Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 49 ual Special Olympics’ athletes and provide them and their caregivers with valuable information. We then took our newly gained skills and brought them back to Tampa, where we would review the protocol with the lab as- sistants and teach the students the tests and measures. To make the screenings possible and beneficial to all involved, we en- listed the help of our first- and third-year D.P.T. students as part of their Exercise Physiology and Pediatric courses, respectively. The plan was to allow the third-year students to serve as mentors to the first-year class. This provided us with 84 students, in addition to 6 licensed physical ther- apists, to oversee the first of two screenings to be performed at the Tampa Campus. Our students and physical therapists took the participants through a va- riety of tests and measures used commonly in physical therapy at four workstations—flexibility, strength, balance, and aerobic capacity. To assess flexibility at the hip, knee, ankle, and shoulder, the following measurements were taken—supine passive knee extension (popliteal angle), supine (pas- sive) ankle dorsiflexion, modified Thomas test, and modified Apley’s test. To assess strength, the 10-time sit-to-stand test, partial sit-ups, seated push-up, and grip strength measured by a hand dynamometer were used. Balance was measured using a single-leg stance (eyes open/eyes closed) test and the Functional Reach Test. Lastly, aerobic fitness was measured with a two-minute step test or a five-minute wheeled test for a person using a wheelchair or an individual not able to functionally step for two minutes. The fifth and final station dealt with education. At this station, the stu- dents—under the guidance of the supervising physical therapist—made a plan. The family and/or coaches and participants were instructed in indi- vidualized activities to promote fitness and improve function for the partic- ipant. These decisions were made based on how they physically performed at each station related to national norms in combination with the feedback received from the family/coaches regarding their current activity levels in each fitness area. Additionally, in some cases, a recommendation for phys- ical therapy was made to address any functional deficits that were deemed appropriate for therapy. Our first large-scale screening took place on September 19, and the nervous energy in our department was palpable. Students wondered if they had enough time to prepare, learn, and practice the various tests, the Special Olympics folks wondered how many of the athletes and their care- givers would show up for their appointments, and our supervising physical therapists considered exactly how much guidance would be needed. Of course, Dr. Galley and I, who were the clinical directors, wondered about all this and more. The end result? Thirty-six individuals were screened and given individual recommendations for their fitness. This proved to be a positive, beneficial, and rewarding experience for the participants with disabilities as well as for the students, clinicians, and faculty members that engaged in the event. We were all challenged by the various levels of cognitive and physical abil- ities of the participants, yet rewarded by the response from the families and coaches. One parent took the time to write to us afterward to express his gratitude over the extremely “positive experience,” stating he had not experienced that kind of “caring and professionalism” in a long time. Similarly, third-year students conveyed how this experience built up their confidence in their clinical skills and how much they enjoyed being able to supervise the first- year students. According to Bradley Connell, a third-year D.P.T. student, the experience was quite unique. “My group and I quickly learned that things don’t work out exactly as planned,” he explained. “Our patient was severely disabled to the point of being unable to communicate, so he was unable to follow directions very well. Our plans to take him from station to station and give feedback very quickly changed to assess what we can, maintain his attention, and help modulate his behavior. We learned you must adapt to the situation and what the patient is willing to do for you.” The participating students felt they had done something service-based and were proud to be a part of something so beneficial to this specialized population. According to Courtney Auspitz, a first-year student, “It was an honor and privilege to have worked with prospective Special Olympic ath- letes. I gained much more than knowledge from this experience; I gained an appreciation for the organization and the athletes themselves,” she said. “To see the joy such accomplishments brought the athlete filled my heart and enhanced my desire to continue working with patients of this caliber. Our experience with FUNfitness reinforced my dream of being a pediatric physical therapist.” The FUNfitness experience thus brought together individuals from within and external to the NSU community for the common goal of promoting fit- ness for a special-needs population. In total, 36 special-needs participants, 84 students, 6 physical therapist supervisors, and 5 organizers worked to- gether to make FUNfitness a reality.