Wired On Development: A "Knowledge Hub"

This is where PT's and OT's passionate about pediatrics go to for current research on evidence based practice.   Parents, you can access some of research by joining the WiredONdevelopment facebook page and group at https://www.facebook.com/WiredOnDevelopment/

WiredONdevelopment Podcasts are open to therapists and parents at https://www.wiredondevelopment.com/ 

• Are you a parent overwhelmed with sifting through the internet to find the best resources for your non typical child?

• Are you a pediatric therapist stressed out with balancing a clinical workload and staying up to date on evidence based practice?

Ta-dah! wiredONdevelopment offers a solution.

In my opinion, wiredONdevelopment provides a valuable resource in the niche of neuromotor rehabilitation and childhood disability. It bridges the gap providing evidence based practice and current research to both parents and clinicians. As well as providing a platform for physical and occupational therapists from around the world to collaborate and learn from each other through technology. I must admit I was somewhat hesitant to use video conferencing technology but my interaction with this group has certainly brought me up to speed. This is good practice and a skill which I am sure will help me in the future.

WiredONdevelopment is the brainchild of Mindy Silva, a pediatric physical therapist and tech guru, living in New Zealand. You can listen to our chat as we dive into the origin story on the Raising Kellan Podcast.

Mindy Silva PT PhD

WiredONdevelopment has a public facebook page, a private facebook group and podcasts. Parents and therapists are invited to join at https://www.wiredondevelopment.com/home

The Wired Collective is an upper tier premium paid membership. It opens twice a year and invites licensed physical and occupational therapists to collaborate, network and learn. This is the link to the waiting list.

I want to encourage therapists leaning towards a pediatric concentration to consider the Collective. It is a place where you can consolidate the theory you learnt at school and apply it to clinical practice, with your peers and under the mentorship/coaching of skilled master clinicians. It is a platform that encourages positivity, creativity. In my case it holds me accountable to a high standard in delivering excellence in pediatric care and keeps me up to date through social media. Now that is priceless!

Transcript

Marsh Naidoo (00:23):

Welcome to this episode of Raising Kien, the podcast to motivate, inspire, and educate parents, raising kids with special needs. I am your host, Marsh Naidoo. Today I'm sitting down to chat with Mindy Silva. Mindy is Founder of Wired on Development. Welcome to the show, Mindy.

Mindy Silva (00:50):

Thanks Marsh.

Marsh Naidoo (00:52):

Mindy, what exactly is wired on development?

Mindy Silva (00:56):

There's two parts to it. There's the podcasts, which are really about interviewing clinicians or experts in the field of pediatric rehabilitation, and then there's the Facebook page and the Facebook group, which is more about just sharing current research and really having conversations around how we apply that research to our clinical practice. It's really about recognizing and celebrating the clinicians in our field.

Marsh Naidoo (01:32):

Mindy, as a pediatric therapist, what sets you on the trajectory of forming wired on development? What was your motivation?

Mindy Silva (01:41):

It started when it was actually Billi Cusick who put me on this trajectory. We were doing. She was coming to New Zealand to do a course and I wanted to find out a little bit more about her before I paid for the course. And at the time I was listening to a lot of podcasts and I thought it would be quite easy just to find a podcast of her sort of sharing a bit of what she does and I couldn't find anything. So that was pretty interesting and I decided I would just start my own. She was very, very open to being my first therapist that I interviewed and we had a great conversation and it just was so much fun. I just decided that I would just do more of it. And at the time I was also wanting to get a little bit more tech savvy and so it was a bit of a personal project just to be tech savvy and then just to capture the voice of those clinicians that we get so much value from that sometimes it's not always that easy to access when you don't stay somewhere central in the states where all those courses are really available.

(02:55):

So I'm in New Zealand and I come from a big city in Johannesburg, South Africa where it was really easy to access continued education and have those clinical conversations and moving to a small town in New Zealand, I realized actually after I Billi's course that I had been really isolated and I hadn't really minded it so much, but just kind of doing's course and doing the interview with her kind of just solid a fire for me about capturing those conversations and having them.

Marsh Naidoo (03:34):

Mindy, how does a South African-trained therapist find themselves in New Zealand?

Mindy Silva (03:41):

<laugh>? So I won't get into the politics Marsh. I was leaving. It was a difficult decision and a big move. I'm not a traveler, I'm not a big world explorer, like to sort be at home and stay in one place. But at the time, about 10 years ago, we kind of felt it was the best move for our family. We started looking for options of where we could move and there was a job offer in Nelson, New Zealand. I accepted it and here I am.

Marsh Naidoo (04:09):

Well Mindy. I think both of us are in a similar situation. I'm also a South African chain therapist and we've decided to settle in the States as well more so after Kellan's birth. So I mean, I'm always in awe of therapists that move around the world and are able to find employment in different countries. I mean, that talks about the kind of mobility that we have as therapists.

Mindy Silva (04:41):

Absolutely. It served me very well as well. I spent a year in New York actually working as a physio about two years after I qualified. So that was fun.

