OTAmommaSuzy

Scooter board training after a TBI is an effective, versatile occupational therapy tool used to improve core/upper body strength, bilateral coordination, and postural control. Prone (on stomach) or seated, patients use arms or legs to propel themselves, improving neuroplasticity through repetitive movement, motor planning, and sensory integration.

Key Scooter Board Activities for TBI Rehabilitation
Prone Propulsion (On Stomach): Lying on the stomach, use arms to pull across the floor to build shoulder stability and trunk strength. This can be advanced by having the patient lift their head and chest to promote neck extension.

Rope Pulls: Anchor a rope to a stable surface. The patient sits or lies prone and pulls themselves forward, encouraging alternating, rhythmic, and symmetrical arm use.

Supine Leg Press (On Back): Lying on the back, the patient uses their legs to push off a wall or object, strengthening lower extremities and engaging the core.

Seated Mobility: Sitting cross-legged, the patient uses their hands to propel, which works on trunk stability and postural control.

Reaching Tasks: While on the scooter, place items to the side to encourage crossing the midline, enhancing coordination and cognitive planning.

Benefits for TBI Recovery
Improves Strength and Coordination: Targets scapular stabilizers, trunk muscles, and encourages reciprocal (alternating) limb movements.

Enhances Vestibular Input: Provides linear movement, helping with sensory regulation and balance.

Encourages Neuroplasticity: High-repetition, purposeful movement helps the brain rewire and recover from motor impairments.

Customizable: Activities can be modified based on the ability level and specific needs of the patient.

Safety and Tips
Supervision: Always ensure a therapist or caregiver is present for safety, particularly for balance and fall prevention.

Comfort: Use blankets or pads to increase comfort if necessary.

Gradual Progression: Start with simple, straight-line movements and progress to obstacle courses.

Physical Assistance: Therapists may provide tactile cues or physical support to ensure proper muscle engagement.

I'm going through this course right now and its so helpful. *no affiliation* Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBT-N) is a short-term, evidence-based, multi-component therapy designed to reduce the frequency and intensity of chronic nightmares, often used for PTSD. It involves rewriting nightmare scripts (imagery rehearsal), relaxation training, and improving sleep hygiene to decrease, 5–6 sessions.

Core Components of CBT-N
Imagery Rehearsal/Rescripting: Writing down the nightmare, changing the storyline to a less distressing one, and rehearsing this new version during the day to train the brain.

Exposure Therapy: Writing out the nightmare in detail to reduce the fear response associated with it.

Sleep Hygiene Education: Establishing consistent, healthy sleep habits, such as getting out of bed if awake for >15 minutes and removing stimulants.

Relaxation Techniques: Using techniques like diaphragmatic breathing or progressive muscle relaxation to reduce hyperarousal.

Cognitive Restructuring: Identifying and modifying unhelpful thoughts regarding sleep and the nightmares themselves.

Key Aspects of Treatment
Effectiveness: CBT-N is highly effective for PTSD-related and chronic, idiopathic nightmares.

Target Audience: It is designed for adults with chronic nightmare disorder and has adapted protocols for children (CBT-NC).

Training Resources: Providers can access training through resources like CBTNightmaresweb.org.

CBT-N often includes 5–6 sessions and targets the reduction of sleep avoidance and anxiety associated with recurring, distressing dreams.

"Period flu" is a real, albeit non-medical, term for severe premenstrual syndrome (PMS) where hormonal shifts—specifically dropping progesterone and estrogen, and high prostaglandins—cause flu-like symptoms. Symptoms include fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, nausea, and low-grade fever.

Key Details on Period Flu:
Symptoms: Beyond typical cramps, it includes body aches, joint pain, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, and sometimes a low-grade fever or chills.

Causes: The sudden drop in progesterone and estrogen before a period can lead to this malaise. Furthermore, prostaglandins, chemicals that cause uterine contractions, can cause inflammation and pain throughout the body.

Timing: Symptoms usually start in the days leading up to the period and often subside once bleeding begins.

Management: Treatment often involves self-care, including over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen, resting, hydration, and gentle exercise.

While it is not a medically recognized diagnosis, the experience of these symptoms is very real for many people. If symptoms are severe or debilitating, it is recommended to consult a doctor, as they could indicate underlying conditions like endometriosis.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is a highly effective, first-line treatment that helps retrain your mind and body for better sleep by changing unhelpful thoughts and habits, often taking 6-8 sessions to address issues like difficulty falling or staying asleep, making it superior to medication long-term. It uses techniques like stimulus control (using the bed only for sleep), sleep restriction, and cognitive restructuring (challenging negative sleep-related beliefs) to improve sleep quality and quantity.

