Name that reflex!
Sudden dropping of the head into a few degrees of extension triggers sudden abduction and extension of the upper extremities, followed by flexion and adduction. What reflex is this?
Moro Reflex
During a forward balance disturbance where a patient uses an ankle strategy, what is the exact muscle activation sequence from first to last?
Gastrocnemius fires first, followed by Hamstrings, then Paraspinals (Distal-to-Proximal)
A child with spina bifida presents with a sudden onset of progressive scoliosis, increased spasticity in the lower extremities, and a change in gait. What condition do you suspect?
Tethered Spinal Cord Syndrome
During the initial stage of motor learning, a patient requires high cognitive demand, exhibits frequent errors, and relies heavily on visual feedback. What stage of learning is this?
The Cognitive Stage of motor learning
You are treating a pediatric patient who is highly defensive and hyperreactive to sensory stimulation. To produce a calming effect, decrease arousal, and achieve generalized inhibition of their tone, what specific handling intervention should you select?
Slow vestibular stimulation (such as slow rocking, slow movements on a ball, or a rocking chair).
Placing an infant in the supine position increases overall extensor tone, while placing them in prone increases overall flexor tone. What reflex governs this pattern?
Tonic Labyrinthine Reflex (TLR)
When a perturbation is too large for an ankle or hip strategy to recover balance, what specific strategy must the patient use to prevent a fall?
Stepping Strategy (or Change-of-Support Strategy)
What type of orthotic is designed specifically to allow a child with a mid-thoracic myelomeningocele (Spina Bifida) to stand hands-free by stabilizing the hips, knees, and ankles simultaneously?
Parapodium (or HKAFO)
When a PTA provides feedback to a patient only when their performance falls outside a pre-determined, acceptable margin of error, what type of feedback schedule is being used?
Bandwidth Feedback
A patient with severe lower extremity ataxia is performing standing balance activities but moves too rapidly and unpredictably to maintain safety. What is the BEST intervention to naturally slow down their ataxic movements and increase joint awareness?
Use weights to apply proprioceptive loading to the affected segments
If an infant's ATNR fails to integrate, what vital upper extremity functional skill will be severely delayed or disrupted?
Bilateral hand bringing to midline (or hand-eye coordination/reaching)
A patient is practicing a transfer. If they block out all sensory feedback during the movement and evaluate their performance only after the transfer is complete, what type of feedback processing are they demonstrating?
Knowledge of Results (KR)
Children with Down Syndrome frequently present with structural foot deviations due to hypotonia. What are the two most common foot posture impairments seen in this population?
Pes planus (flat feet) and calcaneal valgus
During observation of a patient with hemiplegia, you notice they lean their trunk heavily toward the weak, stance-phase limb to compensate for profound hip abductor weakness. What is the name of this gait deviation?
Trendelenburg Gait (or lateral trunk lean)
To challenge a patient's somatosensory system and force them to make continuous, rapid postural adjustments during balance training, what specific environmental progression should the PTA choose?
Move the patient from a non-compliant surface (like tile) to a compliant/varied surface (like carpet, foam, or a stability board)
Stroking the infant's cheek causes them to turn their head toward that side and open their mouth. What is this reflex?
Rooting Reflex
What specific stage of motor control is defined as the ability to maintain a steady, weight-bearing posture against gravity, such as holding a quiet, static side-sitting position?
Stability (or Postural Control)
A PTA is working with a child who has Athetoid Cerebral Palsy. Describe the classic, involuntary movement patterns you expect to observe during functional tasks.
Slow, writhing, involuntary movements, particularly in the distal extremities
A child with spastic diplegia demonstrates a gait pattern characterized by excessive hip flexion, adduction, internal rotation, and knee flexion. What is the common clinical term for this gait style?
Crouched Gait (or Scissoring Gait)
A patient is struggling to activate their postural extensors and lacks co-contraction around their proximal joints for stability. What manual or weight-bearing strategy should the PTA select to stimulate the joint receptors (GTOs and muscle spindles) to improve this proximal stability?
Joint compression or Approximation.
Pressure applied to the ball of an infant's foot causes automatic flexion of all the toes. What is this reflex, and by what age does it typically integrate?
Plantar Grasp Reflex; integrates by 9 months
A PTA blocks a practice session so a patient performs 50 continuous repetitions of a supine-to-sit transfer without interruption. What type of practice schedule is this, and what stage of motor learning is it best for?
Blocked Practice; best for the Cognitive Stage of learning
When managing a child with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy, which two lower extremity muscle groups are most prone to developing severe flexion contractures?
The Hamstrings and Hip Flexors (as well as the Gastrocnemius/heel cords)
What type of feedback is provided by an external source (like a PTA saying "you didn't clear your foot") that references the specific movement characteristics or mechanics of the task performed?
Knowledge of Performance (KP)
You are progressing a patient through functional balance training for floor-to-standing transitions, what is the best sequential order of postures to teach them with them starting in long sitting on floor.
Side sit > Quadruped > Kneeling > Half-kneeling > Standing.