Q: What do you enjoy most about being a physical therapist?

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A: “I enjoy being able to help people achieve their goals. I specifically love being able to help

kids to be able to participate in activities with their peers or parents to see their kid be able

to accomplish a milestone for motor development, independence and participation in age

appropriate activity. The biggest goals as a PT are independence and inclusion. We strive to

allow people to be able to do activities they enjoy and desire on their own and to participate

with peers, family, and community as appropriate. Kids love to be able to do things with

their friends of their same age, and parents love when their kids can play and participate

with others their own age or developmental level. My greatest joy in my job is helping these

goals for kids and parents become realities.”

 

Q: When did you decide to become a physical therapist?

 

A: “I became interested in physical therapy in earl y high school in the summer of my

freshman/sophomore year spending time at my cousins for the summer and seeing his son

go to physical therapy. I had heard of PT prior, but never really thought too much into it.

Growing up I have always loved kids and animals and knew I would pursue a career that

involved working with one of these. In fact, in my junior year of high school, I considered

going to University of Kentucky to learn equine therapy and pet rehabilitation to be a PT for

horses and other animals. Going into college, I knew I wanted to be a PT and quickly decided

that I loved working with kids the most and avidly sought to continue my career in

Pediatrics.”

 

Q: Why did you choose a career in physical therapy?

 

A: “As I mentioned, I first became interested in PT seeing my cousin’s son attend PT one

summer. My cousin’s son had recently been diagnosed with ASD that year. As I spent a week

with them, he hardly talked or made eye contact with me. He engaged minimally with me

for needs, but limited play with me or his brother. However, watching him in his therapies,

he completely opened up. He loved the play at therapy, his eye contact with the therapists

and even me during the session was a stark contrast to that of the week at home. He loved

big sensory movements. Watching him in those moments, I felt so inspired to be able to

provide that care and opportunity for others to play, to learn, to communicate, to grow, and

to open the world to them. I feel that though I considered other avenues of PT, this

inspiration for the start of my journey has always led me to working toward providing care

for pediatrics and individuals with ASD.”

 

Q: What’s the biggest challenge/reward in working with individuals who require physical therapy? 

 

A: “The biggest challenge for working with anyone who needs PT is their own self-motivation.

They have to want to get better at the goals and want it to put in the work and effort.

Sometimes for kids that is difficult as the goals may be the parents’ and not the child’s goals

or often they aren’t old enough to understand the goal or how to work toward it or that the

work will help them. However, achieving those goals and the look of success and excitement

from a child who is accomplishing a new skill for the first time or the beaming pride of a

parent watching their kid achieve something new is the greatest reward! Helping someone

to complete their personal goal and do something they have longed to do independently is

the purpose and the reward for everything we do!”

 

Q: How has ASD personally affected/influenced your life? Do you know anybody outside of the workplace that has ASD?

 

A: “As I mentioned, my cousin’s son and his journey through therapy with ASD has been the

inspiration for my career. Since then, I have more family members who have been

diagnosed with ASD and have met friends in college who also have ASD. I think encountering

someone with ASD early in my life and the career field I am now in definitely shapes my

understanding and openness with individuals with this diagnosis.”

 

Q: In your opinion, how can we, as a society, move forward from preconceived, negative ideas surrounding those with ASD?

 

A: “I think it is hard as a society for a diagnosis that doesn’t present physically, that has no set

features and such a broad spectrum of presentations, it is hard to understand and define;

therefore, it becomes more concerning to society and viewed negatively. I know people who

were concerned their child could have ASD and parents who ask me about every possible

sign and symptom if it could mean ASD. I think education on what ASD is, how much

individuals can still achieve and be a part of society is a huge first step for improving the

fears of parents and society that ASD does not have to limit a child. I also love working with

full spectrum care providers for Applied Behavior Analysis, Physical Therapy, Occupational

Therapy and Speech and Language Pathology services available for complete care and

interdisciplinary dialogue to provide individuals with a team approach for all their needs and

to address all their goals. I do think it is going to take time for society, but I feel we are

moving in the right direction as theses services are becoming more popular and mainstream

for care.”

 

Q: Describe what a typical day is like for you. What do you typically do during sessions? What resources do you use/adapt?

 

A: “It is hard to pick a typical for my sessions with kids with ASD. Since the spectrum is so broad, each individual is different and even each session can be different with the same individual. I have older kids who are higher level and working on general strength and endurance but have functional gross motor development and I have younger kids who are delayed in gross motor skills and independence with mobility due to weakness, sensory impairments and even lack of understanding typical societal cuing and teaching to attain these skills. I would say that is one important thing of any PT, but definitely in pediatrics and working with individuals with ASD to keep things individualized and adaptable. I spend a lot of time adapting my approach or my plan for the day. As I mentioned previously, I love working in

the multi-disciplinary teams as I am always seeking advice from the ABA and SLP therapists

for communication and motivation strategies and with the OT for sensory integration. It is

hard to learn a new motor skill if I cannot communicate what I want them to do and how in

a way they understand. I also mentioned that the individual needs to be self-motivated to

participate and achieve the goal. Sensory integration is also another big challenge for

individuals with ASD as learning new skills are inhibited by an overload of sensory input or a

lack of sensory input causes their system to be too excited or not enough to participate. I

adapt every day and even minute by minute in sessions for what strategies will work and

what needs the child has for that day. Often, I am using reward and preferred task strategies

to allow a fun activity or preferred task after doing some more complicated activities that

require more work. I use more visual cues and demonstration, peer participation and

mimicking, and even changing the intensity of my tactile and sensory cues to improve the

experience and promote participation and proper form to complete activities.”

 

Q: Is there any additional information you would like to share about you, your work, or other professional experiences that would be helpful for me to know? 

 

A: “PT is a fun, rewarding, challenging, difficult and ever-changing field. It requires patience, understanding, flexibility, positivity, and creativity. I have loved working as a PT and love the challenges and fun of pediatrics.”