{"id":5124,"date":"2015-07-17T10:06:21","date_gmt":"2015-07-17T16:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/?p=5124"},"modified":"2019-01-31T10:07:27","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T16:07:27","slug":"tweddle-works-as-physical-therapy-research-lab-assistant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/2015\/07\/17\/tweddle-works-as-physical-therapy-research-lab-assistant\/","title":{"rendered":"Tweddle Works as Physical Therapy Research Lab Assistant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rising junior exercise science and Spanish major Morgan Tweddle has spent the last two months shadowing three Ph.D. candidates\u00a0for the School of Kinesiology at Texas A&M as a lab assistant, aiding in data collection and gaining experience in the field she hopes to\u00a0join.<\/p>\n

Tweddle\u2019s main focus\u00a0has been an\u00a0infant intervention called \u201ctummy time,\u201d an\u00a0intentional placing of an infant on their stomach during play time that\u00a0has been proven to build core muscles, allowing infants to explore their surroundings sooner and begin their cognitive development. In the candidates\u2019 study, the researchers\u00a0looked specifically at the effects of tummy time on infants with Down Syndrome. Tweddle\u00a0collected data and evaluated the babies\u2019 developmental progress.<\/p>\n

The researchers\u00a0used\u00a0two motor tests, the Bayley and the Peabody, taken monthly to measure the infant\u2019s development. The tests take each child through a series of different skill sets and movements, and the baby\u2019s progress is scored based on their results. A\u00a0previous study\u00a0found average scores of infants with and without Down Syndrome\u00a0without the\u00a0use of tummy time. There was a profound gap between the progression of the infants \u2013 tummy time is intended to close that gap.<\/div>\n
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Tweddle\u00a0and her team used the previous study for comparison purposes as they added the prescribed 90-minute\/day tummy time regimen to a group of babies with and without Down Syndrome. Tweddle\u00a0explained that\u00a0the results indicate \u201cthe infants with Down Syndrome who have tummy time are remaining at the same developmental level as those without\u00a0for a longer period of time before there is a gap in their development.\u201d Therefore, with tummy time, the developmental gap is much smaller.<\/div>\n
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Seeing the impact of these results, Tweddle\u00a0said she now understands\u00a0the importance of her work.\u00a0\u201cOur most exciting example of this\u00a0was\u00a0a baby we worked with who has Down Syndrome who started walking at 16 months \u2013 the national average is 24 months! It was incredible. Now that he can walk, explore his surroundings and continue his cognitive and social development, he can live life more fully,\u201d she said.<\/div>\n
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It was through Belmont\u2019s Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Medical Honor Society that Tweddle\u00a0first heard of the opportunity and was chosen through an application in the spring\u00a0semester. \u201cThrough my job at the gym, I went in comfortable with resume writing and interview processes, both of which I think helped me to secure a position there at all,\u201d she said. Tweddle\u00a0is a personal trainer and yoga instructor at Belmont\u2019s Fitness and Recreation Center, both of which, she says, are\u00a0similar to the personal interaction and movements necessary to be a successful physical therapist.<\/div>\n
One of Tweedle\u2019s favorite parts of the program was the day spent at the Texas State Special Olympics to provide health screenings for athletes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Post graduation, Tweddle\u00a0plans to attend physical therapy school to obtain both a Doctor of Physical Therapy, allowing her\u00a0to practice in a clinical setting, and a Ph.D., allowing her\u00a0to conduct research and teach. Tweddle\u00a0explained that this opportunity gave her new excitement for her\u00a0future goals. \u201cI am a planner, and this gave me a look at one of the possible roads I can take. God led me to this opportunity, and it is exciting to see His plan for me starting to unfold,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rising junior exercise science and Spanish major Morgan Tweddle has spent the last two months shadowing three Ph.D. candidates\u00a0for the School of Kinesiology at Texas A&M as a lab assistant, aiding in data collection and gaining experience in the field … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exercise-science","category-chs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5125,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5124\/revisions\/5125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forum.belmont.edu\/health\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}