Tag Archives: physical therapy (PT)

Discover evidence-based physical therapy resources,  equipment, tools, strategies, and professional insights to support physical therapists in enhancing mobility, strength, coordination, and overall functional outcomes across the lifespan and in diverse settings.

Top Summer Reads & Webinars for Professionals

Therapist Resources, , , ,

Summer is the perfect time for professionals to focus on personal and professional growth. Summer reading can be more than just a chance to relax—it’s an opportunity to refresh your skills, explore new ideas, and gain valuable insights that can be applied in the upcoming school year. Whether you’re a therapist, educator, or caregiver, Therapro offers a variety of resources and free webinars that are both informative and practical, helping you make the most of your summer! Read on for Therapro’s top summer reads & webinars for professionals.

📚 Professional Reads That Make a Difference

Therapro’s collection of professional resources is designed to support the continuous development of therapists, educators, and caregivers. These books, grounded in evidence-based practices, provide effective strategies and activities to implement in various therapeutic settings. Consider adding these essential reads to your summer reading for professionals:

  • Debra Em Wilson’s The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning offers educators a practical guide to applying Polyvagal Theory in classrooms to foster safety, connection, and engagement, while her Resilient Learner’s Backpack provides over 60 adaptable mind-body activities grounded in neuroscience to enhance students’ focus, regulation, and resilience across all grade levels.
  • Just Right! A Sensory Modulation Curriculum for K-5 is a 206-page, evidence-based program featuring 16 flexible lesson plans and full-color handouts designed to help students build self-awareness and manage their sensory needs—ideal for Tier 1 and Tier 2 RTI implementation by teachers, therapists, or parents.
  • Is It Sensory or Is It Behavior? Second Edition equips educators and clinicians with updated, evidence-based strategies to differentiate between sensory-driven and behavior-driven challenges in children, offering practical tools like case studies, worksheets, and laminated intervention cards to support a holistic, team-based approach to assessment and intervention.
  • M.O.R.E.: Integrating the Mouth With Sensory and Postural Functions offers a comprehensive framework for addressing sensorimotor challenges by focusing on the integration of Motor components, Oral organization, Respiratory demands, and Eye contact/control (M.O.R.E.), providing clinicians with practical strategies and activities to enhance self-regulation, attention, and postural development in children.
  • Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum is an engaging, developmentally sequenced program that equips educators and speech-language pathologists with multisensory, play-based lessons and carryover strategies to enhance social communication skills in preschoolers, particularly benefiting children with autism and other social language challenges.
  • Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment is a comprehensive clinical guide edited by Kelly VanDahm, MS, CCC-SLP, featuring contributions from 14 leading clinicians and incorporating the latest research and interdisciplinary perspectives to support professionals in the assessment and management of pediatric feeding disorders.
Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment i
Pediatric Feeding Disorders: Evaluation and Treatment
Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum of activities to improve social–ability
Social Language Rules & Tools: A Preschool Curriculum
The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning
The Polyvagal Path to Joyful Learning

🎓 Free Webinars to Support Ongoing Learning

For professionals seeking learning opportunities that fit into a busy schedule, Therapro’s Free Webinar Series is an excellent choice. These on-demand webinars offer concise, high-impact professional development, giving you the tools and strategies needed to excel in your practice.

Here are some must-watch webinars this summer:

Explore more and register for free: Therapro’s Free Webinar Series

✨ Pro Tip: Build Your Own Summer Learning Plan

If you’re wondering how to make the most of summer learning opportunities, here’s a simple guide to help you get started:

  1. Choose a Focus Area – Identify a specific topic, like handwriting, feeding, or sensory integration, that aligns with your professional goals.
  2. Pair a Book with a Webinar – Combine reading a relevant book with attending a webinar to reinforce your learning.
  3. Reflect and Apply – Use your summer to explore new strategies and materials, or even test them with clients or students in summer programs.

Therapro: Your Partner in Professional Growth

At Therapro, we understand the importance of ongoing professional development. Our carefully curated resources, including books and free webinars, are designed to support your growth and success. Summer learning doesn’t have to be a solitary task—use it as a chance to engage with new content and further your impact on the children, families, and communities you serve.

🔗 Visit therapro.com to explore more summer resources, and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for the latest updates.

Happy summer learning!

Celebrating Pediatric Physical Therapists

Events & Conferences

October is National Physical Therapy Month, a time to spotlight the incredible benefits of physical therapy (PT) across all ages. This month, we want to focus on and celebrate pediatric physical therapists, their invaluable work, and the impact they have on the lives of children. With over 4,000 pediatric PT practitioners in the U.S., their expertise, commitment, and compassion shine brightly in the healthcare landscape.

Understanding Pediatric Physical Therapy

Pediatric physical therapy is a specialized practice dedicated to addressing movement disorders, developmental delays, sports injuries, and orthopedic conditions in children. Utilizing evidence-based practices, pediatric PTs focus on:

  • Posture and movement analysis
  • Functional mobility training
  • Balance training
  • Dynamic bracing
  • Electrical stimulation
  • Parent training

Pediatric PTs work in various settings, including neonatology, early intervention, schools, and both inpatient and outpatient facilities. Their primary goal is to enhance a child’s physical function, address impairments, and help them reach their fullest potential at home, in school, and within their communities. Through PT, children gain increased strength, flexibility, and independence, while preventing the progression of movement issues.

