Evaluation of Potential Developmental Precursors to Executive Function in Young Children with Motor Delays: Exploratory Study.

This study aimed to explore whether early developmental abilities are related to future executive function (EF) in children with motor delays. Fourteen children with motor delays ( = 10.76, = 2.

Development and Initial Outcomes of the Interdisciplinary 'Early Identification and Intervention for Infants Network' (Ei3) in Los Angeles.

: The Early Identification and Intervention for Infants (Ei3) Network is an interdisciplinary team dedicated to improving early detection and intervention of cerebral palsy (CP) in California. This paper describes the key (1) awareness-building and (2) capacity-building strategies utilized by the Ei3 Network in the first two years. : Awareness-building methods included interactive conference discussions, resource deliverable creation, and the creation of a framework for dissemination.

A Modification to the Assessment of Problem-Solving in Play to Enhance Its Utility: Evaluation of Validity, Responsiveness, and Reliability.

Purpose: This study investigated the psychometric properties of a 4-second interval scoring modification of the Assessment of Problem-Solving in Play (ie, Assessment of Problem-Solving in Play 4-second interval scoring [APSP-4]).

Methods: A total of 95 children (3-48 months) with or at high risk for neuromotor delay were assessed with the APSP-4 and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-III (Bayley). APSP-4 and Bayley cognitive raw scores were compared by age (construct validity) and over time (responsiveness).

Neonatal therapy principles during transition from neonatal intensive care unit to home: A modified Delphi study.

Aim: To establish expert consensus on key principles for therapist-supported interventions supporting infants born preterm and their families during the transition from neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) to home in the USA.

Method: A diverse, interdisciplinary panel of experts evaluated the use of key intervention principles. A modified Delphi technique was used to seek opinions from independent and relevant interdisciplinary experts on the clarity of terminology, efficacy, and feasibility of implementing these intervention principles during the NICU-to-home transition.

Relationship Between Prone Skills and Motor-Based Problem-Solving Abilities in Full-Term and Preterm Infants During the First 6 Months of Life.

Motor experiences shape cognitive development in infancy, with the prone position being one such crucial motor experience in the first 6 months of life. Although the motor benefits of the prone position are well-documented, its influence on early cognitive abilities remains insufficiently explored. This study quantified the relationship between prone motor skills and motor-based problem-solving abilities in 48 full-term and preterm infants aged 3-6 months.

Tummy Time Tracking: Examining Agreement Between Parent Recall and Direct Observation in Infants.

Importance: Parent recall is the primary method for measuring positioning practices such as tummy time in infants. Concerns regarding the accuracy of parent recall have been raised in the literature. To date, no study has examined the agreement of tummy time recall measures with gold-standard methods.

Igniting the Fire of Discovery: Creating Partnerships Between Research, Education, and Practice.

In the 28th H.P. Maley Lecture, Stacey Dusing, PT, PhD, FAPTA, shares a perspective on the importance of clinician-scientists in bridging the chasm that currently exists between scholarship and clinical practice.

The impact of severity of motor delay, timing of task mastery, and START-play intervention on the development of means-end problem solving in young children.

Background: Children with motor delays are at increased risk for delayed means-end problem-solving (MEPS) performance.

Objectives: To evaluate children with motor delays: 1) the impact of motor delay severity and MEPS mastery timing on developmental trajectories of MEPS; and 2) the effectiveness of Sitting Together And Reaching To Play (START-Play) intervention for improving MEPS.

Methods: This represents a secondary analysis from a multi-site randomized controlled trial, with blinded assessors and prospective registration.

Early Mobility and Crawling: Beliefs and Practices of Pediatric Physical Therapists in the United States.

Purpose: To characterize beliefs of pediatric physical therapists (PTs) in the United States regarding the role of crawling in infant development and clinical practice.

Methods: Pediatric PTs reported their beliefs about early mobility and crawling, clinical approaches related to early mobility and crawling, and agreement with the removal of crawling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s updated developmental milestone checklists in an online survey. Analyses examined associations between information sources and beliefs, between beliefs and clinical approaches, and between beliefs and CDC update opinions.

Slower pace in early walking onset is related to communication, motor skills, and adaptive function in autistic toddlers.

The onset of walking is a major developmental milestone in early childhood and is critical to the development of language and social communication. Delays in walking have been described in individuals with ASD. Yet, less is known about the quality of early gait development in toddlers with ASD and the relationship to motor skills, social communication, and language.

A Feasibility Study of a Physical and Occupational Therapy-Led and Parent-Administered Program to Improve Parent Mental Health and Infant Development.

Aims: Extremely premature birth puts infants at high risk for developmental delay and results in parent anxiety and depression. The primary objective of this study was to characterize feasibility and acceptability of a therapist-led, parent-administered therapy and massage program designed to support parent mental health and infant development.

Methods: A single cohort of 25 dyads - parents (24 mothers, 1 father) and extremely preterm (<28 wk gestation) infants - participated in the intervention.

Parent and Therapist Perceptions of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Benefits of a Weekly Therapist-Led Massage Program for Extremely Preterm Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care.

Mothers of extremely preterm infants experience high rates of mental health disorders that impair maternal-infant interaction and lead to worse infant developmental outcomes. Therapist Education and Massage for Parent-Infant Outcomes (TEMPO) is a therapist-led program that standardizes the nature and frequency of parent education through weekly scheduled therapy sessions. Using a family-centered approach, the therapist facilitates positive maternal-infant interactions and massage interventions from birth throughout hospitalization with the goal of improving maternal mental health.

Sitting Capacity and Performance in Infants with Typical Development and Infants with Motor Delay.

