STARS - Student Therapy and Resource Services

Special Education Law in Arizona - Scottsdale
2020-04-24 08:00 - 15:45 (America/Denver)
One of the greatest challenges that you face today is ensuring compliance and implementation of the IDEA. With the many recent changes in both federal and state special education regulations, it is essential that you not only have an awareness of the changes taking place, but also have an understanding of how these changes impact your day-to-day activities and the students you serve. A cursory knowledge of the law or applying common sense does not begin to protect school districts and professionals against the potential legal and financial consequences of misinterpreting special education regulations. Attend this seminar for the latest information on developments in the reauthorized IDEA and gain practical advice on how to effectively implement IDEA requirements in order to ensure compliance with the regulations while meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Find answers to the following questions and many more.
What are the current Best Practices?
How can data assist in IEP defense and litigation?
How can I better support our schools, teachers and special education staff?

Distracted and Disorganized Kids in a Digital Generation: Techniques to Influence Neuroplasticity, Manage Screen Time & Implement Sensory Smart Movement - Scottsdale
2020-04-23 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Denver)
Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with smart technology. The use of screens is not just impacting social skills and human interaction, it’s compromising neurosensory development!
As learning and leisure time becomes increasingly screen-based, children are over-using their visual systems at the expense of exploring the environment and activating their senses for learning through movement. While the impact of screens on social interactions and self-esteem are being increasingly recognized, clinicians and educators need to understand the potential implications as it relates to neurosensory development.
As clinicians and educators, we are equipped with many programs and interventions based on neurodevelopmental principles. Now, we need to apply them in the context of an increasingly digital world.
Treating requires a new framework to ensure we activate the senses for learning and model the habits of success. This is especially true for children with ADHD, Autism, LD, sensory processing, and motor deficits, who, at baseline, require more opportunities for multi-sensory integration to increase attention and enhance brain development for learning than their neurotypical peers.
In this program, you will enhance your existing therapeutic techniques to:

Determine a child’s digital and sensory-learning profile to inform treatment planning
Identify the influence of smart technology and screen time on neuroplasticity in children with ADHD, LD, Autism, and SPD
Rebalance the brain-body connection through controlled activation of multiple senses
Optimize connection and cognition while supporting recovery from dysregulation and digital overload
Instill the habits of success: mindset, state regulation, and movement

Assessment & Treatment of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo - Live Webinar
2020-04-17 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Denver)
Dizziness accounts for 5.6 million clinic visits a year in the US. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is the most frequent single cause of isolated positional vertigo, accounting for nearly one-half of patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Approximately 17-41% of patients seen in dizziness clinics and 25% of patients sent for vestibular testing have BPPV. Most often, BPPV can be easily diagnosed and treated with 100% resolution of symptoms in clinics within 1-2 treatment sessions. However, there has been an increasing number of cases with atypical presentation of BPPV needing clinical expertise in recognition, assessment, and treatment. As a practicing healthcare professional, no matter what your expertise is, adding knowledge and treatment methods to your toolbox for this disorder is imperative for supplementation of a complete therapeutic skill set.
Practicing healthcare professionals will leave this workshop with a clear understanding of the normal functioning of the inner ear’s vestibular system, pathophysiology of BPPV and its variants, and application of a simple clinical algorithm to help make differential diagnosis of BPPV. A review of current clinical practice guidelines will be included to strengthen the differential diagnosis process and clinical application of treatment of both typical and atypical BPPV. A case study in the end will include participant’s participation to recognize signs and symptoms of typical and atypical BPPV, make a diagnosis, and then prepare a treatment plan. In addition, participants will learn to recognize when a patient is not presenting with BPPV and when to refer to a neurologist or another medical specialist. Multiple videos will be used to demonstrate clinical assessment and treatment maneuvers of BPPV and its variants.

