Pushing Pediatrics

Join Sheila and special guest Emily Gaylord, PT, DPT, PCS this week as they cover all things related to school-based physical therapy. Emily has spent the last few years diving deep into educational law, making her uniquely qualified to help you prepare for the PCS exam! Make sure you are supplementing our conversation with charts, tables and pictures from the Campbell text referenced below - along with all of the other supplemental materials recommended by Emily and linked below. Cheers and happy listening! Affiliate Codes: ------------------------------------------ Medbridge Affiliate website: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/pushing-pediatrics Medbridge Affiliate Code: PUSHINGPEDS ----------------------------------------- Resources: Palisano, R. J., Orlin, M. N., & Schreiber, R. (2023). Campbell’s physical therapy for children. Elsevier. https://pediatricapta.org/fact-sheets/ https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/13159/urlt/cert.pdf https://vota.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Handouts%20Cecere.pdf https://www.seekfreaks.com/index.php/2016/10/27/hefreak-says-shefreak-says-pt-counts-takeaways/ https://www.uky.edu/chs/physical-therapy/research/pt-counts

Today is the final episode of the 5th season of the Pushing Pediatrics podcast! Sheila and Sara are welcoming guests Jessica Lewis, PT, DPT, PCS and Helen Carey, PT, DHSc, PCS, creators of the PCS Advantage, to help those of you in the home stretch of studying for the PCS exam. PCS Advantage is a prep course and study tool for those clinicians studying for the PCS exam, providing full practice exams and comprehensive study guides. Through the work of Jessica and Helen and the creation of PCS Advantage, they have helped hundreds of clinicians pass their exam! Sheila and Sara ask Jessica and Helen some critical questions you’ll want to hear the answers to if you’re taking the PCS in a few weeks! Topics like where to focus your studies in these last weeks, things TO do and things NOT to do as the exam date approaches, and several critical exam taking strategies. Good luck to those of you taking your PCS exam, and regardless of the outcome, you are an amazing PT. We will be back next season with more great episodes. And remember, you’ve got this! PCS Advantage: PCS Prep CourseResources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Thanks for joining us for part 2 of our discussion on pain with Dylan Gawinski Stern, PT, DPT, PCS. In this second half, Dylan will be going into more depth on AMPS (Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome). She will share how her facility evaluates patients to be considered for admission to the AMPS program, what specialties make up the multidisciplinary team, and what treatment looks like for those AMPS patients. Sheila and Sara will share “PT pearls" and how this topic ties into PCS exam prep. Dougherty BL, Zelikovsky N, Miller KS, Rodriguez D, Armstrong SL, Sherry DD. Longitudinal Impact of Parental Catastrophizing on Child Functional Disability in Pediatric Amplified Pain. J Pediatr Psychol. 2021 Apr 16;46(4):474-484. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsaa127. PMID: 33491076; PMCID: PMC8056213.Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Another incredible guest is on the Pushing Pediatrics Podcast this week! Dylan Gawinski Stern, PT, DPT, PCS joins the show to discuss pain, most specifically AMPS (Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome). Persistent pain is a new “hot topic” that is testable material since hosts Sheila and Sara took their PCS exam, which is why they’ve invited an expert to review this topic. Dylan will share her experience working in the AMPS clinic, how to differentiate AMPS from CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) as a provider, what the therapy evaluation process looks like for AMPS clinic patients, how to incorporate Trauma Informed Care, and more. This topic will be broken into two, digestible episodes, so be sure to tune in next week for the other half of our discussion on pain. Dougherty BL, Zelikovsky N, Miller KS, Rodriguez D, Armstrong SL, Sherry DD. Longitudinal Impact of Parental Catastrophizing on Child Functional Disability in Pediatric Amplified Pain. J Pediatr Psychol. 2021 Apr 16;46(4):474-484. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsaa127. PMID: 33491076; PMCID: PMC8056213.Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

SAFETY LISTENER NOTE:This presentation will discuss aspects of trauma, its impact on children, families and practitioners. We acknowledge that the content in this discussion may trigger your previous experiences with trauma or the trauma that your patients have experienced. We encourage you to perform self-care practices even within this podcast; if you need to take a break and pause, please do so as you need.Today’s episode is part 2 of this season’s Trauma Informed Care series with Katelyn McNamara-Kays PT, DPT, PCS and Bridget Griffin, PT, DPT, PCS. Kate and Bridget were on the show last season sharing their knowledge about TIC. If you haven’t listened to those episodes, they are linked down below - be sure to go and give those a listen, as well as last week’s part 1 of this series. Today Kate and Bridget share the other side of Trauma Informed Care known as Secondary Traumatic Stress and how we experience it as health care providers. Whether there is a big event at work or your role has heavy moments over time, Kate and Bridget will share why it’s important to be taking care of yourself in order to provide the best sessions for our patients. Season 4: Trauma Informed CareSeason 4: Trauma Informed Care Part 2 Join the APTA Mighty Networks!Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

