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The Importance of Early Mobility

The Importance of Early Mobility
Michelle Lange, OTR, ABDA, ATP/SMS
February 1, 2015
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This text-based course is a transcript of the webinar, The Importance of Early Mobility, presented by Michelle L. Lange, OTR, ABDA, ATP/SMS.

Michelle Lange:  We will be focusing on the importance of providing early mobility for some of our youngest clients, the developmental implications of doing so, and the research that backs that up.  As we go through, we will be discussing some resources that summarize the very latest in the research that is available on this topic.  Some of this information is also a compilation of expert opinion.

Importance of Early Mobility

Early mobility is very important.  Typically, early mobility onset occurs at a very young age when children start rolling around the floor and then quickly followed by scooting and crawling.  Those typical developmental milestones are clearly linked to key developmental milestones in the area of cognition, vision, psychosocial development, etc.   Yet despite the fact that we know how important early mobility is to a typically developing child, power mobility is often not recommended for very young children who lack mobility.  The main reasons that this is not recommended are concerns for motor development, concerns the child will not understand the task or would do something unsafe, and concerns about funding.  No one will pay for this. 


michelle lange

Michelle Lange, OTR, ABDA, ATP/SMS

Michelle is an occupational therapist with 25 years of experience and former Clinical Director of The Assistive Technology Clinics of The Children’s Hospital of Denver. She is a well-respected lecturer, both nationally and internationally and has authored 7 book chapters and over 175 articles. She is the editor of Fundamentals in Assistive Technology, 4th ed. Michelle is on the teaching faculty of RESNA and the University of Pittsburgh. She is on the RERC on Wheeled Mobility Advisory Board. Michelle is a credentialed ATP, credentialed SMS and is a Senior Disability Analyst of the ABDA.



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