Utilizing Effective Skilled Maintenance Therapy - Live Webinar
2020-04-14 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Denver)
Because of a landmark court case: Jimmo vs. Sebelius (2011), whereby the plaintiffs argued the federal guidelines that Medicare was required to cover skilled care for those who needed it to maintain their current level of performance, or to slow a decline in health and/or function, maintenance therapy was formally proposed as a reimbursable service. In 2013, a settlement was put into place that effectively removed the “improvement requirement.” In 2018, according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy, despite the established guidelines, many people are still being denied access to maintenance care and therapy – “in part because many health care providers have not been properly educated, and in part because many providers are still skeptical that Medicare would alter its coverage practices”.
This essential course will provide an overview of “Maintenance Therapy”, how and when it is appropriate, what environment it can be performed in, what type of interventions can be maintenance, how to DOCUMENT interventions, including goals and dispel the myth that improvement and/or progress is necessary! Participants will learn how to document “skill”, determine frequency and duration of services and be compliant with the LAW.

Wound Care Essentials - Live Webinar
2020-04-09 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver)
Wound Care. These two words often produce anxiety and dread within the healthcare community. The contributing factors to this response typically are related to limited exposure to this area of practice. This lack of exposure may create a sense of apprehension or uneasiness in making the appropriate clinical decision for these types of patients. The focus of this 2-hour interactive webinar will be to alleviate this apprehension and help every healthcare clinician increase their confidence in proper wound identification and intervention.
During this course you will learn essential wound identification and assessment skills, understand the key principles in selecting appropriate topical wound interventions, and be able to make appropriate decision for recommending other services and interventions. By the end of the course you will be able to identify and classify wound types and establish an initial treatment plan to help the patient on the road to successful wound healing.

Discharge Recommendations in Acute Care Live Webinar
2020-04-03 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Denver)
With the increasing utilization of acute care hospitals, there is increasing need to improve patient outcomes and improve interdisciplinary communication for discharge planning. Therapists play an important function in these multidisciplinary teams to provide input on each patient’s current functional status and potential improvement. The focus of this course is to present evolving evidence to help provide consistent and appropriate discharge recommendations from a therapy perspective.
This course will help the individual therapist provide discharge recommendations based not only on clinical judgement, but on support from current research. Following the completion of this course the therapist will demonstrate and increased understanding of the discharge process, improved clinical decision making for next level of care, and streamline interdisciplinary communication. Participants will also leave with a greater understanding of the bundle payment care initiative program.

Evidence-Based Assessment & Treatment of Dementia
2020-03-20 08:00 - 15:30 (America/Denver) | Residence Inn Phoenix Glendale Sports & Entertainment District, 7350 N. Zanjero Blvd., Glendale, AZ, 85305, United States
It is estimated that 50% of all adults aged 85 years and older have some form of dementia and each year 7.7 million new cases are diagnosed. As our population ages these numbers will continue to increase. The one-year total cost for treating Alzheimer’s dementia is $277 billion with $102 billion paid out of pocket. Dementia is also the 6th leading cause of death in the United States. As the disease progresses it creates functional and cognitive deficits and puts caregivers under emotional and financial stress. It is essential these patients receive adequate treatment and caregivers receive proper training in management of dementia to keep these patients at home as long as possible. As unwanted behaviors develop, motor control deteriorates and the ability to interact with the environment is lost, effective treatments need to match the level of cognition. As memory and cognition decline the ability to participate in therapy declines. It is critical that therapists are equipped to treat these medically complex patients to prolong a decline in functional motor control, ADLs, and cognition.
This interactive one-day course will improve the participants’ knowledge of treatment for cognition and memory. It includes a review of the stages of dementia with appropriate intervention strategies for each stage. The role of behaviors and use of redirection with be discussed with examples provided. Participants will use case studies to apply these principles to develop a plan of care for each stage of dementia. Participants will gain beneficial exercise strategies, activities and other rehab interventions to improve overall quality of life and functional goals.

