Acquired Brain Injury: Meeting Wheeled Mobility Needs
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will discuss wheeled mobility post ABI including common postural impairments, as well as safety and cognitive considerations.
Education Level = Intermediate, Credit = 0.2 CEU/ 2 CCU
AOTA Category: OT Service Delivery; CEU(s)/Contact Hour(s): 0.2 AOTA CEUs/2 Contact Hour
State PT Approval: This course has been approved by the Maryland State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners for .2 CEUs
Instructional Method: Recorded on-line asynchronous lecture with supporting video demonstration
Functional mobility following an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) varies significantly from person to person. The role of the clinical team, in conjunction with the client and family, is to establish a means of mobility that enhances independence and function. Often, this results in the need for a wheeled mobility device. While there is limited evidence available on the topic of wheeled mobility and ABI, it is clear that independent mobility is a predictor of quality of life post ABI. The team must maximize safe and efficient mobility, while considering the cognitive, visual, fatigue, and postural factors often present in this population.
This course will discuss wheeled mobility post ABI including common postural impairments, as well as safety and cognitive considerations. Manual wheelchair configuration for optimizing independent mobility in this population will be reviewed. Additionally, this course will discuss the necessity of introducing power assist and powered mobility options when an optimized manual mobility device is not efficient or functional for a client. Factors for determining safe and independent use of power mobility will be discussed including training strategies to maximize success when working with individuals with cognitive and visual deficits. Participants will leave the course with immediately applicable strategies for maximizing independence in functional mobility post ABI.
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| Who Enrolls | This program is designed for Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Physical Therapists, Physical Therapist Assistants, Assistive Technology Professionals, Case Managers, and Medical Suppliers/Providers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Instructor Information | Jennith Bernstein, PT, DPT, ATP: Jennith has been a practicing PT for 13 years and spent the last 10 years at a model SCI center (Shepherd Center) in Atlanta, Georgia. Jennith completed her Masters in Physical Therapy at North Georgia College & State University and return to complete her transitional DPT at University of Texas Medical Branch in 2014. While at Shepherd Center, Jennith, initiated a “Seating Champion” program to improve the inpatient and day program clinicians understanding of complex seating, pressure management and skin protection as well as research reviews, advanced programming and adjustments. She was also part of a center wide multidisciplinary focus group for reduction of hospital acquired skin breakdown. Jennith has served as a volunteer teacher at the Universidad Mariano Galvez in Guatemala, instructing spinal cord injury curriculum as well as seating and mobility. Jennith has presented at national and international conferences such as RESNA, ISS, Expo Ortopedica, and the APTA NEXT conference. Jennith joined Permobil as a Clinical Education Manager in 2016. Angela Regier, OTD, OTR/L, ATP received her doctorate of occupational therapy from Creighton University in 2007 and is a RESNA-certified assistive technology professional. Regier joined Permobil in 2017 as a Clinical Education Manager for the western region. Prior to joining Permobil, Regier was at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado where her career focused on inpatient and outpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Prior to leaving Craig Hospital, she was supervisor of the Wheelchair Seating and Mobility Clinic where she provided comprehensive seating and mobility interventions for individuals with acquired brain and spinal cord injury. Regier has published and speaks on the topic of seating and mobility for acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury. She has also served as an adjunct faculty for the Creighton University Entry-Level Distance OTD Program (Regis) in Denver, Colorado. |