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1a) A presentation of the new Rules and Regulations of Your Licensure Act will provide a better understanding of your practice regulations. These newly revised “Rules and Regs” affect each practitioner in their everyday practice.

1b) A presentation of the AOTA 2010 Standards of Ethics will be made. These Standards are referred to in your Licensure Act and each of us is held accountable for upholding these Standards in our daily practice – learn what they are!

2) Where Have All The Players Gone?
Susan Knox, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA

Play is endangered. It has changed dramatically in the last 20 years and is gone from many children’s schools. The evidence for this is the rise in childhood obesity rates, lack of play spaces, decreases in unsupervised physical play, and increases in directed play and in passive play such as TV and computers. Play and joy in our therapy settings (both pediatric and adult) have also decreased with the emphasis on productivity and structured activity. This talk will discuss the importance of play in the lives of our children and our clients and how we can incorporate play and playfulness into treatment and how we can advocate for play for all children.

This lecture will educate the generalist occupational therapy practitioner on component skills required to perform the IADL of driving. It will instruct on how to treat clients ranging from kindergarten age through 90 years old in the component skills required for driving. Additionally, information for the generalist practitioner will include common adaptive equipment for the vehicle that can compensate for physical deficits and enable clients to drive.

Kenyon Fausett, a representative from Medtronic will discuss the Deep Brain Stimulator’s role in Parkinson Disease & will activate/deactivate the Deep Brain Stimulator with an individual living with Parkinson Disease. A representative from Interactive Metronome will also provide a demonstration of the therapeutic benefits of their device with the Parkinson population. Finally, occupational therapy’s role in the treatment of the person with a Deep Brain Stimulator and how the Interactive Metronome and other various treatment approaches can be used to increase functional outcomes for persons living with Parkinson’s. i.e. Think Big treatment program

5) Wheelchair Use That Supports Occupational Performance-Collaborating With Your Seating Specialist
Al Terrazas, ATP

Clients who are in a wheelchair face a variety of challenges while participating in their everyday life. By learning basic principles about wheelchair seating, OT practitioners will be able to support improved occupational performance for their clients. An emphasis on wheelchairs and pediatric clients will be presented.

This session will cover the basic history, physiological effects and basic principles, benefits and applications of Kinesio Taping. Taping for upper extremities will involve at least 2 commonly treated diagnoses. Actual practice of taping will be completed by participants with tape generously provided by Kinesio Tape.

7) Self Regulation, Social Skills and Occupational Therapy: An RTI Pilot Program
Heidi Marie Sanders, MA, OTR/L

This session will discuss the creation of an RTI pilot program focusing on the tenets of the New Mexico Public Education Department “Healthier Schools – New Mexico” Program. The University of New Mexico Occupational Therapy Graduate Program is partnering with The International School at Mesa del Sol, a state charter school. Graduate students, during their semester long Psychosocial Fieldwork I, will run self-regulation and social skills based groups for all students, grades K – 5. Curriculum will be largely based on the Alert Program materials. Collaboration with school administrators and teachers will ensure consistency of the curriculum to the major themes of instruction, carry-over of strategies and development of future projects.

8) The Use of Caregiver Coaching: One Solution to the Problem of Therapist Shortage in a Small Community
Melodye Thomas, OTR/L

Coaching is an evidence-based adult-learning consultation concept used widely in early intervention. The presentation will discuss the process and results of implementation of caregiver coaching with adults with developmental disabilities as a solution to meeting the need when no OT services were being rendered due to therapist shortage in a small community.

This year’s Sunset Soiree promises to continue the tradition of offering poster presentations by occupational therapy students as a continuing education opportunity while educating legislators and candidates about the incredible profession of occupational therapy. The Soiree will offer:

Silent Auction to benefit the Julia Sweeney Scholarship Fund
Cash Bar
Complimentary Hors de Oeuvres
Poster Presentations (1.0 CEU opportunity)
Meet-n-Greet with Political Candidates

This talk is a personal account of Peter Hirsch, Sue’s brother, a person with autism. It is a story of his life, the plans Sue’s and Peter’s parents made and his influence on Sue and their other two brothers. His life illustrates the importance of meaningful activities in achieving a successful life. (1 CEU)

In this plenary session Dr. Parham will identify the most pressing health problems of New Mexico, and argue that authentic occupational therapy is a powerful tool for solving these problems in a sustainable manner. Authentic occupational therapy has a unique skill set and jurisdictional claim. However, its potential for supporting the health of New Mexicans will be realized only if occupational therapists are alert to opportunities, collaborate with each other and with community partners, and push beyond their comfort zones to develop new services.

This lecture will enable the participant to perform a proper sensory and motor evaluation and avoid common pitfalls in these evaluations. It will focus on treatment based on levels of injury to enable the practitioner to make functional goals according to level. This course will also educate the practitioner in common secondary effects of SCI that should be addressed to keep the client with SCI safe for a lifetime.

13) Arthritis of the Hand
Anne M. Crosser, MOTR/L (Group limit 40)

General information on arthritis will be presented and participants will gain a basic understanding of the mechanical influences of arthritis on the hand. Various types of arthritis, current treatment, and therapeutic interventions will be covered. The interventions to be discussed include: adaptive equipment, joint protection, exercises, modalities/pain management, and splinting options. In addition, participants will be provided the opportunity to make entry level splints.

14) Evidence-Based Practice; The How-Tos
Melanie M. Tidman, MA, OTR/L

Participants will be able to define evidence-based practice, describe the process of critical appraisal of the literature, formulate a clear research question from a practice problem, learn methods to electronically search the relevant literature, learn techniques to select appropriate, valid, and reliable studies to review, learn how to review the evidence critically and to summarize the findings of the articles reviewed, utilize the evidence to improve your practice and achieve improved patient outcomes, identify and use journals that publish “best practice” evidence and review the need to include evidence in daily practice. Examples of a Critical Appraisal tutorial will be reviewed from the OTCATS website.

Interested in more solutions to solve your client’s home barriers? Want a list of resources on where to find new and unique items? Have a home/client/situation that is baffling you? Come find out ways to solve all those problems. This presentation will include demonstration equipment for participants to experience.

16) The Role of the Occupational Therapist in Home Health Care
Stephanie L. Singleton, OT/L

This presentation will be about the role of the occupational therapist in current home health care practice. I will discuss the importance of providing occupation based interventions in homecare. A variety of outcomes measures that are appropriate for use in this setting will be discussed during this presentation. Also discussed will be how OT’s can pursue leadership opportunities in home healthcare. During this presentation, there will also be an update on the legislative issues currently impacting OT services in the home health arena.

17) Bal-A-Vis-X: Getting in the Rhythm
Cynthia Koenig, MS, OTR/L

This presentation provides an overview of the BAVX program, to include a live sampling of exercises. Participants will see BAVX in action in the classroom and hear testimonials on how this program can affect the learning skills of students and other-aged clients. By addressing core elements of the proprioceptive and vestibular systems and integrating them with other sensory systems (visual and auditory), participants will consider how BAVX can become a useful tool in their practice in order to support optimal occupational performance.

18a) A presentation of the new Rules and Regulations of Your Licensure Act will provide a better understanding of your practice regulations. These newly revised “Rules and Regs” affect each practitioner in their everyday practice.

18b) A presentation of the AOTA 2010 Standards of Ethics will be made. These Standards are referred to in your Licensure Act and each of us is held accountable for upholding these Standards in our daily practice – learn what they are!