Breathing, Digestion, & Swallowing: Best Practices in Dysphagia Management
2020-03-20
What’s the safest diet? Is he aspirating? Can she swallow these pills? He hates the pureed food – what else can we do? She’s refusing the thick liquids! Is he going to get pneumonia? Does he need a feeding tube?
These are issues that we face every day in our work with children and adults with dysphagia. How do we keep our clients safe, while making sure they’re well hydrated and well nourished, and normalize eating as much as possible?
Sometimes, it’s about more than just swallowing.
This live webcast will examine the inter-relationships between respiration, gastro-intestinal function, and swallowing to allow clinicians to better identify the underlying causes of their client’s swallowing difficulties. We’ll look at specific respiratory and GI diagnoses and their impact on what, when, how much, and how safely our clients eat. Using clinical case studies, we’ll examine the evidence to provide you with the tools you need to perform a thorough assessment and implement a comprehensive treatment plan that takes into account all of the potential contributing factors.

Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) - Live Webinar
2020-03-18 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Denver)
Since stroke is one of the leading conditions seen by therapists and considering stroke is the leading cause of sensorimotor disability, this is the strongest evidence-based approach to helping an individual regain motor functioning and skills. The effectiveness of this approach is well- established yet the formal structured use of this “vehicle” for stroke recovery is seldom used due to the barriers within the traditional rehabilitation model, such as insurance reimbursement. Consequently, this webinar will go over ways to implement this approach with adults and children through the modification of the traditional approach to CIMT. This workshop will give the participant another approach to add to their stroke toolbox so they can immediately implement this within the clinic or as a home program.

Practical Techniques to Address Pediatric Gait Dysfunction
2020-02-26 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Phoenix)
Pediatric gait dysfunction affects a child’s ability to explore their environment and engage easily in activities with their peers. Identifying the major structural impairments and muscular imbalances which contribute to gait dysfunction is an essential skill for the pediatric physical therapist in order to maximize the child’s functional mobility. While more invasive interventions such as Botox injections or surgery are an option, physical therapists are charged with providing more timely interventions for improved functional outcomes to optimize reimbursement for therapeutic intervention. Physical therapists need to develop biomechanical expertise in order to assess such imbalances and work cooperatively with orthotic providers to come to a team decision on progressiveorthotic intervention for improved ambulation outcomes.
This course will introduce the clinician to assessment techniques for the lower extremity as to the requirements for optimum muscle and biomechanical function for efficient gait. Participants will learn how to perform these assessments and will gain knowledge of the requirements for efficient gait. Attendees will be able to return to the clinic with a clear treatment plan for interventions and/or orthotic intervention, and when to make an informed decision to recommend moreinvasive strategies such as Botox injections or surgery.

Google Chrome for Curriculum Construction
2020-02-25 08:00 - 15:30 (America/Denver) | ADE Central Office, 3300 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ, 85019, United States
From the G Suite to Chrome extensions to built-in accessibility settings, Google can support all learners in your classroom. Join us as we explore tools to assist students in the areas of reading, writing, and math, as well as with executive functioning skills that include time management, organization, task completion, and focus. We will not only explore the tools, but we will dive into effective technology implementation. We are focusing on ways to provide effective coaching to students, staff, IT, and administrators to lead to success with technology.
Mike Marotta, 2017 International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Inclusive Learning Network Outstanding Educator will be your host for this one day exploration.

A Multisensory Approach to Kindergarten Readiness (Pre-K full day)
2020-02-21 08:00 - 16:30 (America/Phoenix)
This active workshop covers implementation best-practices on our new Get Set for School complete Pre-K curriculum. During this full-day center-based workshop, you will experience how to teach play-based lessons that will build students’ readiness, pre-writing, social-emotional, sensory motor, numbers, math, science, social studies, language, and literacy skills through a variety of child-friendly manipulatives, music, movement, and rhymes, as well as digital technology.

Strength Training in Geriatric Rehabilitation
2020-02-20 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver)
Sarcopenia (muscular atrophy related to aging and sedentary lifestyle) is one of the most common geriatric syndromes compromising the function of up to 40% of the aging population. Sarcopenia contributes to decreased gait speed, reduced grip strength, increased fall risk, and functional decline. This muscular dysfunction is best treated through the prescription of progressive resistance exercise. The individuals best positioned in the health care system to treat this health issue are rehabilitation professionals, especially those who are encountering these individuals while managing injury, illness, or long-term declines in function.
This webinar will improve your understanding of how to prescribe strength training for the geriatric patient. Participants will learn how to immediately apply these strategies to improve functional tasks like stair negotiation, walking endurance, bed mobility, and transfers. Differences in types of strength prescription and types of strength exercises will be defined to help understand the application in rehabilitation. Attendees will be able to immediately take this information and apply it in their existing rehabilitation programs to improve the outcomes for their patients.