Aims: Infants with neuromotor disorders demonstrate delays in sitting skills (decreased capacity) and are less likely to maintain independent sitting during play than their peers with typical development (decreased performance). This study aimed to quantify developmental trajectories of sitting capacity and sitting performance in infants with typical development and infants with significant motor delay and to assess whether the relationship between capacity and performance differs between the groups.

Methods: Typically developing infants ( = 35) and infants with significant motor delay ( = 31) were assessed longitudinally over a year following early sitting readiness.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Clinical Trial: A Quantitative Report on Study Engagement and Strategies.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted clinical research worldwide potentially altering research findings. The study purpose was to measure the effect of the pandemic on recruitment, retention, assessment, and intervention completion rates.

Methods: Enrollment and participation data from a clinical trial evaluating efficacy of a physical therapy intervention for high-risk preterm infants were compared across 3 pandemic periods (February 2019 through November 2021).

Factors Influencing Receipt and Type of Therapy Services in the NICU.

Understanding the type and frequency of current neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) therapy services and predictors of referral for therapy services is a crucial first step to supporting positive long-term outcomes in very preterm infants. This study enrolled 83 very preterm infants (<32 weeks, gestational age mean 26.5 ± 2.

Embedding Play to Enrich Physical Therapy.

Play is an active process by which an individual is intrinsically motivated to explore the self, the environment, and/or interactions with another person. For infants and toddlers, engaging in play is essential to support development across multiple domains. Infants and toddlers with or at risk of motor delays may demonstrate differences in play or challenges with engaging in play activities compared to typically developing peers.

Parent Experiences in the NICU and Transition to Home.

Families ( = 12) with infants born at <29 weeks gestation shared their experiences while in the NICU and transitioning home. Parents were interviewed 6-8 weeks after NICU discharge, including some during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings regarding the parent experience in the NICU were focused around challenges navigating parent-infant separation, social isolation, communication difficulties, limited knowledge of preterm infants, mental health challenges.

Implementation of a Comprehensive Anti-Racism Plan in an Academic Physical Therapy Department: An Administrative Case Report.

Objective: Transforming the University of Southern California health care system requires that institutions and organizations position equity, diversity, inclusion (EDI), and anti-racism as central to their missions. The purpose of this administrative case report was to describe a systematic approach taken by an academic physical therapy department to develop a comprehensive antiracism plan that engages all interested and affected parties and includes processes for sustainable, long-term engagement.

Methods: Four strategies contributed to organizational change toward anti-racism: Holding Ourselves Accountable; Developing a Plan; Building Consensus; and Providing Education, Support, and Resources.

Benefits of maternally-administered infant massage for mothers of hospitalized preterm infants: a scoping review.

Objectives: Infant massage (IM) is a well-studied, safe intervention known to benefit infants born preterm. Less is known about the benefits of maternally-administrated infant massage for mothers of preterm infants who often experience increased rates of anxiety and depression in their infants' first year of life. This scoping review summarizes the extent, nature, and type of evidence linking IM and parent-centered outcomes.

START-Play Physical Therapy Intervention Indirectly Impacts Cognition Through Changes in Early Motor-Based Problem-Solving Skills.

Purpose: This study tested whether the Sitting Together and Reaching to Play (START-Play) physical therapy intervention indirectly impacts cognition through changes in perceptual-motor skills in infants with motor delays.

Methods: Participants were 50 infants with motor delays randomly assigned to START-Play plus Usual Care Early Intervention (UC-EI) or UC-EI only. Infants' perceptual-motor and cognitive skills were assessed at baseline and 1.

Efficacy of Therapist Supported Interventions from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to Home: A Meta-Review of Systematic Reviews.

Infants born preterm or with complicated medical conditions requiring care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are at high risk for long-term developmental disabilities. The transition from NICU to early intervention/outpatient settings results in a disruptive gap in a therapeutic intervention during a period of maximal neuroplasticity and development. This meta-review evaluated evidence from existing systematic reviews regarding therapeutic interventions that start in the NICU and continue at home with the goal of improving developmental outcomes for infants at high risk for cerebral palsy.

Effect of a NICU to Home Physical Therapy Intervention on White Matter Trajectories, Motor Skills, and Problem-Solving Skills of Infants Born Very Preterm: A Case Series.

Infants born very preterm (VPT; ≤29 weeks of gestation) are at high risk of developmental disabilities and abnormalities in neural white matter characteristics. Early physical therapy interventions such as Supporting Play Exploration and Early Development Intervention (SPEEDI2) are associated with improvements in developmental outcomes. Six VPT infants were enrolled in a randomised clinical trial of SPEEDI2 during the transition from the neonatal intensive care unit to home over four time points.

Development and pilot testing of an early childhood somatosensory assessment: Somatosensory test of reaching.

Thirty-two children (50% female, 59.3% White, 7-60 months), from middle to high socioeconomic status families, participated in pilot feasibility and validity testing of the somatosensory test of reaching (STOR). STOR tested the child's accuracy of reach to visual and somatosensory targets.

Enactive explorations of children's sensory-motor play and therapeutic handling in physical therapy.

Introduction: In pediatric physical therapy, there is an ongoing debate about the use of therapeutic handling and its potential effects on motor learning. In this study, we build on enactive theoretical perspectives to explore the role of therapeutic handling in connection to children's sensory-motor play, engagement, and performance during a single physical therapy session.

Material And Methods: This is a qualitative study based on video observations of therapy sessions and interviews with 15 physical therapists (PTs) each treating two different children aged 0-3.

The Effect of START-Play Intervention on Reaching-Related Exploratory Behaviors in Children with Neuromotor Delays: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Aims: Children with neuromotor delays are at risk for reaching and object exploration impairments, which may negatively affect their cognitive development and daily activity performance. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Sitting Together And Reaching To Play (START-Play) intervention on reaching-related exploratory behaviors in children with neuromotor delays.

Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 112 children ( = 10.