 |
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 |
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*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!
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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.
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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.
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"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
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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 |
|
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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.
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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.
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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
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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!
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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.
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