SAFETY LISTENER NOTE:This presentation will discuss aspects of trauma, its impact on children, families and practitioners. We acknowledge that the content in this discussion may trigger your previous experiences with trauma or the trauma that your patients have experienced. We encourage you to perform self-care practices even within this podcast; if you need to take a break and pause, please do so as you need.Sheila and Sara are pleased to be welcoming back Katelyn McNamara-Kays PT, DPT, PCS and Bridget Griffin, PT, DPT, PCS, to discuss Trauma Informed Care. Kate and Bridget were on the show last season sharing their knowledge about TIC. If you haven’t listened to those episodes, they are linked down below - be sure to go and give those a listen. Today Kate and Bridget will be taking us on a deeper dive into Trauma Informed Care and also introduce their newest fact sheet releasing soon! This conversation is loaded with practical ways to incorporate TIC into your daily practice as well as how to translate this concept into PCS exam taking strategies. Be sure to tune in next week for part 2!Season 4: Trauma Informed CareSeason 4: Trauma Informed Care Part 2 Join the APTA Mighty Networks!Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Thanks for joining us for our final installment with Mike Studer. Today we will be wrapping things up and making connections from the concepts found in Mike’s book to our pediatric practices and PCS exam prep. This week is also our last episode of 2025. We hope you have a restful break and we look forward to you joining us in January, 2026 for more episodes!“The Brain That Chooses Itself” by Mike Studer Wulf G, Lewthwaite R. Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. Psychon Bull Rev. 2016;23(5):1382-1414. doi:10.3758/s13423-015-0999-9Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Welcome back for part 2 of our discussion with Mike Studer where we will be diving even further into the concepts of learning and neuroplasticity and how it applies to our pediatric patients and the PCS exam. Specifically, today, we discuss motivators and the difference between infinite games and other types of play. Mike also shares his list of other readings he considered while writing his new book and would recommend for those looking to take their learning on these concepts a step further! These episodes are full of so many “PT pearls” that will apply clinically and personally, you will not want to miss any of this content! Don’t forget to come back next week for the final episode of our trilogy with Mike. “The Brain That Chooses Itself” by Mike Studer"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman“The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek“Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear“Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth Katy Milkman’s book, “How to Change: The Science of Getting Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” and her podcast, Choiceology“Nudge” by Richard ThalerOther authors mentioned in today's episode: Jane McGonigal, Ellen Langer, Alia Crum and more listed in Mike Studer’s book Wulf G, Lewthwaite R. Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. Psychon Bull Rev. 2016;23(5):1382-1414. doi:10.3758/s13423-015-0999-9Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

This week kicks off a very special three-part conversation with our friend and returning guest Mike Studer. Over the next three episodes, we will be diving into concepts from Mike’s new book, “The Brain That Chooses Itself”, like learning and neuroplasticity. These concepts thoroughly apply to how we clinically treat our pediatric patients, but also how we parent, how we teach and coach friends and family, and how we prepare for the PCS exam. These episodes are full of so many “PT pearls” that will apply clinically and personally, you will not want to miss these episodes! And of course, we will be connecting all of this incredible information to PCS exam prep strategies. “The Brain That Chooses Itself” by Mike Studer"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman Wulf G, Lewthwaite R. Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning. Psychon Bull Rev. 2016;23(5):1382-1414. doi:10.3758/s13423-015-0999-9Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Welcome back to Pushing Pediatrics! We have another guest episode this week to bring you knowledge on a topic that has been widely gaining popularity and is now testable material, pediatric pelvic floor. Maggie Abbott, PT, DPT will join us to discuss why PT can make a big difference for children with bladder and bowel dysfunction. We’ll cover age and diagnoses Maggie typically treats, what her initial evaluation includes, interventions of pelvic floor therapy, and more. We will highlight how this subject translates to PCS prep with our “PT pearls” and walk through exam taking techniques. Remember, you’ve got this! Calvo-Sanz, J., Bouallalene Jaramillo, K., et al. (2025). Electrotherapy in pediatric patients with non-neurological pelvic-floor dysfunction: TENS, biofeedback, and behavioural therapies applied individually or in combination. Journal of Pediatric Urology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpurol.2025.03.158Wegh, C. A. M., Baaleman, D. F., Tabbers, M. M., Smidt, H., & Benninga, M. A. (2022). Non-pharmacologic treatment for children with functional constipation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Pediatrics, 240, 136-149.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.09.010Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Thanks for joining us today at the Pushing Pediatrics podcast! Sara is solo today to share some valuable additional clinical insight about Scoliosis. This additional material may or may not be testable information, however it is great to know when treating children with scoliosis in real-world situations. While today’s episode is focusing on scoliosis, if you need a review of other spinal conditions, please see the link below to our episode from Season 3. Background and basics of the different types of scoliosis, evaluating these different types utilizing the Sosort guidelines, non-surgical interventions, and surgical interventions of scoliosis will be discussed in today’s review. Pushing Pediatrics Season 3: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) and Spinal Conditionshttps://scoliosisjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13013-017-0145-8Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

Welcome back to part two of our discussion with CCC-SLPs Marissa Peters and Maggie Muzio about Augmentative and Alternative Communication. As we continue our conversation, Marissa and Maggie go into detail on AAC devices and how PT can play a role in helping children utilize these devices during treatment sessions. We’ll hear what makes for a good co-treat session from an SLP’s point of view and why treating the child as a whole in every session is a key to their success. More “PT Pearls” will be shared along the way plus a bonus exam practice question! The episode closes with main takeaways to apply to your PCS exam preparations. Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

This week on Pushing Pediatrics experts Marissa Peters and Maggie Muzio, Certified Speech Language Pathologists, are here to cover Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This topic will be 2 episodes worth of information - so be sure to tune in next week for the second half of our discussion! Today Marissa and Maggie will cover the 3 categories of AAC, how to incorporate AAC into PT therapy sessions, how we as PTs can help identify children needing SLP referrals, and how we can educate parents on AAC within a PT scope of practice. Sara and Shelia add in some “PT Pearls” to help transfer this topic into our pediatric physical therapy realm and how AAC may come up in questions on the PCS exam. Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.

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 websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis 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_04Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis 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 websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis 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/10.1080/01942638.2025.2466555Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis 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.2022.11.006Resources discussed in today’s episode can be found on our websiteUse code PUSHINGPEDS for $150 off your Medbridge subscription! Check out our website, and subscribe for our subscription only episodesFollow us on InstagramThis 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.Follow us on Instagram.This episode was brought to you by the Pivot Ball Change Network.