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Let's play! An observational study of primary care physical therapy with preterm infants aged 3-14 months
Ragnhild B Håkstad1, Aud Obstfelder2, Gunn Kristin Øberg1
1UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health and Care Sciences, Tromsoe, Norway.
Insights
Physical therapists use sensory-motor play to enhance motor skills in infants. By cooperating with infants, therapists create tailored play interventions that support development and learning.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Pediatric Physical Therapy
- Enactive Theory
Background:
- Sensory-motor play is crucial for infant development and a key component of physical therapist interventions.
- Physical therapists (PTs) work to improve motor skills in infants, particularly preterm infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how PTs scaffold and utilize play in physical therapy for preterm infants.
- To understand the application of enactive theory in pediatric physical therapy.
Main Methods:
- Observation of 20 physical therapy sessions involving preterm infants.
- Analysis of data through the lens of enactive theory on cooperation.
Main Results:
- Effective sensory-motor play in physical therapy necessitates cooperation towards shared objectives.
- An enactive therapeutic approach involves PTs tailoring interventions to infant interests, attuning to their intentions, and integrating therapeutic goals within play.
Conclusions:
- Cooperation and mutuality in therapy foster play-based learning opportunities.
- These opportunities support infant development and their comprehension of the world.
Introduction:
Sensory-motor play is at the core of child development and an important element in physical therapist(PT)s' work to improve infants' motor skills. In this study, we investigate how PTs scaffold and use play in physical therapy intervention with preterm infants at corrected age (CA) 3-14 months.
Material And Methods:
We collected data by observing 20 physical therapy sessions. In the analysis, we connected to enactive theory on cooperation.
Results:
Successful use of sensory-motor play in physical therapy requires cooperation toward common goals. This is achieved via an enactive therapeutic sensory-motor play approach, in which the PTs plan and tailor the intervention to match the infant's interests; attune themselves to the infant's intentions; and incorporate therapeutic measures in sensory-motor play interactions with the child.
Conclusions:
Via cooperation and mutuality in therapeutic interactions, PTs can provide play situated learning opportunities that support the infants' development and understanding of the world.
