Erhardt Developmental Products
Videos and other Materials about Child Development and Children with Disabilities

Curriculum
Vitae

Overview of Hand Problems in Children with Disabilities
(ongoing interactive online course, 12 contact hours)

Enroll in this comprehensive Internet course at anytime, study at your own pace, and enjoy the flexibility and convenience! Lessons include:
1. Exploring the Literature
2. Theoretical Frames of Reference
3. Normal Arm and Hand Development
4. Atypical Arm and Hand Development
4. Administration of a Prehension Assessment
5. The Assessment Report
6. Treatment
7. Eye-Hand Coordination and a Model for Intervention
8. A Systems Approach to Assessment and Task Analysis
9. Hand Preference Issues and Application to Practice
10. Improving Handwriting Without Teaching Handwriting.

Description: This course is at an Introductory/Intermediate Level, designed for new practitioners as well as experienced practitioners who want to become more knowledgeable about hand development and dysfunction in children with multiple and developmental disabilities. Teaching Methods for this course include course content delivered in text format, graphics, handouts, live Web links, case studies, assignments, experimental labs, and clinical observations. This course has a required accompanying CDRom with video observation clips that demonstrate developmental stages, handouts, and the Erhardt Developmental Prehension Assessment (EDPA) tool. These activities will provide you with interaction with instructor and other students through the discussion board, class mailbox, chat room, and e-mail. Grading for this course is a combination of participation and assignments (25%), case study report (25%), and midterm and final exam (25% each). Cumulative score of requirements must meet a 75% passing score.

Objectives: Upon completion of this course, pediatric practitioners will demonstrate the following Learner Outcomes:
1. Incorporate the language of the World Health Organization NCMRR Model (National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research) into clinical thinking and documentation.
2. Appreciate the contribution of historical and contemporary research in the fields of different disciplines to the study of hand development.
3. Recognize the value of a broad base of theoretical frames of reference.
4. Experience the foundational components of arm and hand development.
5. Identify interruptions of normal arm and hand development that result in compensatory postures and movements.
6. Select effective assessment procedures.
7. Use assessment information to plan treatment.
8. Discuss disorders of eye-hand coordination, functional implications, and intervention strategies.
9. Understand the genetic, developmental, and environmental factors relating to handedness in non-disabled and disabled individuals, and criteria for intervention.
10. Describe the theoretical foundations for visual-perceptual-motor problems affecting handwriting, and a performance-based assessment/intervention/maintenance model.

Student Feedback "The way the syllabus was written was clear, concise and contained both useful clinical techniques as well as sound background information on occupational and learning theory."
"I feel that the most important piece that I took away from this couse is the idea that assessing hand skill development involves looking at much more than just the hands"
"The case-study approach was most helpful and a very direct way to understand how the theory and assessment information could be applied to treatment."
"The labs were well selected from the most basic level up to that of the experienced therapist and allowed for growth in understanding disability from the child's perspective."
"I really appreciated all your input and I thank you very much for the time you took to read and answer my questions. This was a very good self study program, in content and in form."
"The progression of the course was excellent as it offered a review for the experienced therapist in the beginning, with lots of new things to learn all along the way. What amazes me most is that the information you are presenting is still way beyond what is typically used in practice today."
"I have found this course interesting and challenging. Thank you for all the practical examples and strategies."
"Overall, this was a wonderful course, and found the assignments interesting and enlightening. It also helped to read the other students' findings, and the many different ways to approach a problem."

To visit the site, click on the link below. For more information, call Dynamic Learning Online, Inc. (888) 338-3247 or e-mail Melissa Cohn