A Relationship-Based Approach to Developmental Support of High Risk Infants and Their Families in the NICU
Offered by the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Women & Infants Hospital, and Brown University Office of Continuing Education
Instructor(s): Rosemarie Bigsby
Location: Didactic Sessions: Brown University
Observations: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Women & Infants’ Hospital
Dates: June 1-5, 2009
Meeting Times: 9:00am -12 noon
Fee: $800
Application Due Date: May 8, 2009
Description: This course provides a rare opportunity for professionals who currently work in home and center-based pediatric rehabilitation or early intervention programs to learn from high risk infants and families within the context of the NICU experience. A psychosocially oriented, relationship-based approach to assessment and intervention will be presented, with an emphasis on identification of elements of risk and protection, as well as optimizing goodness-of-fit between the infant’s needs and strengths and the caregiving environment. The stories of consenting past and present NICU patients and their families will provide enriched opportunities for small-group discussion, problem solving, and reflection on current and future practice options within the developmental therapies.
Who should attend: Occupational therapists, physical therapists and speech/language pathologists with some experience in pediatrics, as well as Infant Mental Health trainees.
Course objectives: At the completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Describe Sameroff’s transactional framework for development and explain how it can be applied to infants and caregivers in the NICU environment.
- List elements of risk and protection that may be present among infants and families in the NICU environment, and describe how these can be assessed using the NNNS and other observation tools.
- Discuss goodness-of-fit between infant and caregiver, and how this can be evaluated in the NICU.
- Observe a developmental assessment and intervention, and prepare and present a patient-caregiver story that includes results of the assessment.
- Lead a discussion in which others will participate in identifying issues in relationship-based care, elements of risk and protection, infant and family strengths and opportunities for intervention.
- Facilitate discussion regarding how the above principles might be applied to a current dilemma in his or her own practice setting.
Teaching strategies: Lecture and discussion, NICU observation
Evaluation:
- Seminar participation
- Understanding of core concepts and ability to apply these concepts to their current practice during discussions
- Presentation of a patient-caregiver story
Instructor Bio(s): Rosemarie Bigsby, Sc.D., OTR/L, FAOTA is Coordinator of NICU Services for the Brown Center for the Study of Children At Risk, Department of Pediatrics, Women & Infants’ Hospital, Providence, RI, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Brown University, Warren Alpert Medical School. She earned the Bachelor of Science degree in occupational therapy at Western Michigan University in 1974, the Advanced Master of Science in occupational therapy at Boston University in 1980, and the Doctor of Science degree at Boston University in 1994. Her experience as a pediatric occupational therapist over three decades includes working in a variety of settings, as clinician, supervisor and consultant. For the past 16 years, she has practiced in the NICU, in the combined roles of therapist, educator and researcher. Dr. Bigsby was named a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association in 1994, for her contributions to the practice of occupational therapy with infants and children. She is the author of a number of journal articles and book chapters, and is co-author of a textbook on NICU Practice: Developmental and Therapeutic Interventions in the NICU (Brookes Publishing), as well as the AOTA guidelines for NICU practice, and the Posture and Fine Motor Assessment of Infants (Psychological Corporation; 2000). Her research focuses on motor development, behavioral cues, physiologic regulation, and feeding in early infancy. She has been an invited speaker both nationally and internationally.