TheraTogs Research for Pediatric Occupational and Physical Therapists

There are many brilliant and passionate therapists in our world of neuromotor development, but few come close to Beverly Cusick in their ability to shape the lives of the children we see. I mean that both at the most pragmatic level where Billi’s teaching of serial casting and orthotic prescription has literally shaped thousands of feet for the better, and her brilliance in developing TheraTogs has contributed to the improved alignment and development of a thousand more little bodies. But I also mean this as a more theoretical level where Billi relentless drive to make sense of the science as it relates to growing bodies and her pedantic attention to detail has given us the most impactful tools in our therapy toolbox to really understand, measure and monitor the work that we do reliably, repeatably and meaningfully. For me this is the essence of evidence based practice, especially in our world of complex, multi-faceted, ever changing little bodies.

For the longest time, the research into the effectiveness of TheraTogs has not matched the interest and value that therapist who use it properly see in their day to day practice. Recently however, a few papers have been published that are starting to get closer to capturing these therapeutic benefits that clinicians’ have been excited about for years. I sat down with Billi to discuss why previous research has failed to capture our experiences and what’s different about this new research that may change the narrative - because evidence based practice shouldn’t be about quoting publications, but critically appraising the research and demanding that it reflects the true nature of the work we do.

for resources and more discussed in this interview visit https://www.wiredondevelopment.com