How it Works
CBT-I helps you understand the link between your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and sleep problems, then teaches you new skills.

Cognitive:
Identifies and changes negative thoughts and worries about sleep (e.g., "I'll never fall asleep").

Behavioral:
Develops good sleep habits and eliminates behaviors that interfere with sleep (like staying in bed trying to sleep).

Key Techniques
Stimulus Control: Strengthens the bed's association with sleep by only using it for sleep, getting out of bed if you can't sleep, and maintaining a consistent wake-up time.

Sleep Restriction: Temporarily limits time in bed to match actual sleep time, increasing sleep drive, and then gradually extends it as sleep quality improves.

Cognitive Restructuring: Challenges and reframes unhelpful beliefs about sleep.

Relaxation Techniques: Teaches ways to calm your mind and body.

Benefits & Efficacy
Gold Standard: Considered the most effective treatment for chronic insomnia.

Long-Lasting: Works better than sleep medications over time, with results often improving after just a few sessions.

Reduces Reliance on Meds: Can improve sleep even when used alongside sleep medication.

Treatment Length
Typically involves 6-8 sessions over a few months, though it varies by individual.

Astronaut Training is a sound activated vestibular-visual protocol to help children improve hand-eye coordination, balance, and awareness of the space around them. This fun protocol uses sound, movement, and visual input in combination to help the child feel more comfortable in the space that surrounds them..
Astronaut Training is a specialized, therapist-led sensory protocol designed to improve a child's vestibular, visual, and auditory processing through rhythmic, sound-activated movements, such as spinning, and specific eye exercises. It aims to enhance balance, coordination, spatial awareness, and emotional regulation, often utilizing a "space board" for rotation to target inner ear receptors.
Core Components and Benefits
The program, often used for sensory processing disorders, combines movement, sight, and sound to help children better interact with their environment.
Rotary Activation: Children are rotated on a specialized, padded board to activate the vestibular system.
Visual-Vestibular Input: Following rotation, children perform specific eye exercises (saccades, smooth pursuits) to train visual tracking.
Sound Integration: Rhythmic music and space-themed sounds are used to guide the timing of the movements.
Key Benefits: Improved postural control, balance, coordination, and attention.
The Protocol Process
Preparation: Pre-training exercises, such as spinning in standing or specific head movements, are used to prepare the system.
Rotation: A therapist or trained caregiver guides the child through precise, rhythmic spins to the beat of the astronaut music.
Eye Movements: Immediately after spinning, the child engages in visual tracking tasks to strengthen ocular motor control.
Frequency: The program can last between 2-12 weeks, depending on the child's needs. Do you use this in your practice? How's it going?

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TikTok · otamommasuzy Having trouble sleeping? Start tracking how many hours you're actually getting for example are you in bed for 8 hours but only asleep for 6? If so trial a later bedtime. Sometimes we give ourselves too much time in bed and our body doesn't actually take that much sleep. Leaving room for error on wak...

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TikTok · otamommasuzy Working on fine motor finger nail clipping? Trace those little hands, cut them out and let them go to town with finger nail clippers. ✂️ 💅

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TikTok · otamommasuzy What is occupational therapy?! All things occupational, not just your job but in life. The occupational therapy scope is broad but here is a good starting point.

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TikTok · otamommasuzy I made cranberry sauce today this was so easy! Melted 1 cup of sugar in 1 cup of water, added 12 once cranberries, and cooked until they started to look a little mushy,last added 2 teaspoons of orange zest, mix well and let cool and you get the end result!

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TikTok · otamommasuzy Last week I was bowling with clients, shooting reindeer and snowman with nerf guns "hunting" because we cant bring real guns to work, and rebuilding key developmental neural pathways to help my clients recover. Sound pretty cool?! It is! Some jobs will burn you out quickly but find the light in work...

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TikTok · otamommasuzy Day after Christmas was a real treat for us! Here it may look like two wild animals roller blading down a hill trying to bust their tail but they're exploring through play. See the distance from Mom? We call it independence. Let's talk about roller blades for a second. They're so heavy, my son will....

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TikTok · otamommasuzy This isn't to scare anyone but to bring awareness. Have those babies wear helmets on anything with wheels, those cool electric scooters in down town areas are a "NO" for me. Accidents will always happen but let's prevent the ones we can.