Physical Therapy & Gross Motor

PT Video

How to Get Ready for Virtual Learning

PT March Would You Rather

LDC PT Winter Adventures:

PT Winter Adventures: Sledding

In this week's PT Winter Adventure, Ms. Cathy the PT is going to take you sledding down her favorite hill! You will be able to practice floor sitting, moving your trunk, lifting up your arms, getting up from the floor and marching. We hope you have as much fun watching the video and doing the activity as we did making the video!

PT Winter Activity:

Cross-country Skiing

PT Winter Activity: Build a Snowman

Join the PT's from LDC and grab your winter hat, gloves and coat and help us "build" a virtual snowman.

Please position your student in a way that he or she can actively move his or her trunk. Please have them stand if they are able and complete the gross motor activities suggested in the video.

Sleigh Ride

Put on your warm clothes and get ready for a Sleigh Ride adventure with Ms. Amanda our Music Therapist and Ms. Cathy our Physical Therapist!

Today, we are going to move our bodies and pretend to go on a hilly adventure through a snow-covered trail on a sleigh to the song "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. To prepare your bodies, make sure to remove the supports on your chair or sit in a kitchen chair or ottoman with your helper in front of you. You will be leaning to the right, left, forward and backward. We will be looking up and looking down. We will be going fast and slowing it down. Make sure to listen to Ms. Amanda as she gives out instructions.

Ice-Skating:

FIRST, THINK ABOUT YOUR STUDENT'S POSITION:

Can they stand for all or some of the lesson?

Do they need just a little support or a lot of support to stand?

Can they use a Pacer?

Do they need to be in sitting for the activity?

We want them to be upright at their trunk. They might even need a little pillow behind their back to get them more upright. Try removing their lateral or anterior trunk supports so they can move their body!

The helper can sit in front of them to assist if needed to move their ankles or feet; but when they need to start moving their arms, they may need you to come up from behind or to the side. In this position, the helper can help move the student's trunk and arms. Remember the further away you provide support from the trunk, the more your student must work. Make sure that as the helper, you are using good body mechanics so you can keep your back safe.

Let's have the students move on their own as much as possible during this lesson.

Paper plates might be helpful to glide their feet across the floor.

PT Holiday Fun Activities

PT Stretching

To The Sugar Plum Fairy

PT Winter Activity

Reindeer Hokey Pokey

PT Winter Activity

Twelve Days of Christmas

PT Winter Activity

Snowflake, Snowflake

Foot Dance to Jingle Bell Rock: What? Your PT's want you to take off your AFOs??? It's Sock Day!! Put on some fun socks and join your PT's in a fun foot dance. Passive Range of Motion is boring! But foot dancing to Jingle Bell Rock, now that is fun!! You are going to want to start wiggling your toes and kicking your feet with us!

Reindeer Hokey Pokey: Put on your antlers and red nose and join the PT's from LDC as we dance to the "Reindeer" Hokey Pokey! Make sure if you are sitting, to be in an upright position so you can move your body and dance along.

12 days of Christmas: We hope you join us on a fun rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas" brought to you by your LDC PT's Cathy and Janine. We have fun movements for each of the 12 days. It is a like a marathon, so please get your bodies ready, maybe stretch a little to begin. Make sure you are sitting upright in your chair. Have your helper remove some supports so that you can move and dance to the song.

Dance of the Sugar Plumb Fairy: Please join the LDC PT's as we stretch to the "Dance of the Sugar Plumb Fairy." Please make sure you are sitting in an upright position. It would be helpful if you could sit on a kitchen chair, therapy ball, bench, edge of the bed or ottoman so your helper can sit behind and assist you with the stretching.

Snowflake, Snowflake: Looking for a gentle movement song? The LDC PT's have you covered! Join us as we gracefully move like snowflakes to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Make it Routine: Standing and Walking for Your Child At Home

Is your child able to stand and step with some support? Would you like your child to improve in mobility skills? This video explores how to incorporate more opportunities for standing and walking into your child's everyday routine. You may find this beneficial for your child and also for you!

LDC PT - Rifton Pacer: Common Positional Problems - Forward Head

If an individual has difficulty lifting their head upright when positioned in the Rifton Pacer:

1. Use a rolled towel roll (Rainbow technique) and place it in the front of the chest prompt

2. Adjust angle of Chest Prompt

3. Adjust angle of Arm Prompts

LDC PT - Rifton Pacer Adjustments for Kyphosis

Have you ever had difficulty positioning someone in a Rifton Pacer who has a significant kyphosis or a fixed forward curvature of the spine?

