Orthosis Design, Fabrication, and Use With the Medically
Complex Infant (Recorded Webinar)

Presented by Tymar Fields

Orthosis Design, Fabrication, and Use With the Medically Complex Infant (Recorded Webinar)

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Video Runtime: 144 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 33 Minutes

This course is a recording of a previously hosted live webinar event. Polling and question submission features are not available for this recording. Format and structure may differ from those of standard MedBridge courses.

Using orthoses is a widely accepted intervention in occupational therapy. While high-quality resources about orthosis fabrication are available for the general pediatric population, these resources do not always address the specific needs of the medically complex infant. Orthosis interventions should be implemented within a context of providing neuroprotective care for the baby.

The goals of this course are: (1) to provide occupational therapists with a systematic way to assess orthosis needs and determine best orthosis interventions to meet infant developmental goals, and (2) to educate occupational therapists in safe orthosis fabrication on a medically complex infant. This webinar is geared toward occupational therapists who work with medically complex infants in inpatient hospital or outpatient therapy settings.

Meet your instructor

Tymar Fields

Tymar is a pediatric occupational therapist and certified hand therapist. Professionally, she is inspired by new ideas and creative problem-solving and has a passion for learning. She began her occupational therapy career in 2008 at a nonprofit level 1 trauma hospital. In this role, she worked with children and adults in the…

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Chapters & learning objectives

Specialized Care of the Medically Complex Infant

1. Specialized Care of the Medically Complex Infant

Occupational therapists must take into consideration the unique developmental needs of medically complex infants. This chapter provides information on how to identify infant arousal and stress and use that information to guide orthosis interventions, as well as strategies that support neuroprotective care prior to and during orthosis interventions.

The Orthosis Assessment

2. The Orthosis Assessment

This chapter guides occupational therapists through a specific assessment of a medically complex infant, their family, and their diagnosis to determine safe and effective orthosis interventions along with information on key clinical observations, manual assessment, preterm and term infant developmental considerations, environment, and the family context.

Designing an Orthosis for a Medically Complex Infant

3. Designing an Orthosis for a Medically Complex Infant

This chapter will review the basic design principles of an upper extremity orthosis using the bio-occupational framework for orthotic intervention, followed by instruction on specialized design considerations for the medically complex infant, including anatomical, developmental, medical, and psychosocial considerations.

Fabricating an Orthosis for a Medically Complex Infant

4. Fabricating an Orthosis for a Medically Complex Infant

This chapter will provide orthosis fabrication steps, strategies, materials, and clinical pearls for this specialized population, including pattern making, use of materials, positioning, strapping, and setting up the environment.

The Orthosis Plan

5. The Orthosis Plan

This chapter will guide practitioners to provide orthosis interventions within a family-centered care model, as well as guidelines on safe orthosis wearing schedules, use of a coaching model with caregiver education, and strategies for caregiver collaboration.

Question and Answer Session

6. Question and Answer Session

This chapter is a viewer-submitted question and answer session facilitated by Tymar Fields.