Pediatric TBI and OT

Children are not little adults.

Their brains are actively developing. Because of this neuroplasticity, one might assume they would more quickly and fully recover from a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

This is not the case.

A brain injury can have a more devastating impact on a child than a similar injury in a mature adult. (Brain Injury Association of America)

This is what makes comprehensive, ongoing rehab for pediatric TBI so important. But, unfortunately, as we will see in our primary research, many children who experience TBI have substantial unmet rehab needs.

After reviewing the research, we are thankful to welcome to the podcast, Nelson Gonzalez to discuss OT and TBI assessment, treatment, and what’s on the horizon in this practice area.

1. You will be able to recognize which pediatric TBI patients tend to have the highest levels of unmet OT service needs post hospitalization.

2. You will be able to identify assessments you can use to ascertain service needs in different functional domains.

• Intro

• Breakdown and analysis of journal article

  • Intro to unmet rehab needs following pediatric TBI

  • What was the intent of this paper?

  • Methods

  • Results

  • Discussion

  • Takeaways for OT practitioners

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with Nelson Gonzalez)

  1. How did you first find OT?

  2. How did you become interested in neuro OT?

  3. What were your initial impressions of the article? Did it align with what you’ve seen in practice?

  4. Did you find the list of the screens helpful? What do you all use?

  5. What advice do you have for approaching TBI as a team, and looping in other professionals as needed?

  6. The article did not go into specific TBI treatment, how do you approach a pediatric TBI and what are your go-to interventions?

  7. What skills/resources do you recommend for OTs looking to improve their TBI care?

  8. How can we extend our follow-up period for TBI patients?

  9. It feels like overall there are so many unmet neuro needs- how do we as a profession need to change to meet them?

  10. You went to ACRM this year, what made you excited about the future of OT for TBI and/or neuro OT?

Primary

• Unmet Rehabilitation Needs After Hospitalization for Traumatic Brain Injury

Additional

• Use of motor learning strategies in occupational therapy for children and youth with acquired Brain Injury

• Clinical practice guidelines for occupational therapists in the evaluation and treatment of oculomotor impairment following traumatic brain injury

Mentioned Resources for Pediatric TBI

Assessments for Pediatric TBI

• Mayo Portland Adaptability Inventory

• The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)

• PROMIS Anxiety

• PROMIS Depression

• PROMIS Physical Function Mobility short form

• UCLA PTSD Reaction Index

Learning about Neuroscience and Health

• Huberman Lab podcast

• Dr. Mark Hyman

• Dr. Rhonda Patrick

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.

Speaker interests: Nelson Gonzalez has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.