NetPediatrics.com » Pediatric Therapy

Any other mothers dealing with Torticollis?

Pediatrics Question — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:08:46 +0000

My son has Torticollis, and we are currently working with a Pediatric Therapist, but I was wondering if there are any other mother’s dealing with this now. I have a found a device called a “Tot Collar”. Has anyone used or heard of this, and if so, what are your thoughts. As a nurse, I know that therapy combined with at home exercises is great, but I want to explore other options. Our therapist does not agree with the use of “Tot Collar”. Any suggestions would be helpful-Thank you in advance.

Do you have to be an oncology nurse to have to work with children with cancer?

Pediatrics Question — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:08:26 +0000

my sister passed away from ewings sarcoma july 30 2009. I spent the past 4 years before she died in hospitals and i know i want to be a nurse working in the pediatric cancer wing. I might be wrong but i think only a oncology nurse can work with the chemo therapy but can just a pediatric nurse work with pediatric cancer patients as well? what does it take to be a pediatric nurse working with young cancer patients? i need more information please:)

Do you know anything about children’s vision therapy?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:09:32 +0000

We brought my son to a pediatric eye doctor today for his first full eye exam. The reason was that he is having a hard time with letter recognition and focusing on paperwork. The results were that he has 20/20 vision, but his eyes are not tracking properly. They said that he would need 10-15 weeks of vision therapy. We of course want the best for our son, however they said that insurance will not cover the 145.00 a session cost and like most people these days we struggle as it is. I want to make sure that this is something that is really going to help him, and not just one of those money making scams. When we asked if the therapy would correct the problem, they couldn’t give us a definite answer. They said more than likely it would help but there were no guarantees. For us to fathom spending almost 2000.00 in ten weeks on something that may or may not even help the problem is a hard concept to grasp. Has anyone else tried vision therapy? Has it worked for you?

I know I am being overly skeptical about the money scamming idea, but these days it seems like you have to be.

What must I do to validate my foreign physical therapy degree in the USA to be able to work there?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:13:25 +0000

Hi all, I’ve been thinking about pursuing a future working in the United States as a physical therapist. I think Florida is where I’m more inclined to go as I used to live there and I’m more familiar with the state.

I’m a U.S.A citizen myself. However, I am currently studying Physical Therapy in Costa Rica. Over here the degree is a 4 year program, which graduates me as a “general physical therapist” with knowledge in most or all areas of PT including hospitals, clinicas, rehabilitation, sports, neurologic, massage, pediatric, etc.

I would like to know what I must do to validate my foreign physical therapy degree in order to be able to work in the United States. I ask this because I’m sure there must be some differences in the “PT study program” from country to country. Should it be quite hard, or easy to be able to do so?

Thank you very much.

Nursing, Physical Therapy, or Pharmacy?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:08:27 +0000

I’m currently a nursing student at MCPHS. I know, I should have my feet set on what I want to do in the future. I do and I want to be either a neonatal nurse or a pediatric nurse.

However, when you have a shortage of nurses in the workforce and family members telling you to be a physical therapist or pharmacist for the money, I regret pursuing to become a nurse. They worry that I’d be overworked and receive low pay and lots of stress becoming a nurse.

I currently go to MCPHS and yes it’s famous for its pharmacy program. If I transfer to physical therapy, I can just go to Simmons, which is across the corner. If I can transfer to pharmacy, which is 2nd yr, I’d have to take all the science courses that are required for pharmacy majors.

Can anyone give me suggestions, descriptions on what it’s like working in any of these fields?

Do you think a painter with no mental health training could still learn how to help others through art therapy?

Pediatrics Question — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:13:20 +0000

Art therapy has been enormously beneficial to me while battling a health problem, and I really wish there was a way I could learn how to do it to help others, not as a career but just as volunteer work I’d do on the weekends. I feel like after doing it for so long I am familiar with the basics of it, but I am just a recent high school grad with only one psychology class under my belt, and I think it may be more complicated than it appears. My resolution for 2010 is to start volunteering with low-income cancer patients who otherwise couldn’t afford any sort of therapy, but yeah….. I don’t know what sort of training I’d need or how to begin. Before I got sick I was an active volunteer with a team who painted murals at inner-city schools, so I do already have a reputation in the city for this, and I have taught art to kids before, but I’ve never done any sort of art therapy with them.

Has anyone else had art therapy? Here’s the center I go to if you’re curious about it and aren’t aware of what art therapy is all about. If you just have any knowledge about pediatric mental health care and if a hospital would even let me do this that would be awesome. Thanks. : )

http://www.beckstrand.org/our_programs/art_therapy.htm

Thank you AUM. I live in LA, but am up in the Bay Area often, and am moving there next year so that info is helpful.

TX occupational therapy vs CA occupational therapy?

Pediatrics Question — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 22:08:30 +0000

does texas have a specific scope in occupational therapy with regard to swallowing/feeding management, like CA does? i would like to specialize in pediatric swallowing/feeding management, just like what OTs do in CA, but does TX have similar provisions for OT on such like certification and advancement on such? or is the swallowing/feeding management a mainly speech therapy scope in texas?
i am pretty aware of the difference between SLPs and OTs as i am currently an OTR, thank you. it’s just that i have a college friend in CA , an OTR, who is doing MBS and swallowing management in a pediatric hospital in LA and has gotten advanced degree and certification for it. so i am wondering the practice is possible in texas.