Marsh Naidoo (04:53):

As a pediatrics therapist or just as a travel therapist? Mindy?

Mindy Silva (04:57):

No, just as a general therapist, but I worked with a couple of kids that really well. I was always interested in doing pediatrics, but there was a child, there was cerebral palsy that I worked with that sparked my passion.

Marsh Naidoo (05:15):

Mindy, for that therapist listening to us today, whether they knew into the field or just graduating or whether they're more established therapists and if they're interested in joining pediatrics, what advice would you give to them?

Mindy Silva (05:33):

Marsh, My background is as an NDT therapist and I strongly value the training and the experience that I got from going through the basic and then the advanced NDT modules. I think that there are a couple of other options nowadays where you can get a good pediatric grounding, but the thing I really liked about the NDT course was it gave you the whole picture so that you really understood how to analyze movement and what to do about what you were finding or what you were seeing. And I think that in the beginning, many years ago, I thought if you hadn't done your NDT, you probably weren't going to be a very good therapist. But I have since in my years, come across therapists who are really good that haven't done the NDT training, but they have that understanding that they've gained over the years. And I think the NDT training gives you that sort of package in a short period of time so that you don't have to spend all those years trying to gain that knowledge. You kind of just get it in a neat little package. So I would say do your NDT course.

Marsh Naidoo (06:54):

How long has wired on development been together for now?

Mindy Silva (06:59):

All years now, three or four years.

Marsh Naidoo (07:02):

You draw on therapists worldwide in what drives the therapist to wide on development or the collective.

Mindy Silva (07:13):

So I guess wired on development? The thing that I found most therapists that participate find they like the research that I share, so they like to keep on top of what's current and I just tend to share things that interest me. So whenever something catches my attention, I'll pop it onto the Facebook group. In terms of the podcasts, I find a lot of therapists are really inspired. I get therapists emailing me fairly frequently, sort of saying that they were finding they'd lost their passion, they were thinking of a career change, they were kind of just seeing their work as drudgery or just in the too hard basket because of all the restrictions or constraints around what they could and couldn't do as therapists and listening to the podcasts, listening to the expert clinicians, just talking about how they've developed their expertise, how they apply their therapy principals and what kind of results they're getting, just really seems to inspire therapists and get them motivated again to get back in the clinic and see the potential and the possibility with the kids that they work with

Marsh Naidoo (08:32):

Because that's not easy to lose that focus. Mindy, especially with the caseloads we carry as therapists and having to deal with indirect patient care, having to coordinate sometimes with insurance companies, that's often easy to get bogged down and burnt out. So by far, therapists have a caring nature and they really want to help, but sometimes it's easy to lose focus of that. So what I've got from, I mean the collective and wired on development has been invaluable to me. As you said, it kind of rekindles and sparks your fire to where you wanna learn more and you wanna to be quite honest, do more.

Mindy Silva (09:27):

I get that. So I guess Marsh, it's maybe a good idea just to differentiate between the wired on development and the collective. All right, so the Wired on Development is the podcast and the Facebook group, and then the Wide Collective then takes that upper level where that's a premium membership for therapists who to take their learning to the next level. It's only for registered pediatric physical and occupational therapists because the whole point of doing the membership was to be able to share clinical case studies, and so it needed to be therapists that were already answerable or registered with a governing body so that we were all kind of upheld to the same standard. And so it's only for pediatric PTs and OTs and in the Wired Collective we do a lot more mentoring, coaching, and getting together on a much more intimate level with clinical experts who can take the innovative practices and actually help us to apply that in our everyday work.

(10:44):

So it's much more pragmatic really. And I guess that if you're inspired by wider on development and inspired by all the research and all the possibilities and potential out there that you can do as a therapist to help your kids, then sometimes applying it in the practice becomes the next sort of friction point or stumbling block because it's quite hard to move from a busy practice where you're doing things in a certain way to bring in new and innovative techniques and really feel confident about using them. So the wide collective is about that. It's about building the confidence and taking the theoretical ideas and actually implementing them in a more practical way.

Marsh Naidoo (11:29):

So Mindy the parents that listen to our podcast, so would you encourage them to join Wide on Development?

Mindy Silva (11:40):

Oh, definitely. I have a lot of parents emailing me with such amazing stories about, I listened to this podcast and I took it to my therapist and we decided to try this approach and it's made such a difference. I've had fantastic stories about parents who really are fantastic advocates for their own kids and have a great working relationship with their therapists. And so they are empowered by the knowledge that they gain from being part of the Wired on development group and they can take that and then use it to really just try new things as well and see what works for their kids.

Marsh Naidoo (12:22):

The last podcast I listened to was Sarah Clayton. What I really liked about the podcast, Mindy, it was, is that she brought home the point, the importance of the parent-professional partnership. What was your take home from that podcast?

