Vanderbilt University Spasticity Management Program Evaluation Plan

People with severe developmental disabilities frequently have comorbidities that make providing care to them more difficult. Spasticity is one such comorbidity. It produces increased muscle tone that can cause stiffness in joints and bodily contortions that can interfere with all of the major types of care provided to participants. Typically, care areas include splinting, hygiene, dressing, transfers, positioning, ambulation, and engaging in other functional activities. Moreover, persons with spasticity often experience pain. Typically, spasticity is managed by health care providers using a combination of the following therapies: * Physical / occupational therapy (PT / OT) * Oral medication * Botox injections * Intrathecal baclofen administered by the Medtronic SyncroMed pump (ITB) * Orthopedic / neurological surgery