2025 Annual ArPTA OPTimize Conference is back in Fayetteville, AR!

Our Corporate Sponsor is once again Rehabilitation Network of Arkansas & Our Speaker Sponsor is the Arkansas Physical Therapy Board!

Pediatrics Plus is our Platinum Sponsor & Vendor Cash Prize Sponsor!

CEUs are pre-approved by the AR State Board of Physical Therapy for 6.0 contact hours on Sept. 20 and 4 contact hours for Sept. 21.  ATC hours yet to be determined.

Friday, Sept. 19, 2025

2:00pm—5:00pm  ArPTA Board Meeting— Al Green Room

Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025

7:00 a.m.—8:00a.m. Exhibitor Move to 2nd Floor Pre-function Area

8:00 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Registration and Refreshments with Vendors—2nd Floor Pre-function Area

8:30 a.m.—8:45 a.m. General Session— Brodie Payne Ballroom

8:45 a.m.—10:15 a.m. Breakout Sessions

12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m. SSIG Luncheon Meeting at UAMS NW Campus

12:15 p.m.– 1:30 p.m. All others Lunch on own

1:30 p.m.—3:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions

3:00 p.m.—3:30 p.m. Break with Vendors

3:30 p.m.—5:00 p.m. Breakout Sessions

5:00 p.m.—6:00 p.m. Brodie Payne (AB)—ArPTA Business Meeting

6:30p.m.—9:00 p.m. Award Banquet and PAC Event - requires tickets to attend. More info to come.

 Sunday, Sept 21, 2025

Featured Speaker:  Dr. Stacey Dusing, PhD, PT, FAPTA, is a board certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy and the Director of the Motor Development Lab at the University of Southern California (USC). Her primary research interests include understanding the influence of motor control on global development and efficacy of physical therapy interventions for infants.  Specifically, she focuses on the relationship between postural control, reaching, mobility and cognition in infants with typical development and at risk for disabilities and interventions for infants born prematurely or with cerebral palsy.

Course Title: Optimizing Implementation of Early Physical Therapy Intervention: Moving from Research to Practice and Back Again

— Brodie Payne (AB)

Featured Speaker: Dr. Kenneth L. Miller, PT, DPT, PhD, FNAP, GCS, CEEAA, is a board-certified geriatric clinical specialist, advanced credentialed exercise expert for aging adults and credentialed clinical instructor from APTA.  He has over 29 years of clinical practice with older adults.  Dr. Miller is an assistant professor and Geriatric Residency Director at the Medical University of South Carolina. His clinical focus is on best practices for use with the older adult population. He has spoken nationally and internationally on topics of gerontology including primary prevention, frailty, outcome measures and pharmacology.

Dr. Miller serves on several editorial boards related to geriatric care and physical therapy education. He serve the physical therapy profession on the Bord of Directors for the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy and has helped to develop the best practice guidelines for the academy along with translating the Geriatric 5M's into physical therapist practice. Lastly, he co-edited the Ciccone's Pharmacology in Rehabilitation 5th edition textbook update.

Course Title: *Incorporating the Geriatric 5M's and the ICF into Clinical Best Practice

—Spoofer's Stone 

7:30 a.m.—8:00 a.m. Registration & Refreshments with Vendors 2nd floor pre-function area

8:00 a.m.—10:00 a.m. Class

10:00 a.m.—10:15 a.m. Break with Vendors 2nd floor pre-function area

10:15 a.m.—12:15 p.m. Class

Adjourned

2025 Other Speakers & Courses Include:

Dr. Taylor Douthit, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS, CSCS, is a native of McKinney, TX, he holds the positions of full-time Doctor of Physical Therapy, Director for the Children's Health Andrews Institute Sports Physical Therapy Residency and is an adjunct professor at UT Southwestern. As a prior  Division I Football Player at Baylor University and residency graduate of Stanford Health Care, he has a personal and professional interest in rehabilitation athletes back from complex and post-surgical injuries.

Taylor specializes in rehabilitation of knee, shoulder, hip, ankle, elbow and spine injuries. While at Stanford, he worked closely with the football, track, and volleyball physicians and athletes, as well as with the Oakland A's and San Francisco 49ers' team physicians.  He is an active member of the AASPT and mentors in the Performance Enhancement and Youth Athlete Special Interest Groups.

Platform Speakers - TBA 

Policy on Cancellation and Refunds -  

The ArPTA understands that emergencies happen and that plans change, therefore we have created policies to deal with requests for refunds on courses.

Full refund will be provided if you cancel the course at least 10 business days before the course for any reason.  Full refunds can be obtained up to 5 business days before a course if an emergency has occurred.  After these deadlines you will only receive a 50% refund.

For Rehab Net members who only, if you cancel less than 10 business days before the conference you will be charged a cancellation fee of $25 by Rehab Net.

To cancel or make changes, contact Becky Crenshaw at [email protected]. 

* Keynote Speakers on Sunday

Rehab Net is BOC approved. to offer continuing education for Certified Athletic Trainers. This program has been approved for a maximum of TBD of Category A continuing education. Certified Athletic Trainers are responsible for claiming only those hours actually spent participating in the CE activity.                 

BOC Approved Provider Number #3532