Distracted and Disorganized Kids in a Digital Generation: Techniques to Influence Neuroplasticity, Manage Screen Time & Implement Sensory Smart Movement - Prescott
2020-01-30 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Denver) | Hassayampa Inn, 122 E Gurley St, Prescott, AZ, 86301, United States

Medications: Drug-Induced Dysphagia, Complications, and Potential Treatments
2020-01-24 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Phoenix)
The therapist can have a tremendous impact in this area of adverse drug reactions, potentially preventing or reducing drug-induced dysphagia and complications from side-effects of medications. Part of our job is to dig through a patient’s medical record to uncover what could potentially be the underlying cause(s) of the symptom of dysphagia (Sheffler, 2014). Dysphagia is not a disease in-and-of-itself; therefore, ittakes a collaborative effort with the medical team to revealwhat is causing the dysphagia. One common cause could be iatrogenic (unintended adverse complications or side-effectsfrom a treatment, such as intubations or medications). Medications may be an overlooked reason for iatrogenic complications such as dysphagia, pneumonia, confusion, and falls.
A medical record review should include the potentialimpact of medications, according to the clinical guidelines set forth by both the American Speech-Language HearingAssociation (per ASHA’s Practice Portal), as well as the clinical guidelines set by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (per RCSLT.org). Our thorough medical record review has a big impact. The Health and Social Care Information Centre in England found that 15% of hospital admissions of people with dementia with dysphagia could be prevented by contributions from a speech-language pathologist. Part of our prevention is identifying at risk patients who are on medications that could be contributing to aspiration and/or choking risks. Ruschena, et al. (2003) noted that the risk for choking in people with schizophrenia is higher due to the combination of the disease itself and the use of antipsychotics. When SLPs are aware of the risksacross a wide variety of diseases and disorders, steps can be taken to maximize patient safety (including trying to make oral intake potentially safer).

2020 Psychopharmacology 2-Day Conference
2020-01-23 08:00 - 2020-01-24 16:00 (America/Phoenix)
Spend two action-packed days learning about the newest advances in psychopharmacology and contemporary trends in medication management. From his unique perspective, Dr. Perry Buffington teaches psychopharmacology thoughtfully, with an emphasis on the experience of the client. Dr. Buffington’s years of experience in mental health and passion for clients, shines through in the detail and thoroughness of his presentation.
Clients often only have a few minutes with their prescriber and require additional support. It’s vital that you are able to answer their questions, help manage side effects and understand reactions. Designed for counselors, nurses, psychotherapists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals, Dr. Buffington provides the information you need in order to best help your clients.
This conference allows time for exploration of underrepresented areas, including ADHD, substance use disorders and psychopharmacological ethics. Take home specialized guidelines for geriatrics, and clients with chronic pain. Discuss how the DSM-5® and the Affordable Healthcare Law have impacted prescribing patterns and the use of psychotropics in newly defined diagnoses. In addition to a general ‘nuts and bolts’ review of medications, you will examine case examples, discuss medication controversies and how to effectively collaborate with prescribing practitioners. You will find this conference to have the most up-to-date medication information and how to use it most effectively with your client.

