Provider & Clinician eNews
September  2008
 
 

Date

Location

9/13 Bridgeport, CT
9/13 Omaha, NE
9/13 Long Beach, CA
9/20 Lexington, KY
9/27 Philadelphia, PA
9/27 Little Rock, AR
9/27 Dallas, TX
9/27 Portland, OR
10/4 Detroit, MI
10/4 Dover, DE
10/4 El Paso, TX
10/11 Knoxville, TN
10/11 Saint Louis, MO
10/11 Phoenix, AZ
10/11 Cleveland, OH
10/18 Chicago, IL
10/18 San Francisco, CA
10/25 Newark, NJ
10/25 Richmond, VA
10/25 Birmingham, AL
11/1 Toronto, ON
11/1 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
11/1 Austin, TX
11/8 Pittsburgh, PA
1//8 Des Moines, IA
11/8 Portland, OR
11/15 Burlington, VT
11/15 Largo, FL
11/15 Milwaukee, WI
11/15 Vancouver, BC
11/22 Atlantic City, NJ
11/22 Memphis, TN
11/22 Baton Rouge, LA
11/22 San Diego, CA
12/6 Grand Rapids, MI
12/6 Charlotte, NC
12/6 Sioux Falls, SD
12/6 Salt Lake City, UT
12/13 Baltimore, MD
12/13 Kansas City, MO
12/13 Mobile, AL
12/13 Dallas, TX
12/13 Long Island, NY
12/14 Brooklyn, NY

*Don't see a course in your area? Click here to e-mail a Private Course request (Please include 3 course dates you are interested in.
*Note: Courses must be scheduled at least 45 days in advance) or call 877-994-6776 opt 4 (US Only) or 954-385-4660 opt 4

The cost 3 weeks before the course date is
$205 for an individual
and $180 for a group of 3 or more.

Discount automatically taken when you register

Register Now!
 

Introducing the IM Gait Mate

Accepting
Pre-Orders Now

IM is excited to announce their newest product, the IM Gait Mate, which will be available early September.

The IM Gait Mate is inserted into the heel of the patient’s shoe and provides feedback as to whether a heel strike is ahead or behind a fixed walking cadence. Patients wear wireless headphones and insoles while walking to a fixed metronome beat. IM  introduces feedback and  integrates seamlessly with gait therapy.

The IM Gait Mate helps patients improve:

  • Stride Length
  • Coordination
  • Balance
  • Gait Symmetry
  • Generalized Motor Skills
  • Endurance
  • Strength

Features and Benefits

  • Assessment and treatment tool
  • Provides real-time feedback
  • Walking speed can be adjusted
  • Fits inside a shoe
  • 40 ft range
  • Wireless headphones and sensors

If you are interested in obtaining the IM Gait Mate for your facility, please contact your sales representative.
 



Highlights from the Support Research Article:

Scientists Say We Can See Sound

Turning conventional neuroscience on its head, new research suggests the human visual system processes sound and helps us see.
 

"The study presents the first evidence that a sensory cell can process an alternative sensation, said head researcher Pascal Barone of the Université Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France, who discovered a contender for the anatomical connection in 2002."

"What most excites Barone about the new findings is the potential for "cortical plasticity" in sensory areas."

Click here to read the full article
 

IM Contact Information:
877-994-6776 (US only)
954-385-4660
Fax: 954-385-4674
Education Support: opt 4
Clinical Support: opt. 5
Technical Support: opt. 6
Marketing Support:x237
We appreciate your business and support
Who's Who of IM Patients

Chelsea Yanc, a patient of IM Provider Barbara Fuoco-McCooley MA, CCC-SLP, was the subject of an IM clinical case study about IM and Dyslexia several years ago. Chelsea is now a senior in high school and has chosen Interactive Metronome as the subject of her presentation to a national high school convention in Virginia Beach, VA. Chelsea now lives in Ashton, VA and is headed to college next year. She plans on winning the competition with her piece on IM because, in her words, "IM is a winner!" IM is proud to sponsor Chelsea in her competition and we wish her continued success.
 