Importance of Early Intervention

Monitoring a child’s physical development and the value of early intervention cannot be overstated. Early detection and treatment can prevent more serious issues down the line, leading to benefits such as improved mobility, enhanced motor skills, and better overall health.

Role of Family and Caregivers

Family members and caregivers, including educators, play a critical role in a child’s therapeutic journey. By collaborating with pediatric PTs, they can help integrate therapy gains into everyday activities. For instance, a therapist may recommend that a child practice moving from sitting to standing through an activity like picking up toys from the floor while squatting, then standing to place them in a toybox, promoting both skill development and play.

Passion of Pediatric Physical Therapists

Pediatric PTs are uniquely trained to engage with children through play-based and enjoyable activities. Resources like pediatricapta.org offer insight into the specialized training and techniques employed by these professionals. They incorporate age-appropriate and motivating activities—think balance pods, obstacle courses, yoga, and more—to ensure therapy is both effective and fun.

Two Yellow Balance Pods used by physical therapists for balance activities
Liquid Floor Tiles used by pediatric psychical therapist for obstacle courses and balance activities

Transformative Success Stories

The impact of pediatric physical therapy is profound. Take, for example, a 3-year-old referred for PT due to postural instability and low muscle tone. After six months of focused therapy on core stability and strength, the child demonstrated remarkable progress, experiencing less fatigue in the classroom and successfully participating in an obstacle course with peers. Such transformations illustrate the power of dedicated PT intervention.

Final Thoughts

National Physical Therapy Month provides a fantastic opportunity to recognize the essential contributions of pediatric physical therapists to children’s growth and development. By sharing knowledge, resources, and inspiring success stories, we can encourage parents and caregivers to advocate for their children’s health.

At Therapro, we proudly honor the dedicated professionals in pediatric physical therapy who work tirelessly to help children develop the mobility skills they need to reach their full potential. Let’s celebrate their hard work and the positive changes they bring to countless lives!

Guest Blogger: Filomena Connor, MSOT Retired

Therapro Games Bundle: Letter Treasure Hunt, Novenops, and Trunks

Boosting Skills with Games!

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In the world of education and therapy, finding engaging and effective tools to boost skills can be a game-changer. Fortunately, Therapro has developed a trio of unique games designed to not only boost skills but to also make learning an exciting adventure. In this blog we are exploring how the games Trunks, Letter Treasure Hunt, and Novenops are helpful tools for boosting skill development.

Trunks: The Game of Motor Memory

“Remember, perform, and succeed!”

Trunks®: A Game: boosting Motor-Memory skills

Trunks is the brainchild of an occupational therapist, carefully crafted to promote memory, motor sequencing, and cognitive skills. The concept is simple yet brilliant: players draw a card, study the given action, and then perform it from memory. But here’s the twist – on their next turn, they draw an additional card and must execute both actions in the correct order without peeking.

The real magic lies in the creation of a “trunk,” a series of four cards that, when combined, forms an elephant’s trunk. Through this engaging game, players not only sharpen their memory and sequencing abilities but also enhance their attention to detail and focus. Trunks is an excellent therapeutic tool for those seeking to strengthen cognitive and motor skills in a fun and interactive way.

Watch the short video below for a review of Trunks by physical therapist, Laurie Gombash!

Letter Treasure Hunt: A Multisensory Learning Adventure

“Learning to write, one treasure at a time.”

Letter Treasure Hunt game: boosting handwriting skills

Letter Treasure Hunt is a game that seamlessly blends handwriting skills, gross motor challenges, and language development. It’s an exciting adventure where children explore the world of letters while engaging in activities that improve their handwriting and motor coordination.

In this game, kids embark on a quest to discover hidden treasures, all while completing ‘captain’s orders’, fun gross motor tasks that challenge balance, coordination and strength. This dynamic blend of gross motor challenges not only keeps children active but also enhances their physical development. Moreover, the game fosters language skills by encouraging communication among players.

Letter Treasure Hunt is the perfect example of how education can be both fun and effective, making it an excellent choice for parents, teachers, and therapists looking to boost various skills in an engaging manner.

Watch the short video below for a review of Letter Treasure Hunt by physical therapist, Laurie Gombash!

Novenops: Mastering Grammar through Play

“Grammar made fun, one card at a time.”

NOVENOP is an acronym created from the words NOun, VErb, NOun, and Phrase and is a board game for children of ages 6 and up

Novenops is a game that focuses on enhancing the player’s understanding of the basic elements of grammar. With 60 carefully designed cards, this game creates a captivating learning experience that continuously reinforces sentence structure concepts. As players progress, their word familiarity improves, subsequently boosting their reading and writing skills.

The beauty of Novenops lies in its ability to turn grammar lessons into an enjoyable activity. By gamifying language learning, it removes the traditional barriers associated with grammar education and replaces them with excitement and engagement. It’s an ideal tool for educators and parents who want to transform grammar from a chore into a rewarding adventure.

Watch the short video below for a review of Novenops by physical therapist, Laurie Gombash!

Therapro’s games— Trunks, Letter Treasure Hunt, and Novenops —are shining examples of how education and therapy can be both effective and enjoyable. These games are not only designed to boost skills but also make the learning process a memorable and fun experience. Whether you’re a therapist, educator, or parent, consider incorporating these games into your toolkit to unlock the full potential of skill development. With Therapro, learning is an adventure waiting to be discovered!