NAU's 2017 Entry-Level Practice Scholar Capstone Event
2017-05-04 12:30 - 17:00 (America/Denver) | Health Sciences Education Building, 435 N. 5th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004, 85004, United States
Workshop sessions will include topics on mental health, pediatrics, upper extremity, and neuro rehab. Documentation of contact hours will be provided. The full agenda can be viewed at: https://www.arizota.org/images/files/2017_Capstone_Event_Agenda.pdf
To register, please use the following link. ArizOTA members will receive a $10 discount for attending.
https://nau.edu/CHHS/Occupational-Therapy/2017-Capstone-Event/

Feeding Therapy: It’s Not Just About Swallowing
2016-11-04 08:00 - 2016-11-05 13:30 (America/Phoenix) | Easter Seals Blake Foundation, 7750 E. Broadway Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85710, United States
This unique 2-day course benefits pediatric speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, and other professionals interested in the bigger picture pertaining to pediatric feeding disorders and what strategies to implement right away with their clients. Why do children have trouble eating? How are physiology, motor skills, and behavior linked and how do dynamics and parenting styles influence progress? What strategies can be utilized when a child eats well in the clinic setting but cannot generalize those skills to the home and school? This course answers those questions and focuses on setting children up for success for meeting functional objectives while utilizing the premise of ABA. Participants learn how to problem solve common roadblocks in eating and then continue to build progress by following a hierarchy of steps to success. Most importantly, this course emphasizes the importance of keeping the fun in feeding while developing consistent positive behaviors at mealtimes so that everyone in the family can enjoy their time together around the family table.

TEACCH-STM 3-Day Autism Training
2016-10-25 08:00 - 2016-10-27 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Paradise Valley USD Online Conference Room, 15002 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, AZ, 85032, United States
Provide your team with proven, effective, evidence-based strategies using physical structure, visual cues and organization, social skill building, communication systems, schedules, learning tasks, DTT, and other strategies to enable students on the autism spectrum to function with greater independence, less one-to-one adult supervision, more academic proficiency, and improved self-regulation and engagement in school, at home, in vocational training settings, and on the job. Learn how to engineer their environment, devise individualized learning tools, track progress, and evaluate performance within an educational, preschool, work, or home environment and without compromising learning/work time. This training is presented in a hands-on, see-it, learn-it, use-it format which provides the tools needed to start a classroom or work situation the next day. Great resources, highly skilled instructors, and strategies that work, delivered in an intensive three-day program.

On-the-Spot Techniques for Children & Adolescents with Emotional & Behavioral Problems - Scottsdale
2016-10-21 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Courtyard by Marriott, 17010 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale, AZ, 85255, United States
Leaving nothing to the abstract, this seminar will guide you through focused, clear, and successful methods for treating children. Every professional who seeks to fill their toolbox with tested methods will leave this seminar with a wealth of fresh ideas and rejuvenated spirits. If you do not have a lot of experience working with children and teens, you will leave with a defined strategy for success. If you are a seasoned professional, you will learn new tricks and techniques to re-energize and revitalize your practice. With nearly 25 years of clinical experience and a background in improvisational comedy, Dr. Steve is a strong proponent of “edu-tainment.” Namely, he uses charm, wit, and humor to enhance your seminar experience, thus improving the retention and utilization of the specific skills covered. We change the world when we touch a child’s life!

On-the-Spot Techniques for Children & Adolescents with Emotional & Behavioral Problems - Phoenix
2016-10-20 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Hilton Phoenix Airport, 2435 S. 47th St., Phoenix, AZ, 85034, United States

On-the-Spot Techniques for Children & Adolescents with Emotional & Behavioral Problems - Tucson
2016-10-19 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites, 5151 E. Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ, 85712, United States

Real-World DBT: Adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy to Fit Your Practice - Scottsdale
2016-09-23 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Courtyard Scottsdale Salt River, 5201 N. Pima Rd., Scottsdale, AZ, 85250, United States
DBT has been the standard of care for borderline personality disorder, but research and practice have shown it to be applicable across settings and populations. Guided by evidence-based practice and moving beyond rote adherence to a manual, this seminar focuses on applying the methodologies of DBT in customized and effective ways in your clinical practice.
Join Mark Carlson, Psy.D., clinician and vice president of the Dialectical Behavior Therapy National Certification and Accreditation Association (DBTNCAA), and take home practical DBT skills to use with your most difficult-to-treat clients. Learn how to:

