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An educational podcast for pediatric physical therapists: created to help those studying for the pediatric certified specialist exam (PCS), and anyone else interested in learning more about pediatric physical therapy.
Copyright: © Sheila Madden and Sara Bellanca Karman
We are honored to be hosting two of the authors, Carol de Campos and Ginny Paleg, of the 2023 article titled “F-words and early intervention ingredients for non-ambulant children with cerebral palsy: a scoping review” on today’s episode. This article is not only exam relevant for those preparing for the PCS exam, it is also a clinically impactful article. This review gives great insight into how we can competently care for GMFCS IV and V children with the 6 F’s in mind - functioning, fitness, family, fun, friends, and future. Carol and Ginny will elaborate how the F-words of this article translate into PCS prep and exam taking strategies, and also how this article is a roadmap for all PTs to provide thoughtful, evidence-informed decisions for one of the most underserved populations.
De Campos AC, Hidalgo-Robles Á, Longo E, Shrader C, Paleg G. F-words and early intervention ingredients for non-ambulant children with cerebral palsy: A scoping review. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2024 Jan;66(1):41-51. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.15682. Epub 2023 Jun 28. PMID: 37381598.
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
Today we are diving into the 2004 article by Joanne Valvano, “Activity-focused motor interventions for children with neurological conditions”. While it is an older article, this article contains a lot of great concepts that continue to influence the way we shape care for pediatric patients with neurological conditions. This article is a must read whether you are new to pediatrics, prepping for the PCS, or revisiting the theory behind pediatric physical therapy!
Valvano, J. (2004). Activity-Focused Motor Interventions for Children with Neurological Conditions. Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics, 24(1–2), 79–107. https://doi-org.ezproxylocal.library.nova.edu/10.1300/J006v24n01_04
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
We know that research and statistics may seem intimidating sometimes, which is why we are tackling this topic together! Understanding statistics is not only important for your board exam prep, but for your clinical practice too. Knowing how to interpret these concepts makes a huge difference when reading studies and applying evidence-based practices. Today we will cover statistical significance, sample size, p-value, and more. Thanks for joining us today, and remember, you’ve got this!
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
Welcome to the first Journal Club of Season 5! We are diving into a really interesting article for today’s episode. While new, from 2025, we felt it was an important article to cover because it is a great example of how VR can be incorporated with treating autistic patients and is a great example for us to review how to critique study design aspects and outcomes, which you will need to know how to do to be successful on your PCS exam. Thanks for joining us!
Abdel Ghafar, M. A., Abdelraouf, O. R., Harraz, E. M., Seyam, M. K., Morsy, W. E., Amin, W. M., & Abd-Elfattah, H. M. (2025). Virtual Reality Rehabilitation Helps to Improve Postural Balance in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Control Trial. Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics, 45(4), 423–436. https://doi.org/10.1080/01942638.2025.2466555
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
If you listened to last week’s episode, we talked about our grouping strategy for genetic syndromes that you’ll need to know for the PCS exam. We had many of our listeners ask for a more in depth review too, so today’s episode will be a deep dive into the 2023 article about 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome. We’ll be reviewing things to know for each system and bring all that knowledge together to discuss how you could see questions about this syndrome on the PCS exam and where it fits into our genetic syndrome grouping method.
Óskarsdóttir, S., Boot, E., Crowley, T. B., Loo, J. C. Y., Arganbright, J. M., Armando, M., Baylis, A. L., Breetvelt, E. J., Castelein, R. M., Chadehumbe, M., Cielo, C. M., de Reuver, S., Eliez, S., Fiksinski, A. M., Forbes, B. J., Gallagher, E., Hopkins, S. E., Jackson, O. A., Levitz-Katz, L., Klingberg, G., … McDonald-McGinn, D. M. (2023). Updated clinical practice recommendations for managing children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. Genetics in medicine : official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics, 25(3), 100338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gim.2022.11.006
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
Follow us on Instagram
This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
Today’s episode of Pushing Pediatrics is a reference guide to understanding common genetic syndromes you’ll likely see in practice. Instead of memorizing every genetic syndrome while studying, group syndromes with similar clinical themes together. This will not only be easier to study, but will help you think about these syndromes with regards to their functional status and apply them clinically. We’ll be going over some example patient clusters and sharing our “PT pearls” for these groups you should be thinking about while studying for the PCS exam.
Catalino, T., Bloyer, M., Shamus, E., & Miles, C. (Eds.). (2024). Guide to pediatric physical therapy: A clinical approach (1st ed.). McGraw‑Hill Education.
Valvano, J. (2004). Activity-Focused Motor Interventions for Children with Neurological Conditions. Physical & Occupational Therapy In Pediatrics, 24(1–2), 79–107.
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website.
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes.
Follow us on Instagram.
This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
Welcome back to Pushing Pediatrics - your favorite study supplementation for the PCS exam! We have had 4 successful seasons thanks to you all, our listeners! And a special thank you to those of you who subscribe to our Friday episodes. We are so excited to be bringing you Season 5 of the Pushing Pediatrics Podcast and plan to make it our best season yet.
Today we are going to dive into the DSP, the Description of Specialty Practice in Pediatric Physical Therapy and how to utilize it as the anchor to your PCS test prep. We’ll be covering tips and strategies on how to be thinking of different aspects of the DSP while studying, a little about what test questions may be like on the PCS exam, and how to integrate your previous clinical knowledge with info from the DSP to think like a pediatric specialist.
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website.
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes on Fridays.
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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
We know it’s getting close to crunch time, which is why we will be going over a couple of case studies today to further help you prepare to take the PCS! We are going to break down these case studies into ways you may see questions presented on the PCS exam, but also to help you apply the knowledge you already have and utilize your memory recall. Do your best to follow along with today’s episodes without your notes! Head over to our Instagram page to see these case studies with prompts listed out, but we will only be going through them in detail on today’s episode!
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
Follow us on Instagram
This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
This week Sheila and Sara will be going over the equipment available and used for our pediatric patients. This episode will be more general, covering the main types of equipment detailed in Campbell. However, if you are looking for a deep dive, please review the chapter on Assistive Technology in Campbell’s 6th edition. We also have episodes in previous seasons covering the Assistive Technology chapter as well as the information in Campbell’s 5th edition. We bring you this episode knowing some of you have a large experience with equipment and some of you have none. Hopefully this episode will help you along your studying journey! You got this!
Glickman LB, Geigle PR, Paleg GS. A systematic review of supported standing programs. J Pediatr Rehabil Med. 2010;3(3):197-213. doi: 10.3233/PRM-2010-0129. PMID: 21791851.
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
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This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
Welcome back to Pushing Pediatrics! Today we will be going over the use of orthotics in the pediatric population. While we have discussed orthotics at some length in previous episodes (episode 30 - Down Syndrome and episodes 8 & 10 - Pathological Gait), we feel this subject deserves its own episode too! Please reference today’s episode in conjunction with your copy of Campbell’s 6th edition and those listed previous episodes for a complete review. We will also be discussing orthotics as it pertains to our own personal practice experiences. We hope you find today’s episode helpful!
Weber A, Martin K. A systematic review of the efficacy of orthoses for children with hypotonia. Pediatr Phys Ther. 2014;26:38-47.
Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our website
Use code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription!
Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodes
Follow us on Instagram
This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.
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