe a patient demonstration. Topics to be covered include: assisting functional patterns of movement such as coming to sitting at the edge of the bed, sitting to standing, performing various transfers, optimal bed and chair positioning, and management ideas for the early low tone shoulder and arm to optimize functional recovery.

NDT Clinical Reasoning – The ‘What’ to the ‘How’

Instructor: Cathy Hazzard, B.Sc, MBA, PT, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP

This intensive seminar integrates contemporary NDT and the NDT Practice Model and its application for indi- viduals post stroke and brain injury. Participants will engage in discussions and interactive practice to streamline assessments to determine the most significant clinical impairments interfering with clients' function. Participants will participate in multiple patient treatment practicums to assist with identifying priority impairments and then make logical choices to treat within functional tasks. All segments of the kinetic chain, including the arm- leg connection, will be presented, and discussed as interlinked to optimizing functional outcomes.

Using NDT Strategies to Improve ADL Function

Instructor: Katy Kerris, OT, CHT, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP

Adult clients with neurological involvement want to return to independence in function as quickly as possible, yet getting an underactive upper limb to participate in higher level ADL tasks is always a challenge. This lab-based seminar will give therapists a toolbox of ideas and strategies to be used in both assessment and treatment to get the most out of a hemiplegic upper limb within ADL functional task performance.

Using NDT Strategies to Improve Outcomes in Patients with Neurological Involvement: for Therapists

Instructor: Katy Kerris, OT, CHT, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP

This lab-based seminar explores the assessment and treatment of the adults with hemiplegia using a problem- solving approach, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework, and NDT handling skills. It is designed to provide hands-on learning opportunities and a chance to improve clinical reasoning skills in the treatment of adults with hemiplegia, as well as those with other neurologic conditions. The seminar is designed for C/NDT therapists and those with advanced skills to hone and improve treatment skills. Kinesiology and current research are presented throughout to support the information.

Using NDT Strategies to Improve Outcomes in Patients with Neurological Involvement: Upper Extremity

Instructor: Katy Kerris, OT, CHT, C/NDT

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, OTA

Adult clients with neurological involvement want to return to independence in function as quickly as possible yet getting an underactive upper limb to participate in higher level tasks is always a challenge. This lab-based seminar will explore the assessment and treatment of the adults with hemiplegia using a problem-solving approach and NDT handling skills. It is designed to provide hands-on learning opportunities and a chance to improve clinical reasoning skills in the treatment of adult hemiplegia, as well as those with other neurologic conditions. At the intermediate level, it is designed to challenge C/NDT therapists and others with advanced skills to look deeper into treating the impairments of the upper limb integrating current research.

Achieving Speech Therapy Goals in Adults with Neurological Diagnoses Using Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT)

Instructor: J. Lyndelle Owens, MCD, CCC-SLP, C/NDT (may be taught with Monica Diamond, PT, MS, NCS, C/NDT)

Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP

Participants will gain new insight into the dynamic control of the head, neck and trunk. Understanding the importance of stability of the base of support, and ways to achieve it, will assist the speech-language pathologist (SLP) to achieve better results in achieving speech goals. Video presentations will assist participants to recognize faulty coordination of the head, spine, rib cage and pelvis, and will illustrate how this lack of integration limits function. During labs, participants will learn to use NDT handling to facilitate components of head and trunk control and achievement of functional speech goals. Participants will also learn how facilitation of breathing, voicing, and oral-motor control can enhance the achievement of goals of all the members of the rehab team. This seminar is also appropriate for occupational therapists and others involved in treatment during meal activities.

Practical intervention Strategies to Develop Perceptual Awareness in Clients with Neurological Impairments: Pediatric and Adult NDT Contemporary Practices Align *DUAL CREDENTIAL*

Instructor: Leslie Paparesnos, PT, Physiotherapist, MS, C/NDT, NDTA™ PT Instructor (Peds) Teresa Siebold, B.H.Sc.PT, B.Sc.Kin, C/NDT, NDTA™ PT Instructor (Adults)

Level: Intermediate (Adult or Peds)

Target Audience: PT, OT, SLP, PTA, OTA, SLPA, Adult and Pediatric Therapists

The ability to move safely, efficiently, and without fear requires an accurate understanding of the relationship between self and the environment. This relationship is developed through movement experiences, both successful and erroneous. When these experiences are repeated, neuroplasticity occurs and an immense coordination between the sensory and motor systems is established. This coordination allows for the exploration of objects, environments, and our own bodies, through movement planning, initiation and problem-solving.

Children and adults with neurological injury or disorders experience changes in body structure, function and postural orientation. Movement experiences will thus alter, and the coordination between the sensory and motor systems becomes challenged. In this intermediate level seminar, practical intervention strategies for clients with a neuromuscular diagnosis will be shared. An emphasis will be placed on self-awareness and perceptual deficits causing limitations in movement or high-risk movement behaviors. Contemporary NDT and the NDT Practice Model will be utilized to provide opportunities for problem-solving, handling techniques, and functional activity ideas. Participants will be assisted to improve their handling skills while problem-solving to optimize function for their clients. This seminar will discuss similarities between pediatric and adult practices, bridging the gap between therapeutic communities, and striving for improved treatment approaches.