Advanced Educational Opportunities for ALF Therapists

Advanced Level Age Specific Hands-On Courses

The ALF: Elevate Courses have been designed to support the more experienced ALF Therapy provider as they navigate the obstacles and opportunities of treating each age group.

Continued Education Credit Offered

Advanced Level Age Specific Hands-On Courses

Providers will be awarded 20 hours of CE credit for their active participation in each of the ALF Elevate series of courses

Considerations and Prerequisites

Speaking a common language

Participants should consider their level of familiarity with the ALF Family of appliances and understanding of the core curriculum offered through The Synergy Academy and Dr. Nordstrom's principles as they consider registering for this advanced level course.

Fast-pased content delivery

This course is designed to meet the needs of the more experienced provider.

The basics of ALF design will be covered as a review as they apply to the more compex cases and real-world situations. Instruction not will be provided at the beginner level to allow for a more customized learning experience suited to the needs of the providers who have previously completed ALF Evolution or similar courses.

Hybrid course design for continued educational opportunities

The Synergy Academy curiculum is designed to allow providers to maximize their time away from their offices and family by concentrating the hands-on portion of a very comprehensive learning experience into 20 hours of live instruction followed by over 100 hours of available on-demand material.

The amount of knowledge and experience that is often required to address the needs of a complex patient often requires a dedication to self-guided learning that allows for the individual needs of the provider and their patient population. A hybrid curriculum allows for the best of both worlds with an intense hands-on and virtual learning opportunity to prepare each provider for the many varied patient experiences and phenotypes that they might encounter in their clinical practice.

The use of the online learning management system is highly recommended to continue the learning experience and is available for 12 months from the completion of the live course.

Treating "The Littles"

Genesis: Elevate

Thie Genesis: Elevate course will cover the concepts of neurodevelopment based on the maturation of the swallow in the 0-5 population.

The OraLase and BabyLase techniques will be instructed as critical compnent to care in the 0-2 population. By providing the opportunity to optogenetically neuromodulate (e.g. change the relationship between brain and body through the miracle of light), we can give our littles the best opportunity to develop a more ideal swallowing pattern to sustain both physical and neurological organic and natural growth.

*the OraLase/BabyLase training offered in the Genesis: Elevate Course will be limited to the pediatric population and will exclude content on treating the complex adult patient

**Multiple case studies will be discussed and providers will be encouraged to share their cases with the course participants to enhance this comprehensive learning experience

Instruction will be offered on the use of the ALF Therapy family of Appliances dedicated to the 0-5 age group including the

NeoNatal ALF
Pedo ALF
Pedo Class 3 ALF
Wavey wire ALF for mandibular development

The proper use of the many auxillaries used to optimize care will be discussed including:

Spinner beads
Anterior Bite planes (One piece with lateral loops and Split at midline with spinner bead)
Omni coverage

Providing awarenss of the beneficial use of Plugs ins and Add ons including:

the WOPAT
the Myomunchee series of devices
Thumb sucking cessation programs

Treating "The Middles"

GROW: Elevate

The GROW: Elevate course will instruct on the concepts of development based on the maturation of the swallow and the effects of neurological and craniofacial vectors on the oral neuromyofunctional complex in the patients ages 6-11. In addition, participants will be introduced to the concepts of OraLase as an opportunity to optogenetically neuromodulate (e.g. change the relationship between brain and body through the miracle of light)

*Participation in a more comprehensive training program will be recommended prior to providers offering OraLase Therapy for their patients.

*The GROW: Elevate Course content will exclude instruction on BabyLase

**Multiple case studies will be discussed and providers will be encouraged to share their cases with the course participants to enhance this comprehensive learning experience

Instruction will be provided on the ALF Therapy family of Appliances including:

Pedo ALF
Pedo Class 3 ALF
ALF for Development
M style Wavey wire ALF for mandibular development
Auxillaries
Spinner beads
Anterior bite planes Including: One piece with lateral loops, & split at midline with spinner bead)
Omni coverage

Additional training will be provided on the utilization of ALF Plugs ins and Add ons including:

The WOPAT
Myomunchee devices (as an adjunct to ALF Therapy)
Thumb sucking cessation programs

Treating those with complex compensations (aka "The Big's)

Guide: Elevate

The Guide: Elevate course will cover the challenges of guiding the patient back to a more ideal pattern of function after the majority of the active phase of craiofacial growth has been completed. In addition to instruction on the use of the ALF family of Appliances appropriate for the 12+ population, the concepts of OraLase as an opportunity to optogenetically neuromodulate (e.g. change the relationship between brain and body through the miracle of light) will be introduced as an invaluable tool in addressing the unique needs of the patients who are 12 and older.

*Participation in a more comprehensive training program will be recommended prior to providers offering OraLase Therapy for their patients.

*The Guide: Elevate Course content will exclude instruction on BabyLase

**Multiple case studies will be discussed and providers will be encouraged to share their cases with the course participants to enhance this comprehensive learning experience

This course will include instruction on the ALF Therapy family of Appliances including:

ALF for Trauma Release
ALF for Development
Stealth ALF
Wavey wire ALF for mandibular development
Auxillaries
Anterior Bite planes (split at midline as well as one piece with lateral loops)
Omni designs
Cranially compatable dorsal mandibular advancement devices based on Dr. Nordstrom's designs used for both neuromodulation and structural sleep support

The use of Plugs ins and Add ons will include discussions on the use of the:

NLA designs
WOPAT
Nordic Positioner for a myofunctional assist, sleep support/dopamine production and individual tooth positioning as a finishing tool