Plagiocephaly has historically been thought of as a benign, cosmetic issue. 

But, the seminal study we are looking at during this 1-hour course indicates that severe to moderate skull deformity may be best understood as a biomarker for developmental vulnerability. As we’ll see, moderate to severe skull deformity was linked with lower cognitive and academic outcomes, when the children reached school age. 

It is critical to understand that this does not mean that plagiocephaly causes developmental delay. But, given the results of this study, developmental assessment, monitoring, and intervention is recommended for children moderate to severe plagiocephaly. After we break down this article for you, we’ll be joined by Amirra Condelee, OTD, OTR/L to discuss the implications for OTs who work with infants—and our role in our communities and families now that we understand the importance of this biomarker.

In order to earn credit for this course, you must take the test within the OT Potential Club.

You can find more details on this course here:
https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/ot-plagiocephaly-cognitive-outcomes

Here's the primary research we are discussing:
Collett, B. R., Wallace, E. R., Kartin, D., Cunningham, M. L., & Speltz, M. L. (2019). Cognitive Outcomes and Positional Plagiocephaly. Pediatrics, 143(2), e20182373. 

Support the show