2022 International Conference
Keynote Presentation Motor Development: Plasticity, Variability, and Flexibility
The central challenge for pediatric therapists is to understand and promote children's functional motor behavior. I suggest that evidence from typically developing infants—the time when children first acquire new motor behaviors can provide a useful roadmap for pediatric therapists. So how do typically developing infants learn to move? Plasticity is intrinsic to motor skill acquisition. The skills infants acquire, the ages they first appear, and their subsequent developmental trajectories are highly responsive to infants' everyday experiences and are shaped by cultural and historical differences in childrearing practices. Variability is a hallmark of infant motor development. Variability within infants is necessary for skill learning, and variability among infants highlights the different paths that learning can take. At first, infants cannot perform skills in the same way repeatedly, and later they choose not to. Variety in motor actions is often a choice, not a byproduct of poor motor control. Moreover, each infant finds unique solutions to solve the problem of moving, but they arrive at the same endpoint. Flexibility is fundamental for motor behavior. Rather than rigid and fixed, motor actions must be flexible and creative because infants' bodies and environments are continually changing. Thus, infants modify ongoing actions, select different actions from their repertoire, and create new actions on the fly to adapt to changes in local conditions. Finally, I will discuss the implications of plasticity, variability, and flexibility in infant motor development for pediatric clinical intervention.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this keynote course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the concepts of plasticity, variability, and flexibility in motor development.
- Describe how differences in infants’ everyday experiences—including childrearing practices and the home environment—contribute to motor skill acquisition.
- Identify variability within and among infants and how variety of means and unique pathways can lead to functional outcomes.
- Explain the importance of flexibility in infant action and how infants become more adaptive and creative with development.
- Apply the course information to clinical populations by analyzing patient actions, interventions, and functional outcomes in terms of plasticity, variability, and flexibility.
Keynote Speaker
KAREN E. ADOLPH is Julius Silver Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Professor of Applied Psychology at New York University. She uses observable motor behaviors and a variety of technologies (video, motion tracking, instrumented floor, head-mounted eye tracking, EEG, etc.) to study developmental processes. Adolph is Director of the Databrary video library and the PLAY project, and she developed and maintains the Datavyu video-coding tool. Adolph received a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and Ph.D. from Emory University, and she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and Association for Psychological Science and Past-President of the International Congress on Infant Studies, She received the Kurt Koffka Medal for "worldwide outstanding work on infants' perception/action development," a Cattell Sabbatical Award, the APF Fantz Memorial Award, the APA Boyd McCandless Award, the ICIS Young Investigator Award, FIRST and MERIT awards from NICHD, and five teaching awards from NYU. She chaired the NIH study section on Motor Function and Speech Rehabilitation and serves on the McDonnell Foundation advisory board and editorial boards of Current Directions in Psychological Science, Developmental Psychobiology, and Motor Learning and Development. Adolph published 180+ articles and chapters, Her research on perceptual-motor learning and development is continually funded by NIH and NSF since 1991.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Karen Adolf is an independent contractor for the AHA, Inc. and received a fee from AHA, Inc. for instructional services.
Non-Financial: No relevant non-financial relationship exists between the speakers and AHA, Inc
General Session Presentation: Longlining to Improve Equine Athleticism and Client Outcomes
Hippotherapy is an equine discipline which necessitates development of optimal equine movement to enhance a client’s functional outcomes. The therapist must be able to communicate timely adjustments in equine movement to the handler to facilitate proper client alignment and midline orientation while challenging core stability, postural control, and balance. How do we optimize the benefits of equine movement through proper handling and training of the equine athlete? This talk will lay a foundation for effective longlining and allow exploration of the maximal potential of the equine athlete for use in physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology.
Learning objectives:
- Participant will be able to discuss three purposes of longlining.
- Participant will be able to describe three characteristics of proper handler position.
- Participant will be able to discuss three precautions or contra-indications of longlining.
- Participant will be able to create three training ideas for the therapy horse to increase athleticism.
- Participant will be able to recognize impact of handling on client alignment and postural control, citing three examples.
General Session Speaker
Lisa Harris, MSVS, PT, HPCS
Lisa practices physical therapy at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. She also owns and operates a private practice which incorporates hippotherapy as a treatment tool. Lisa has both a MS in Physical Therapy and Veterinary Science, specializing in equine biomechanics. She is a hippotherapy clinical specialist and has served on the AHA board as vice president, research and education chairperson and newsletter editor. She is a PATH, Intl. Advanced riding instructor and graduate ‘A’ ponyclubber who has evented through the Intermediate Two Star Level and has coached young riders through the Preliminary level.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Lisa Harris did not receive money for their presentation.
Non-Financial: Lisa Harris is a member of the AHA, Inc.
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