Physical Therapy Prep Classes?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:08:34 +0000

I’m a Freshman in H.S. and I want to be a Pediatric Physical Therapist. I’m signing up for classes for next year right now, but I’m not really sure if I should start taking prep classes. Right now I’m signed up for:
Sports Med and Pre-Calc which I think are good classes to start with, but do you have any other suggestions? Thanks for answering!

how do i go about filing a malpractice lawsuit?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:13:54 +0000

My son and I are both having health problems since I have delivered him. He will be 6 months. When he was born he weighed 9 lbs. 3 oz. I asked the doctor how big he thought he was when I was pregnant with him and he basically gave me the run around. My problems started when I was in labor with him, because I had bad back labor, and now I am going to physical therapy, because my pelvis is twisted, and it is putting pressure on my hips and my back. To the point where I cannot pick my son up, or even get down on the floor to play with him. I also got a tubal ligation, and always have pain in my abdominal. I have been put on different medication for it, been to the docotor and ER they can’t find anything wrong. Now my son, has been to a Pediatric Neurologist, x-rays, and CT scan. His skull compressed so much, that it was overlapping. He looked like he had a fin on his head. My family is on an emtional rollercoaster. My mom got points at work, for taking so much time off to help me.

May my brother have a neurological pathology? He needs Pediatric Neurodevelopment?

Pediatrics Question — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:08:54 +0000

My brother turned 3 in july. We have been worried that he might have a neurological problem, because 3 professionals in health sciences (included an audiologist (sorry, don’t know if I translated right from spanish), Language therapist, Pediatric doctor and general practitioner) have told my mother to bring my brother to a Pediatric Neurodeveloper (sp?). They have all said this because my brother has had a hard time speaking. He understands quite good, ever since before age 2 we have said things like “Hey, turn off the light” or “Open the door please” and he knows what we are talking about. However, he is 3.5 years old and only says a few words properly, and he repeats many other words when he hears them, yet not perfectly though, just maybe pronounces a part of it correctly or with a similar noise. He likes to copy a lot of things from other people. He has been in language therapy for two months, we have seen improvement. The language therapist has told us he seems to not have any neurological problem and that his language disabilities are because he does not have stimulation from anyone other than older family members (my mom, myself and my grandparents) because there aren’t any kids his age around the block, and my mother doesn’t have enough money for a kindergarden, etc. The only time he has interaction with other children is one hour every sunday at church, I haven’t seen him too much be sometimes but he sometimes seems a bit confused, but I don’t worry too much because it’s something new to him. I was worrying, but at another play place in a restaurant he played with kids he didn’t even know, even if they where younger and had much more speaking and language abilities.

The Therapist told us a few days ago all of a sudden that she is worried and we should take him to a Pediatric Neurodeveloper because maybe now the language problem is something more serious other than the stimulation he needs. She says she sees him blinking quite a lot sometimes when he looks at her (I am with him quite a lot and I have NEVER seen this, nor my mother), he does although flap his hands a lot and open his mouth which worries her, but he ONLY does this in times of COMPLETE EXCITEMENT (it’s his manifestation of happiness).

I have suspected some what signs of autism, because sometimes you say “NO, NO NO don’t do this” and he just doesn’t care and keeps going, but most times he will understand the message. Though, I know kids with autism have a tendency to only play alone, etc. and my brother LOVES when I am hope because he bothers me SO much, he actually gets mad if I don’t play with him, he likes to jump on me a lot or walk in circles around me, make me through water ballons with him, etc. My brother is very controling, he comands people (not always my mom, but people like me) to do what he wants, and if he doesn’t get what he wants he becomes a very hard to deal with child. Though we have been able to control this a bit. Other worrying signs are that he hits his head hard when one does not do what he wants (though he doesn’t do this much at all after 3).

I am ending my first year in physical therapy, I see quite a lot of Neurology throughout the career, so there are certain things I have seen in classes that worry me, how ever I still have years to go in my career so I can’t give much of a professional opinion.

Problem is in my country pediatric neurodevelopers are so full that appointments are 8 months to a year from now! What can we do until then, a regular neurologist? And how will this professional evaluate him? I am guessing they will go axial neuroimageing scans (im sorry english is my second language) etc to analize his irrigation, craneal nerves, lobes and hemispheres, or will the evaluation be “manually” done (having him right, listen and obey a command, do certain gestures, etc)

THANKS
He prefers playing with other people, but only ones he has trust in, but when I see him with other kids he is more lonely.

He is very intelligent although because when he sees a red car he will say BROTHER, or he hears a song I listen to he will say BROTHER, so he does know how to associate things.

Another sign, when ever he hears CLASSICAL MUSIC with my grandfather he remains CALM VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY CALM for HOURS. (Language is dominant in the left hemisphere, and he seems very good with anything that is associated to the right hemisphere)
He is HYPER active