Use validation to open the doors for change
Apply dialectics to balance acceptance with change
Respect weaknesses while encouraging strengths
Use effective communication styles in therapy
Generalize therapeutic gains by keeping behaviorally focused
Prevent “therapeutic drift” by focusing on the factors that most improve outcomes

HWT Handwriting Assessment Workshop
2016-09-23 07:30 - 16:30 (America/Phoenix) | Radisson Phoenix North, 10220 N. Metro Pkwy E., Phoenix, AZ, 85051, United States
The Handwriting Assessment Workshop will provide all the training necessary for you to assess a range of developmental levels.
Please bring a small calculator to this workshop. Calculators on your phone are acceptable.
The Handwriting Assessment Workshop is an advanced level class.
Objectives:

Recognize the developmental progression of assessing the skills of handwriting
Administer the Pre-K Readiness & Writing Assessment and the Screener of Handwriting Proficiency for universal, whole class evaluation
Describe 8 basic handwriting components essential to handwriting success
Administer, score, and interpret The Print Tool for 1:1 evaluation
Write parent-friendly reports, set goals, and document progress for evidence-based practice
Discover remediation strategies to improve handwriting
Identify the benefits and process of becoming a certified handwriting specialist

Real-World DBT: Adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy to Fit Your Practice - Phoenix
2016-09-22 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Hilton Phoenix Airport, 2435 S. 47th St., Phoenix, AZ, 85034, United States

Real-World DBT: Adapting Dialectical Behavior Therapy to Fit Your Practice - Tucson
2016-09-21 08:00 - 16:00 (America/Phoenix) | Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites, 5151 E. Grant Rd., Tucson, AZ, 85712, United States

A Functional Testing Approach to Geriatric Rehab - Phoenix
2016-08-28 08:00 - 15:30 (America/Phoenix) | Four Points by Sheraton North, 2532 W. Peoria Ave., Phoenix, AZ, 85029, United States
Disability varies greatly among the older adult population. This variability creates challenges in identifying appropriate outcome measures that can accurately reflect performance. Errors in clinical decision-making can lead to greater disability, higher healthcare costs, and the inability to justify skilled service. It is anticipated that third party payers will move toward performance-based reimbursement, so it is important that clinicians begin to maximize clinical outcomes by using practical assessment tools for this rapidly growing older population. The ability to recognize which tools may best reflect progress through comprehensive examination and assessment is vital in justifying skilled services, reducing disability, reducing healthcare costs, and improving quality of life among older adults.
This workshop features lecture presentations, photos and videos, live demonstrations, interactive hands-on labs, quick reference handouts, case studies, and open discussion. It will enable clinicians to identify practical outcome measures that will accurately reflect the effectiveness of skilled service and exercise prescription on the various aging populations. Through assessment and interpretation of current evidence-based outcome measures, clinicians will be able to develop treatment plans, better predict needs of patients, and maximize performance.

A Functional Testing Approach to Geriatric Rehab - Tucson
2016-08-27 08:00 - 15:30 (America/Phoenix) | DoubleTree Tucson Airport, 7051 S. Tucson Blvd., Tucson, AZ, 85756, United States

Manual Therapy Techniques for Assessing & Treating the Lumbar Spine - Phoenix
2016-08-26 08:00 - 15:30 (America/Phoenix) | Thunderbird Executive Inn & Conference Center, 15249 N. 59th Ave., Glendale, AZ, 85306, United States
The purpose of this seminar is to walk you through the initial assessment process and to create an effective plan of care for the lumbar spine, based on the manual therapy principles of McKenzie, Maitland, Mulligan, Butler, and Cyriax. Mr. Grass also shares with you his experience with documentation, billing, and coding to decrease your risk for unpaid service. This course is a must for clinicians to enhance their practical skills in order to assess and treat lumbar spine disorders. It will tremendously help understand how to take charge of your initial assessment and make the right conclusion from collected data.

Manual Therapy Techniques for Assessing & Treating the Lumbar Spine - Tucson
2016-08-25 08:00 - 15:30 (America/Phoenix) | Hilton Garden Inn Tucson Airport, 6575 S. Country Club Rd., Tucson, AZ, 85706, United States