Taking Back Your Life with Interactive Metronome

On June 11th at the Virginia Community Lecture Series, the Parkinson community was introduced to a promising new tool in the fight to regain lost function. The speaker, Mary Schlesinger, a certified Interactive Metronome (IM) provider with Timing 4 Life, LLC spoke to the gains of a Fairfax County woman who went through sixteen one-hour sessions of IM training.

The 65-year-old woman with PD was diagnosed ten years ago and is currently taking Sinemet and other medications to control symptoms. She exercises regularly with a personal trainer and lives a busy life but has missed the energy, flexibility and balance she once took for granted.

She completed the IM program in sixteen visits (just over sixteen weeks). Some of the benefits she noticed included bursts of energy lasting 5-6 hours or up to two days, and more instances when she felt “on”. Also, she felt more agile and confident walking up and down stairs. She was able to play the piano with more flexibility and was able to get more done around the house. Her personal trainer noted that she was having some of her best  sessions yet.

The IM program improves focus and concentration, information processing speed, and rhythm and timing. MRI’s done on individuals going through IM training show changes in the basal ganglia, pre-frontal cortex, and cerebellum.

The training involves listening to a steady metronome beat through headphones, and tracking with the beat through a series of non-aerobic exercises, like clapping or toe-touching, while the program sensors measure performance to 1,000th of a second. With every movement the person receives instantaneous feedback from a computer screen indicating whether he or she is responding too quickly or too slowly. The person then works to bring the timing in line with the beat of the metronome.

Over time it is typical for focus and concentration to improve, and visual, auditory and motor processing speed to increase. Through the 20,000 - 30,000 repetitions accomplished over the course of the program the person learns rhythm and timing. It is believed that timing which is skewed impacts the brain’s ability to work efficiently.

IM was first introduced in the early 90’s. Since then it has found its way to 36 countries and over 2,000 hospitals and rehabilitation centers. The Medical College of Georgia is currently researching IM and its impact on Parkinson disease. Walter Reed Army Medical Center utilizes IM with its veterans returning from Iraq.

Of the 4,000+ providers currently certified in IM, most are working in rehabilitation settings. However, there are IM providers who work outside of the medical environment to aid those whose situations are more stable; those able bodied enough to live at home and desiring to recapture some of their pre-PD activities of daily living.

 

Sensory Strategies
Strategies or Activities to Facilitate Calming:
  • Deep Pressure
  • Provision of a designated ‘quiet’ area
  • Provision of a contained or structured treatment area
  • Bean bag squish (slow)
  • Lying with a blanket on a soft surface, such as a pillowed area
  • Wrapping up in a blanket or large soft fabric
  • Ace wraps to arms or legs (playing ‘mommy dress-up’)
  • Weighted items such as vests, lap blankets, shoulder bean bags, plush animals, wrist or ankle weights
  • Soft music
  • Lowered lights – turning off fluorescent lights
  • Gently massaging extremities or back with lotion
  • Slow back and forth motion such as swinging, rocking or gliding
  • Opportunity to make lists
  • Opportunity to line-up or arrange furniture
  • Opportunity to chew something resistive
  • Use of head phones or ‘white noise’
  • Calming periods with no demands (or imposed judgment) before and after stress times
  • Opportunity to go first, or last to allow sense of control
  • Give input frequently in recurring doses, rather than waiting until a person becomes upset

Strategies or Activities to improve Attention:

  • Decreasing the amount of clutter, noise,
  • interruption, or distractions in the area
  • Being positioned on a smaller surface such as sitting on a high stool, standing on a chair, standing on one foot, sitting on a therapy ball or T-Stool
  • Giving simple directions reinforced with touch prompts (if not defensive to touch) and lots of visual cues.
  • Incorporating favorite objects or actions
  • Using hand signals to reinforce spoken language
  • Participating in heavy work such as pushing/pulling items
  • Letting the person lead, or do something that provides special recognition
  • Giving tangible rewards for attention such as stars, stickers, certificates, or special privileges
  • Moving closer to the person
  • Standing beside or in front of the person
  • Using the person’s name
  • Giving direct, frequent feedback
  • Helping the person to organize and plan what will happen

Strategies or Activities to Decrease Sensory Defensiveness:

  • Approach slowly, from the front
  • Position yourself on the same level as the person i.e. on the floor if young
  • Avoid surprises or sudden noises
  • Maintain slow, steady vocal intonation
  • Allow additional personal space
  • Select age-appropriate ‘distraction’ activities such as bubbles, a balloon or a ball
  • Allow person to pace the room or move freely during activities.  If boundaries are required, use positioning tools such as colored spots, taped boxes, chalk lines
If they can do it, so can you!

Free publicity is an excellent way to generate interest in your services. Getting a media story placed requires informed effort on your part but it may pay off with a TV or newspaper story that reaches your entire community and helps draw new clients. And did we mention- it’s free? Read this story below as evidence of what can be done with a little effort. Then visit IM’s Provider Login section of the IM website to download your free Press Release template. Go out and spread the word!
 

Therapy Link aims to help children
Clinic helps with variety of sensory, motor skill issues

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
By GREGG L. PARKER
For the Madison Spirit writeone35758@yahoo.com

Pediatric Therapy Link of North Alabama LLC is Madison's first clinic to help children with sensory and motor skill problems.

Mary Mayhan, owner and an occupational therapist, said Pediatric Therapy Link provides occupational therapy services for children from birth to age 21.

"Our clinic serves children with a variety of conditions, ranging from mild developmental and motor delays to severe neurological impairment," Mayhan said. Conditions include Asperger's Syndrome, attention deficit disorder, autism, bipolar disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and sensory and visual problems.

"We're excited to serve the children in this area," Mayhan said. Children are referred by a physician, dentist or an optometrist.

Pediatric Link Therapy uses three main treatments: sensory integration, biomechanical procedures and therapy for neurodevelopment.

"Symptoms may include avoidance of sounds, touch and food texture or poor motor coordination and strength," she said. "The interactive metronome uses a computerized program to aid in motor control, timing and attention."

Therapists use filtered music and suspended swings to assist the child with balance and movements. "They engage the child ... with dressing, writing, feeding and self-care skills," such as writing, buttoning, zipping, brushing teeth, coordination, throwing, catching and jumping, Mayhan said.

The clinic's three therapists, Mandi Goodson, Patti DeShazo and Liz Hamm, have a bachelor's or master's degree in occupational therapy and additional specializations.

With 20 years in the field, Mayhan has worked as a consultant for school systems and worked in early intervention and with children's families in their homes. Mayhan earned a bachelor's degree in child development from the University of Alabama and master's degrees in human development and educational psychology from Boston College and in occupational therapy from Towson University.

Sherry McDaniel is pleased with her 10-year-old son's progress at the clinic. "I've found the perfect place in Pediatric Therapy Link. Mandi, Mary and Patti have been dedicated, compassionate and professional in all of his sessions," McDaniel said. Specifically, the interactive metronome is promising in reaching her son's goals. McDaniel and her son will soon end their sessions. "I've seen significant improvement in my son's ability to focus, concentrate, with handwriting and coordination. He has a greater sense of self-confidence because he's able to see that he can do things better, too. Going into this school year, I have more confidence as well."

Clinic hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Pediatric Link of North Alabama is at 97 Hughes Road, Suite H in the Madison Market center. For more information, call 883-7338 or send e-mail to pedtherapylink@knology.net.
 

13794 NW 4th Street • Suite 204 • Sunrise, FL • 33325 • www.interactivemetronome.com • 877-994-6776 • 954-385-4660