Category Archives: Inside Therapro

Stay connected with everything happening at Therapro—from product launches and company news to conference highlights, community involvement, and special events we attend or host.

Highlights from OT PT Fall 2014 Conference

Events & Conferences

I had the pleasure of representing Therapro at the OT PT Fall 2014 Conference held at Northern Illinois University on October 17, 2014. Now in its 12th year, this highly anticipated event brought together over 500 occupational and physical therapists from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. The conference, held biennially, is designed specifically for school-based practitioners, offering evidence-informed strategies and tools to help ensure students continue to receive the highest quality therapeutic services within educational environments.

The OT PT Fall 2014 Conference is a full-day event and was packed with professional development opportunities. Attendees could choose from 11 informative workshops that addressed current topics and best practices. Sessions included Activity-Based Intervention and Adaptive Equipment, YogaEd and Brain Gym, The Zones of Regulation, and Assistive Technology Solutions, among others. Each session supported the conference’s overarching goal of promoting effective collaboration among therapists, educators, and families.

Therapro was proud to be represented not only at the exhibit booth, but also by author and presenter Tere Bowen-Irish, who led a full-day session. Her presentations—“OT for the Anxious/Stressed Students (Strategies for a Calmer Classroom)” and “Drive Thru Menus for Preschool and Kindergarten”—were well-received and offered actionable techniques to support emotional regulation and early literacy skills from an OT lens.

The Therapro exhibit booth was a hub of activity as attendees explored products that support classroom participation and regulation. Some of the most popular items included:

Gator Tweezers tool for fine motor and grasp development from Therapro

A big thank you and congratulations to conference chairs Deb Daniel and Terry Seifert for organizing such a meaningful and well-executed event. We look forward to connecting again at the next OT/PT Fall Conference!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

Clinical Music Therapy for Children with Special Needs

Events & Conferences,

“Music is a universal language,” explained Kayla Daly, MA, MT-BC, LMHC at Therapro’s recent Saturday seminar entitled: Clinical Music Therapy with Children Diagnosed with Special Needs.  In addition to being a board-certified music therapist, Kayla, like many other graduate-level trained therapists in her profession, is a licensed mental health counselor. Kayla provided a glimpse into the practice of music therapy, described as a “multi-modal approach.” She utilizes a goal-oriented, developmental approach to treatment. In her presentation, she dismissed a common myth that many may associate with providing music therapy, namely that it is purely aesthetic. It is a “process-oriented” therapeutic modality rather than being “product-oriented.” The video clips she showed of treatment sessions, as well as live use of her guitar and voice during her presentation, were both enlightening and fun.

Music therapy is IDEA regulated. Since the passage of Public Law 94-142, 35 years ago, credentialed music therapists have been providing services to children with disabilities. In 2010, the US Department of education clarified the recognition of music therapy as a “related service” under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). Music therapy can be an integral component in helping a child achieve educational goals that have been identified on his/her IEP.

Music therapy is a service that can work closely and cooperatively with other more traditional therapies to benefit a child. Kayla discussed the value of co-treating with therapists of other disciplines (like occupational therapists and physical therapists) to ensure teamwork and the best outcome for each child.

Music therapy can make a difference for young children with special needs!

Those who attended this seminar were primarily occupational therapists and educators from a variety of school settings. Attendees echoed a common positive response to Kayla’s presentation:

“Excellent speaker – excellent presentation, interesting”

“Excellent material, fun & well presented”

“I would recommend this seminar because it benefits everyone and so we can all be on the same page – knowledge is power, which creates success.”

Thank you, Kayla!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

September 20, 2014

Praxis Disorders and Intervention Strategies: Seminar Recap

Events & Conferences, Motor & Movement, Sensory, , , ,

A new season of Therapro’s Saturday Seminar Series is off and running—and it started strong! On Saturday, August 23rd, Teresa May-Benson, ScD, OTR/L, an esteemed occupational therapist, educator, author, and researcher, presented an in-depth session titled “Praxis Disorders and Intervention.”

Dr. May-Benson currently serves as the Executive Director of the SPIRAL Foundation (Sensory Processing Institute for Research and Learning), a nonprofit dedicated to advancing knowledge in the field of sensory integration and praxis. Her presentation offered attendees a compelling and informative overview of this complex area of practice. The seminar felt like a “fall tune-up,” preparing therapists and educators to reengage with the foundational concepts of praxis just as the academic year gets underway.

During the seminar, Dr. May-Benson clearly and succinctly reviewed the primary components of praxis, describing it as a multifaceted process involving a sequence of sub-processes—each engaging various parts of the brain. She explained how praxis dysfunction impacts ideation, motor planning, sequencing, and execution, and emphasized the importance of identifying these breakdowns in order to provide effective intervention.

In addition to outlining clinical signs and observable behaviors associated with praxis challenges, she presented a toolbox of intervention strategies designed to be immediately applicable across home, school, and clinical environments. A major emphasis was placed on child-directed activity, which she identified as a critical component of successful intervention. According to Dr. May-Benson, when children are not invested in the therapeutic activity, the session loses meaning—and with it, motivation and therapeutic effectiveness. Her approach reinforced the importance of aligning goals and activities with a child’s interests to promote engagement and motor planning success.

The seminar drew a diverse group of attendees, including occupational therapists, educators, parents, and even a grandparent. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Participants appreciated the balance of theory and practical strategies, as well as Dr. May-Benson’s ability to make such a nuanced topic accessible and actionable.

Therapro was proud to host this outstanding presentation and extends its sincere thanks to Dr. May-Benson for sharing her time and expertise. Her passion for the field of occupational therapy and deep understanding of praxis intervention left a lasting impression on all in attendance.

Check out  these reviews:

“Very informative. A lot of information presented in thoughtful manner.”

“Good information and gave me a better understanding of praxis disorders”

“Information was broken down in a very clear & helpful way.”

“Great information – helpful to get fuller picture of components of praxis & great ideas for interventions.”

Thank you, Teresa!

Filomena Connor, MS, OTR/L

August 23, 2014