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Clinical reasoning, in practice
Worked case studies and field-tested checklists for the decisions you make on rotation. Each piece takes the frameworks from the Pediatric PT Playbook and puts them to work in a real setting.
- ArticleGait trainer vs posterior walker: how much support does this child need?A posterior walker asks the child to hold their own trunk; a gait trainer holds it for them. Four questions that sort the choice, how the setting changes it, and what the evidence can and cannot tell you.7 min read
- ArticleAFO vs SMO: how to reason through the orthotic choice in pediatric PTSMOs control the foot and AFOs control the ankle. Four questions that sort the choice, the five lenses every prescription passes through, and what the evidence says about the trade-offs.7 min read
- ArticleAsk before you move: lines, tubes, and the physiologic scan in pediatric acute careWhat to check, what to protect, and when to stop on a first acute care rotation: age-based vital signs, the five pitfalls students make, and the one rule behind every line.7 min read
- ArticleFinger splay is a sentence: reading infant stress and stability cues in the NICUThe three cue domains that decide whether you keep going, the one rule that overrides everything else, and how to teach families to read the same signals.6 min read
- Article“Improve strength” is not a goal: F.O.C.U.S. and goals that survive the meetingFunction is not a style preference in goal writing. It is what makes the goal defensible. The five questions a functional goal answers, the F.O.C.U.S. quick check, and examples from all seven settings.6 min read
- Case study · Early interventionNot yet pulling to stand: a worked early intervention home visitAn 18-month-old referred for gross motor delay, and how BRAIN and PARTNER turn the hour from a clinic session into a coaching plan the family can run all week.BRAIN™ + PARTNER™9 min read
- Case study · School-basedAlways last to class: a worked school-based PT caseA third grader who is slow and unsafe in hallway and stair transitions, and how ACCESS decides what belongs in school PT while MAPS writes an IEP goal that holds up.ACCESS™ + MAPS™9 min read
- Article5 Things Every Peds PT Should Know Before Session OneA quick-reference checklist for your first pediatric session: rapport before assessment, function over impairment, and the red flags to know cold.2 min read