Motor Development Lab
The mission of the Motor Development Lab is to investigate the development of motor control and coordination in infants and young children with and without disabilities as well as the impact of physical therapy treatment on motor and cognitive development. The laboratory is located in the VCU Department of Physical Therapy and encompasses 300 square feet dedicated to the assessment of infants and children. The Motor Development Lab includes equipment and space for biomechanical, behavioral and clinical research assessments.
About the Lab
- Video processing and behavioral coding computers
- Motion Monitor System: for recording, synchronizing and analyzing data
Current Projects
The purpose of this multi-site RCT is to evaluate the efficacy of Supporting Play Exploration and Developmental Intervention for infants born preterm. This proposal will evaluate efficacy in a cohort al born less than 29 weeks of gestation and compare the efficacy of the intervention started in the NICU or 3 months later.
Collaborative sites: Virginia Commonwealth University/Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU including Physical Therapy, Biostatistics, Neonatology, Neurology and University of Virginia Neonatology and Developmental Pediatrics
NIH Formal title: Efficacy of Motor and Cognitive Intervention for Infants Born Preterm; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03518736.
Funding source: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.
Projects and Training Grants
The overarching goal of Project 3IP is to increase the quantity, quality and capacity of interdisciplinary early intervention personnel in order to improve the learning and developmental outcomes of infants and young children with significant disabilities. Project 3IP, is a collaboration between the School of Education, Physical Therapy Department, Pediatrics Department, Partnership for People with Disabilities, and community partners.
ITIP is an interdisciplinary program, drawing on the resources and expertise from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Departments of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, and Longwood University’s Communication Sciences and Disorder’s program. ITIP is focused on preparing occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech and language pathology students to develop shared competencies in interdisciplinary practice and skills as change agents to build capacity of school personnel to improve outcomes for children with disabilities.
Three years of personnel preparation: during their interdisciplinary training year, their clinical year, and their mentorship year (first year of practice) in school settings.
Funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education, U.S. Department of Education.
This Virginia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program is committed to the preparation of health professionals including graduate students, family members of children with disabilities, and practicing health professionals by enhancing interdisciplinary education in leadership and advocacy.
Disciplines represent: Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Genetic counseling, Nutrition, Pediatricians, Psychologists, Nursing, Special Education, Social workers, Audiology, family mentors, and self-advocacy specialists.
People
Collaborators
- Sally Westcott McCoy, PT, PhD - University of Washington, Department of Physical Therapy
Former Graduate Students and Post-doctoral Fellows
- Tanya Tripathi, PhD - Post-doctoral Fellow at Ohio State University
Current Students and Staff
Becky Molinini, DPT - PhD student REMS Program
B.A. Physical Education and Health, Concentration: Exercise Science, University of North Carolina a Wilmington, 2006
DPT, Doctor Physical Therapy, University of South Carolina, 2010
Becky has been working with children as a Physical Therapist in the Early Intervention setting for the past 8 years. She began working on her PhD in May 2018 with the long term goal of teaching and performing research on a physical therapy faculty after graduating. Her research interests focus on the relationship between a therapist and both the parent and child as well as the provision of direct physical therapy services in an early intervention setting. Her role in the Motor Development Lab is to assist with data collection on START-Play, data coding of the Early Problem Solving Indicator (EPSI) and to be an interventionist on SPEEDI2.