This video will demonstrate how to adjust each of the prompts for optimal upright positioning to help achieve better head and trunk control as well as improve walking.

Pacer Positioning

One of the most common positional errors that I see with the Rifton Pacer is that the frame is too high which causes pressure on the person's armpits.

1. Lower Frame

2. Raise the Hip Positioner

3. Adjust the Chest Prompt

Too much pressure on the armpits can cause

1. Numbness, tingling, discoloration of the upper extremities

2. Shoulder elevation and poor positioning of the chest and arms

"The Napping House"

Read the Story

You will need 5 stuffed animals to represent everyone sleeping on Granny.

During this story, you can have your child pretend to be the granny and reach out to grab the "child", the "dog", the "cat", the "mouse" and the "flea" and place on his or her lap
As the story progresses, your child can grasp each one and throw it to the floor

When the story is over, be sure to watch this next video for a fun activity to do outside with your family - Follow the line!

Follow The Line

The Napping House by Audrey Wood and Illustrated by Don Wood - Read by Cathy, PT

You will need 5 stuffed animals to represent everyone sleeping on Granny.

- During this story, you can have your child pretend to be the granny and reach out to grab the "child", the "dog", the "cat", the "mouse" and the "flea" and place on his or her lap

- As the story progresses, your child can grasp each one and throw it to the floor

When the story is over, be sure to watch this next video for a fun activity to do outside with your family.

Active Upright Positioning

Learn to assist your child/young adult in being more active and upright while sitting in their wheelchair.

- Just because there is lots of support does not mean you need to leave them on at all times.

- Supports on the wheelchair can be removed for short periods of time to actively work on head and trunk control.

- When you have to walk away or your child is tired, you can put the supports back on the chair to be safe.

- Your child will only learn to sit up and actively control their head and trunk if they are given those opportunities throughout the day.

- Use pillows and towels behind the person's back to set them forward in the chair

Upright positioning in the wheelchair:

- Can break up extensor tone

- Allows the person to use their arms functionally

- Allows the person to use their arms to support themselves on their lap, tray or table for stability

- Allows the person to engage more with their environment and people around them

- Puts them in a better position to assist with a sit to stand transitions

- When the head and trunk are upright, they are in a better position for swallowing and breath control

Stories with Cathy:

"The Fidgety Fish"

Read by Cathy

"From Head to Toe"

Read by Cathy

Physical Therapy Resources:

4 P's of Gait Training

Compared to the school or clinic, the home has unique challenges for gait training with your child: smaller spaces, time constraints, fewer hands available for transfer in and out of equipment and no direct therapy services. Here are some tips and ideas for crafting a gait training session at home. I call them the four “P’s”:

Practice, Purpose, Positioning, and Progress.

Helping Your Child Stand At Home :

Would you like to help your child stand at home? Does your child need some extra support to do this? Maybe a table, counter top, couch, bed, or something else could provide a surface for him/her to lean on. Learn how to survey your home for the right location and how to assist your child to stand.

Sitting at Home on the Couch, Bed, and Kitchen Chair with Janine

Being upright is very important for our health, and sitting is one good way to be up. When your child is home, here are some ideas for helping him/her work on sitting skills on the couch, bed, and kitchen chair.

MOVE Introduction by Cathy:

MOVE in the Home Introduction:

In this video, I am going to introduce you to what MOVE could look like in your home. I want you to think about your routine throughout the day and consider what you are doing for your child/young adult out of habit.

Can you have a higher expectation for them during some of those activities?
Can you take just a few more minutes during your transfer to have your child/young adult place their feet on the floor and assist you?
Is it frustrating to you that their wheelchair does not fit down the hall and you have to carry him or her into their bedroom? Have you thought about having your child/young adult assist you even if you have to do most of the work in the hope that they will start trying to help because you are giving them the opportunity?

Lets open up the discussion about what it would be like to have very short practice sessions throughout the day within your normal routine. We want your child/young adult to be able to be as independent as possible but that only comes with practice.

It is our hope that this video will generate some questions and help you be more intentional in your daily routine and open up some new possibilities for you and your child/young adult.

Getting Your Child into a Pacer:

Do you have a Rifton Pacer at home for your student to use? This video demonstrates one method you can use to assist your student to get into the Pacer and then adjust it for the best experience.