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Browse PlansAshlea D. Cardin
OTD, OTR/L, BCP
Dr. Ashlea Cardin is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy at Missouri State University in Springfield, MO. She is also a practicing neonatal occupational therapist, having over 16 years' experience in a Level III NICU at Mercy Children's Hospital, Springfield, MO. Dr. Cardin is Board Certified in Pediatrics through the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), was awarded the Neonatal Developmental Care Specialist Designation from the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) and is a licensed NOMAS(R) infant feeding professional.
Dr. Cardin holds a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN; a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training from Missouri State University.
During her career, Dr. Cardin has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally, nationally, and regionally on a multitude of neonatal topics, including infant and parent occupational performance in the NICU, developmentally supportive caregiving, infant feeding, parenting and family participation, evidence-based NICU practice, sensory, motor, and neurobehavioral development, the role of family advisory boards in care, and cultural competence in the NICU.
Courses with Ashlea D. Cardin
Browse Course CatalogUse of the PEOP Model to Guide OT Intervention in the NICU
Presented by Ashlea D. Cardin, OTD, OTR/L, BCP
Use of the PEOP Model to Guide OT Intervention in the NICU
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As members of multidisciplinary healthcare teams in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), occupational therapists are expected to practice in a way that ensures therapeutic interaction is evidence-based, family-centered, and neurodevelopmentally supportive. However, these guidelines are not exclusive to occupational therapists; current best-practice suggests other professional disciplines practice accordingly. So what unique skill set do occupational therapists bring to the care of infants and families in the NICU? This course seeks to answer this relevant question, exploring the evolution of practice and idea of occupation-based practice in the NICU. Serving as frameworks for occupation-based practice, the PEOP Model and PEOP Process are explicated as potential guides to neonatal occupational therapy assessment, intervention, and outcomes measurement.
Feeding as Co-occupation in the NICU Setting
Presented by Ashlea D. Cardin, OTD, OTR/L, BCP
Feeding as Co-occupation in the NICU Setting
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and patient education—anytime, anywhere—with video instruction from
recognized industry experts.
Occupational therapy practice is rooted in supporting a person's participation in valued activities of daily life. Accordingly, our expertise in this area lends itself to the facilitation of meaningful and skillful feeding and eating experiences across the lifespan. Within the NICU context and environment, feeding is much more than the infant's nutritional intake or development of oral motor skill. Feeding is richly and uniquely contexted; there are temporal features, spatial considerations, sociocultural conditions, and shared aspects of the experience. The purpose of this course is to examine the shared, interactive aspects of infant-caregiver feeding. A discussion of the occupational science concept co-occupation is presented and applied to NICU practice. Neonatal occupational therapists will be challenged to view feeding through a co-occupation "lens" and consider how this lens affects feeding at infant, caregiver, and community levels.
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