PT/OT
The New Wave Bathing & Transfer System vs. Blue Wave Bath Chair
November 08, 2016
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
What have we done to improve our old bath chair? Here are the key features that distinguish our new Wave Bathing & Transfer System:
Larger and Wider
The Wave bathing system still comes in three sizes, but there are some important differences. The seat on the small and medium is now wider – a full 15” – with open sides so the seat is comfortable for all sizes. And the large has a 17...
PT/OT
Adaptive Equipment for Classrooms Series: Part 3 of 3
March 13, 2016
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
Today’s post is the third in a series of articles on the topic of adaptive equipment use in the classroom. Adaptive equipment, used appropriately, serves as a teaching tool for students to learn motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking, while engaged in the curriculum. This post focuses on walking, emphasizing the importance of reducing prompts to increase independence.
Adaptive...
PT/OT
Adaptive Equipment for Classrooms Series: Part 2 of 3
March 07, 2016
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
Today’s post is the second in a series of articles on the topic of adaptive equipment use in the classroom. Adaptive equipment, used appropriately, serves as a teaching tool for students to learn motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking, while engaged in the curriculum. This post focuses on standing, including research evidence and tips to promote standing as a motor skill.
Adaptive...
PT/OT
Adaptive Equipment for Classrooms Series: Part 1 of 3
February 29, 2016
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
This post is the first in a series of articles on the topic of adaptive equipment use in the classroom. Adaptive equipment, used appropriately, serves as a teaching tool for students to learn the motor skills of sitting, standing, and walking, while engaged in the curriculum. This post focuses on active sitting as a motor skill.
Adaptive Equipment for Classrooms Series: Part 2 of 3
Adaptive Equipment for...
PT/OT
Teamwork in a Task-Oriented Approach
December 01, 2015
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
Task-oriented therapy approaches are used widely in school systems across the country. This is because students with disabilities learn and respond to their greatest potential when motor learning is incorporated into functional and meaningful tasks throughout the school day. One of the most successful and recognized task oriented methodologies is the MOVE Program. Within the MOVE curriculum, as in all task...
PT/OT
The MOVE Curriculum as a Task-Oriented Approach
October 02, 2015
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
Children with severe disabilities have many complex needs. One of the most evident is a lack of motor control that prevents them from accomplishing functional movement needed for activities of daily life. Therefore, an urgent need for this population is to develop therapeutic approaches that emphasize functional movement and promote a higher quality of life. I suggest that a task-oriented approach is...
Stories
Opportunity with a New Set of Wheels
June 17, 2014
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
Patrick received his first trike over two years ago because of the difficulty he was having with walking. His endurance was poor, he tended to use a crouch gait and his feet frequently hurt after any ambulation. He started with a small red Rifton Tricycle and it soon became one of his main options for outdoor mobility. Since using the trike over the past two years, Patrick’s lower extremity strength...
Evidence Based Practice
Three Principles of Neural Plasticity to Apply in Your Rehabilitation Practice
December 03, 2013
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
There has been a great deal of interest in recent years in the study of plasticity in the nervous system. Plasticity simply means the capacity of the central nervous system to adapt and change. Changes in the structure and function of the nervous system accompany improvements in motor skills that happen with learning and with rehabilitation after neurological damage. Although much of the work on neural...
News
MOVE ing Forward
January 08, 2013
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
An update on the MOVE Curriculum As many of you will know, we at Rifton have worked with MOVE International over many years. For those who don’t know, the MOVE program is an activity-based curriculum designed to teach students with disabilities basic functional motor skills of sitting, standing, walking and transitions needed for life within the home and community environments. The last fifteen years...
PT/OT
Compensation and Recovery
September 18, 2012
by Gilbert Thomson, PT
Should PTs train for compensation or recovery? Clinicians today are debating whether interventions should focus on teaching whatever is required to accomplish a task (compensation) or promote the neuroplasticity needed to allow the task to be accomplished “normally” (recovery).There is a great dialogue on this topic posted on the Journal of Neurologic PT (JNPT) discussions page which I highly...