Making Movement Fun with Dr. Jennifer Hutton, Pediatric Physical Therapist

If your child has a disability, they very likely have a team of specialists that they work with - inside and outside of school. And like we've discussed on other episodes of the Empowered 2 Advocate Podcast, this can feel very overwhelming. Trying to know and remember who does what can feel like a full time job sometimes!

In this episode, Michelle and Dana Marie have the pleasure to chat with Dr. Jennifer Hutton (AKA Dr. J Pop!) who is a pediatric physical therapist and advocate. Dr. Hutton’s mission is to facilitate spaces of connection, accountability, constructive challenging of ideas, and community learning; helping others strengthen their voice and stance as changemakers in their workplaces and communities.

We dig in during this episode with an incredibly rich conversation touching on topics such as:

• What does a pediatric physical therapist do?

• What is the difference between a physical therapist and occupational therapist?
• What a typical PT session could look like for your child
• The importance of collaboration between school therapists and clinic based therapists
• The importance of bodily agency and consent for children
• Meeting children and families at accessible entry points for effective and impactful treatment

• Screening and assessment tools that physical therapists and occupational therapists utilize and recognizing the bias that is found in these assessments

• Why it is so important to you to incorporate joy and fun into movement and care

• Discussion about collective trauma and how this impacts caregivers, therapists, and educators and the importance of taking care of ourselves as well as our children.
• The evolution of discipline and social emotional learning in schools

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About our guest, Dr. Jennifer Hutton (she/her)

Find Dr. JPop on instagram @Dr.Jpop!

Learn more about the Get Movin' Activity Deck

Listen to the Beyond Allyship Podcast

Dr. Jennifer Hutton is a pediatric physical therapist from Nashville, TN. 
She graduated from Loma Linda University with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2008. She has worked both in the clinic and from 2018-2022 she taught continuing education for RockTape’s FMT Education. 
Working with families from marginalized communities allowed Dr. Hutton to see the health and healthcare access disparities that existed and sparked her desire to be an advocate outside of the clinic. In February, Dr. Hutton published The Get Movin’ Activity Deck for Kids. This deck is for all levels of ability to celebrate movement diversity and explore fun categories of creative movement including breath, stretch, mobility, stability, balance, coordination, strength, and endurance.
Dr. Hutton educates others on how to be effective allies to BIPOC and other marginalized communities through her Anti-Racism and Allyship workshop series, her membership program Building Allyship, and her podcast Beyond Allyship. 
Dr. Hutton’s mission is to facilitate spaces of connection, accountability, constructive challenging of ideas, and community learning; helping others strengthen their voice and stance as changemakers in their workplaces and communities.