Distinctions are drawn between the disciplines of teaching and of therapy (physical and occupational); the roles of physical and occupational therapy in serving handicapped students directly or indirectly are considered; and the need for understanding the range of service delivery alternatives at the student's individualized education program is…

The neuromotor development of Down's syndrome (DS) infants is reviewed, current physical therapy approaches are cited, a neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) approach is described, and a study on the effects of NDT on motor performance in DS infants is reported. (SB)

The first of three successive classes of beginning physical therapy students (n=17) completed traditional cadaver anatomy lecture/lab; the next 17 a self-study computerized anatomy lab, and the next 20 both lectures and computer lab. No differences in study times and course or licensure exam performance appeared. Computerized self-study is a…

The study investigated the effectiveness of an instructional program designed to promote independent walking in a mentally and physically handicapped (cerebral palsied) preschooler involving a collaborative effort between a behavior therapist and a physical therapist in an interdisciplinary setting, a public school. (Author/DB)

This study used bibliometric analysis of the published literature (as represented by six journals) in physical and occupational therapy to compare the fields. The study found substantial overlap between the fields but also sufficient diversity for the professions to be regarded as different. Each profession is urged to become acquainted with the…

This paper describes an effective systems approach for conducting physical therapy inservice training. The approach requires that the problem area be selected by staff consensus, and consists of eight elements such as "prioritizing needs" and "constructing performance measures." The approach is applied to planning and administering therapeutic…

Responses from 74 of 148 directors of accredited physical-therapy-education programs indicated the following: (1) 76-100% of chairs and faculty and 20-57% of students, alumni, and staff participate in institutional assessment; and (2) 90% of directors believed the new accreditation criteria were important guides for program effectiveness. (SK)

This study examined the effectiveness of activities associated with transdisciplinary teaming and integrated therapy on targeted motor responses of three elementary age students with multiple disabilities during the general education classroom routine. All three students immediately increased and maintained their target motor responses under the…

This paper explores the ways in which student health professionals undergo a transformation in their sense of identity as they engage with caring discourses that underpin healthcare. I argue that caring is a "threshold concept" by virtue of the "troublesome knowledge" with which students are confronted on meeting patients in practice. When…

This study focuses on the attributes of students of Physical Therapy, and compares the profiles of students of Physical Therapy in two institutions of higher learning in Israel, Ben Gurion University (BGU) and the Academic College of Judea and Samaria (ACJS), Israel's largest public academic college. This study focuses on this department, where…

The community travel program for physically impaired children at the Millet Learning Center (Saginaw, Michigan) blends skills from two professions: orientation and mobility, and physical therapy. Program goals include enabling students to overcome travel fears, to learn travel skills, to learn to make adaptations necessary for successful travel,…

Designed by physical therapists on the basis of results of job analysis and tested with several individual and two small groups, this programed text and plate booklet are intended for either individual or group use in a hospital or junior college program. It is suggested that some discussion, demonstration, and application sessions be arranged in…

The subject of this case report is a two-year, seven-month-old girl with de Lange syndrome, normal intelligence, and age-appropriate language skills. She demonstrated initial delays in gross motor skills and in receptive and expressive language but responded well to intensive speech and language intervention, as well as to physical therapy.…

This study sought to determine the relative importance of values and learning preferences for educational satisfaction and to examine differences in value and learning preferences among undergraduate and graduate occupational therapy students and undergraduate physical therapy students. Graduates emphasized social values and abstract learning;…

The author reviews the literature on aquatic activity for the disabled, discussing the physical, physiological, psychological, and sociological benefits of swimming and water safety activities. Unique properties of water and legal requirements regarding physical education of the handicapped, specifically citing the development of skills in…