Electronic Aids to Daily Living provide an alternative means of controlling devices, primarily within the home environment, including audiovisual equipment, lighting, and thermostats. Advances in consumer home automation technologies have opened new control opportunities for people with disabilities. This course is directly related to the practice of physical therapy and is therefore appropriate for the PT/PTA.

Recent research identifies three different groups of pediatric power mobility learners. Clinically-based intervention strategies, including tools to monitor intervention outcomes, to meet the specific learning needs of children in each power mobility group will be presented and discussed. This course is directly related to the practice of physical therapy and is therefore appropriate for the PT/PTA.

The participant will learn a model to promote collaborative decision-making in all phases of assistive technology (AT) service design and delivery from consideration through implementation and evaluation of effectiveness. Utilizing the tools presented, participants will learn to evaluate clients with diverse abilities, needs, and experiences in the various environments they typically encounter and develop an AT plan of care for participation and achievement. This course is directly related to the practice of physical therapy and is therefore appropriate for the PT/PTA

This course summarizes research to date on smart wheelchairs, describing smart wheelchair components and functions and how smart wheelchairs can help increase driving safety and independence of powered wheelchair users. The course also describes limitations to current research, gaps in wheelchair assessment and training, and design and ethical considerations for smart wheelchairs. This course is directly related to the practice of physical therapy and is therefore appropriate for the PT/PTA.

The most important step toward developing physical literacy is the mastering of fundamental movement skills. This course will provide attendees with information and resources to evaluate and train the fundamental skills needed to develop physical literacy for children who use wheelchairs. This course is directly related to the practice of physical therapy and is therefore appropriate for the PT and PTA.

This course summarizes the benefits of providing early mobility experiences for infants and toddlers who have mobility delays. Concepts related to introducing power mobility, developing a power mobility training plan, and using outcome measures to assess the impact of power mobility will be presented and discussed. This course is directly related to the practice of physical therapy and is therefore appropriate for the PT and PTA.

The position of the pelvis very much determines the position of the trunk and lower extremities and so achieving and maintaining the optimal position is critical. This course will present common pelvic asymmetries with suggested strategies to address each challenge. Providing as neutral a pelvic position as possible improves overall posture, stability and function.

This course will discuss various strategies to optimize head position. First, we will explore strategies beyond the head support, including specific positioning interventions and addressing visual issues. Second, we will explore posterior head supports in depth, matching specific features to client needs. Third, we will explore other options which may be required if posterior support alone is inadequate, including anterior head support.

Given the ever increasing demands for evidence-based therapeutic outcomes, clinicians often grapple with how to effectively evaluate client-centered outcomes of seating and mobility interventions. This session will introduce the use of single-subject research designs (SSRDs) as a way to promote evidence-based evaluation of outcomes through a clinically oriented yet rigorous approach that allows clinicians to quantitatively evaluate and validate outcomes within their everyday practice.

Dynamic seating has four primary functions – to allow movement, to diffuse force, to protect the client, and to protect the seating system and mounting hardware. This course will take a look at the product options, discuss clinical indicators and contra-indicators for dynamic components and present case studies to illustrate these points.