DPT-815: Rehabilitation Through the Lifespan and Special Populations

Credits 3
Academic Level
DPT

Rehab Across the Lifespan and Special Populations will prepare physical therapy students to assess and manage movement dysfunction in pediatric, adult, geriatric, and specialized populations. Building on foundations in development and motor control, the course emphasizes clinical reasoning, evidence-based practice, and patient-centered care models. The pediatric component highlights developmental biomechanics, muscle and skeletal growth, and the recognition of diagnoses such as cerebral palsy and other common neurological disorders. Students will learn family-centered models of care, standardized testing, treatment models, and the role of PT in the NICU, school-based, and community environments, with attention to ethical responsibilities including mandatory reporting. The geriatric section examines biological and psychosocial aging, age-related physiological changes, and the use of validated assessment tools for cognition, mood, nutrition, and function. Topics also include polypharmacy, elder abuse, advanced directives, and integration of palliative and hospice care into physical therapy management. Additional emphasis is placed on pelvic health, including anatomy, biomechanics, and management of incontinence, pelvic pain, and pregnancy-related dysfunction, reinforced through case-based simulation. Students will also explore management strategies for unique special populations such as military populations. The ICF model and task-oriented frameworks guide examination and intervention across all populations. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to provide comprehensive, evidence-based rehabilitation across the lifespan.