OT, Plagiocephaly, and Cognitive Outcomes

Plagiocephaly has historically been thought of as a benign, cosmetic issue.

But, the seminal study we are looking at during this 1-hour course indicates that severe to moderate skull deformity may be best understood as a biomarker for developmental vulnerability. As we’ll see, moderate to severe skull deformity was linked with lower cognitive and academic outcomes, when the children reached school age.

It is critical to understand that this does not mean that plagiocephaly causes developmental delay. But, given the results of this study, developmental assessment, monitoring, and intervention is recommended for children moderate to severe plagiocephaly. After we break down this article for you, we’ll be joined by Amirra Condelee, OTD, OTR/L to discuss the implications for OTs who work with infants—and our role in our communities and families now that we understand the importance of this biomarker.

Plagiocephaly Resources Discussed

• Baby Begin

• Cranial Technologies

• The Survey of Well-being of Young Children

1. You will be able to recognize the type of developmental assessment that is indicated by plagiocephaly at different ages.

2. You will be able to identify the opportunities for speciality OT assessment and intervention related to plagiocephaly.

• Intro

• Breakdown and analysis of journal article

  • Intro to positional plagiocephaly

  • Prevalence

  • Is it harmless? Flat head syndrome and development.

  • What were the methods?

  • What were the results?

  • Discussion

  • Conclusion

  • Takeaways for OT practitioners

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with Amirra Condelee)

  1. Tell us how you first found OT.

  2. How did you become interested in pediatrics?

  3. What were your initial impressions of this article?

  4. What can we do as OTs to prevent plagiocephaly in the first place?

  5. Do you see a place for craniometry in EI OT?

  6. What opportunities do you see for connecting with physicians for referrals based on this article?

  7. Did the assessments utilized feel familiar to you? After reading the article, what assessments would you be likely to utilize with a child with positional plagiocephaly?

  8. If you did have a child on your caseload with moderate/severe plagiocephaly, what resources do you know that EI therapists could access?

  9. How has being a new mom changed your approach to working with families?

Primary

• Cognitive Outcomes and Positional Plagiocephaly

Additional

• Plagiocephaly perception and prevention: A need to intervene early to educate parents

• Safety and efficacy of independent Allied healthcare professionals in the assessment and management of Plagiocephaly Patients

• Barriers and facilitators influencing parental adherence to prevention strategies for deformational plagiocephaly: Results from a scoping review

• The effectiveness and safety of conservative interventions for positional plagiocephaly and congenital muscular torticollis: A synthesis of systematic reviews and guidance

• Using a 3D asymmetry index as a novel form for capturing complex three-dimensionality in positional plagiocephaly

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic. The Plagiocephaly Resources section of this page links to independent companies for further reference; OT Potential receives no compensation for those links and is not affiliated with them.

Speaker interests: Amirra Condelee has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.