Paediatric Bowel and Bladder Therapy for Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists

Updated: Oct 20, 2022

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Dawn Sandalcidi

PT, RCMT, BCB-PMD

Physical Therapist specializing in Constipation and incontinence in kids

It is possible to have been a therapists for 30+ years, worked with hundreds, if not thousands of kids and have completely missed a glaring piece of the puzzle that was hidden in plane sight. That’s how I felt dipping into Dawn Sandalcidis’ world of children's bowel and bladder issues. Guilty that I hadn’t paid enough attention to the conversation with parents about their kids constipation, fascinated about how much there was to know about this most basic human function and excited about what we could do as therapists to make significant impacts in the lives and well-being of the kids who cross out paths if we just pay attention and ask the right questions.

Dawn Sandalcadi is known as a trail blazer in this areas of kids bowel and bladder. She is that and so much more. I think we squeezed more into this interview than any other interview I’ve done. More questions, more diagnoses, more practical tips, insights and inspiration - Dawn seems to make the impossibly complex simple and doable. I know you are going to gain so much from listening to this interview!

Enjoy!

For handy links to things we've discussed in this interview, scroll down to the Resources Section at the bottom of the page.

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Podcast Highlights

Time Stamps in green

03:50 minutes- Getting into pelvic floor therapy
8:07 minutes- Going back to basics
08:47 minutes- Finding the pelvic floor
10:05 minutes- Constipation
11:51 minutes- Constipation Tips
13:14 minutes- Constipation Red flags
- Frequent urination
- Stomach aches
- DRA above the belly button
- Wide rib angle
- Loose clothing
15:43 minutes- Developing continence
17:17 minutes- Quick test for rib flaring
18:13 minutes- Alignment and it's importance in constipation and bed wetting
20:47 minutes- CP and spina bifida basics
24:45 minutes- Bed wetting
31:09 minutes- The psychological impact of urinary and fecal leakage
35:13 minutes- Shame and blame
36:10 minutes- Parent Guilt
Questions
38:30 minutes- Supplements
39:28 minutes- Losing continence in CP
39:58 minutes- Constipation and CP
43:24 minutes- Bladder and Bowel control in CP
44:24 minutes- When are children expected to be continent?
44:59 minutes- Autism
47:21 minutes- Toe-walking and tethered cord
48:00 minutes- ADHD and sitting on the toilet
51:04 minutes- Suppositories and Enemas
52:10 minutes- Constipation Carousel
53:05 minutes- Top Down, Bottom Up
54:44 minutes- NEC
59:22 minutes- Rectal prolapses
1:01:33 minutes- Toileting and wearable garments
1:04:04 minutes- Elastic Therapeutic Tape
Wrap UP
1:05:05 minutes- Biggest Mistake
1:05:28 minutes- Biggest frustration
1:09:13 minutes- Best advice for new therapists in paeds
1:10:13 minutes- Extras
1:11:00 minutes- Time management secrets
1:12:36 minutes- Courses
1:15:26 minutes- FB group