Mindy Silva (12:42):

So Sarah is a mom and she has worked in 24-hour postural management and she's a body symmetry specialist. The importance of really partnering with the parents to understand how to get the uptake of the program that you're trying to implement and understanding where the barriers on how to work with the parents, she was very inspiring to talk to. I have to say, always, I think always I get from the interviews and it's something that we have to remind ourselves of is that permission to try and experiment and perhaps get it wrong and then try something else and to not have all the answers, but to just have the confidence to keep going until you find what you need. That works.

Marsh Naidoo (13:36):

Mindy, what gets you up in the morning? What is your motivation?

Mindy Silva (13:41):

<laugh> the kids Marsh <laugh>, making sure that we're doing the best for the kids. I think I really get excited about pediatric therapy and about what we can do when we get it right, the potential we have to make a huge difference in people's lives. And I get really frustrated and sad about therapists who lose that inspiration and that motivation and just don't get that depth of what we can do and how much of a difference we can make.

Marsh Naidoo (14:28):

That's the truth, Mindy. It really is. I mean so much in those early years, we have such a role to play in that zero to five timeframe in my opinion that that's something we cannot lose focus on. I mean, it's not something where you can look up when your kid's 12 or 15 and say, Come on, let's do it. It's a gradual process, especially with a neuromotor involvement where it's years and years of trying to lay on skills and using one skill to build another. So I'm in total agreement with what you've just said, Mandy

Mindy Silva (15:14):

And think, I think the learning is so important that that's what motivates therapists. When you think and you think you have all the answers and you show up at work every day and you're doing the same thing every day, eventually you kinda lose the spark When you constantly learning and looking for new opportunities and new ways to do things and you have the confidence to just try different things in the clinic and see what difference it makes, that's that really brings the excitement back into your clinical practice. And the parents appreciate that as well because they know that it's no miracle cure and they're also just looking for somebody who, who's got that enthusiasm and excitement about just trying different approaches and finding something that's gonna make the difference.

Marsh Naidoo (16:16):

And I think knowing that everything that can be done is being done. Yeah. What's the goals and what's in store for wired on development for the new Year?

Mindy Silva (16:30):

The new year, so wide on development I've got a couple of people lined up that I'd like to interview but I have to be honest that it has taken a bit of a backseat to the PhD, which is needing to be finished at the end of, well, middle of next year. So I've really slowed down on the number of podcasts that I've done this year and probably for next year as well but I still have a few people that I will be bringing into interviews. So there will be a few more interviews coming out for 2020 for Wired on Development. So I guess the big goal for Wired on Development really is just to keep sharing the interesting stuff. I find as I'm doing my own research and just keep putting stuff out there for people to pay attention to be aware of and just kind of store somewhere in the memory banks that helps trigger something for them as they're going about their day to day practice for the Wide Collective.

(17:32):

I think my goal is to grow our membership because the more enthusiastic and connected therapists there are, the greater our voice as clinicians, I always say I truly value the academics and the research. I wouldn't be doing my PhD if I didn't, but I don't think clinicians get enough time in the sun or in the spotlight. And that clinical experience is so valuable and just supporting each other with what's really working in the clinic, how you improve your clinical skills, your clinical analysis, all that kind of stuff is really hard to get these days. You can get a lot of theory, but the practical on the math stuff is harder to get. And so my goal with Wide Collective is to find ways where we can use the internet to bring the theory into our practical day-to-day work.

Marsh Naidoo (18:38):

Mindy, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for sitting down and chatting with me. Before we go, I would like for you just to give us the resource to your Facebook page. Would you mind saying that for parents? And I will provide that as well on the raising org blog. How do parents find you on Facebook, Mindy?

Mindy Silva (19:05):

Yeah, so the Facebook, there's the wired on development page, which is wired on development exactly start as you say it. And then there's the Wired on Development group, and I saw somebody the other day said they weren't sure what the difference was between the two. I guess the Facebook page is more kind of where I just put the research and the group is a private group, so you have to be invited into the group, and that is more about actually having the conversations. So you'll find all the information, the research, everything that I share on the page, but we kind of tend to get into deeper conversations and have a little bit more fun connecting and forming a bit more of a community in the actual white on development group. So if they just look up groups on Facebook and type in white on development, they'll find both the group and the page and they just have to just say who they are and why they wanna join. And then they'll get an invite to join the group. But the page anybody can and follow.

Marsh Naidoo (20:18):

Mindy, on a personal note, I would like to say thank you so much for giving us a platform on which the, as therapist and parents we could, can learn from each other for actually being a role model and a mentor to me teaching me how to get comfortable with the tick <laugh> and absolutely learning more about your passion in pediatrics.

Mindy Silva (20:47):

It's been such a pleasure, Marsh. Thanks so much for inviting me and ask me to share my story. It's funny being on the other side of the interview,

Marsh Naidoo (20:54):

<laugh>, isn't it? All right, guys. Well, parents, we've come to the end of another podcast and until we see you again, remember always get to the top of your mountain. This is Marsh Naidoo signing out.