Sensory Children

Wishing you all a happy Easter, from my family to yours 💚 I love everything about Easter- the messiness of egg painting, the vibrant spring colours, the garden egg hunts, the bright flowers, the creativity of gathering treasures for my children’s Easter baskets, the warm sunshine and cool air. Such sensory richness!

Sweet joyful moments

Some places really consider the sensory environment - Heckfield Place is one of them.

Such variety and sensory richness makes me feel safe, comfortable, blissful, inspired! I’m loving the cold water wild swimming, hot sauna, sunny colourful farmers market with estate produce, neutral interiors with SO many floor to ceiling windows, endless nature inspired textures everywhere- wool, linen, stone (and no plastic!), an embossed room key with my initials, a screen-free spa, undulating paths under huge trees, and icy drinks, and comfy window seats.

So happy to have taken time out to reflect, journal, move, rejuvenate, swim and plan for our next steps in helping people create sensory rich lives!

Sensory rich interiors consulting… coming soon. Super excited to share this neuroscience with a wider world of designers.

A magical transformational weekend of countryside walking, tapping, dancing, chanting, laughing, sound bathing, resting, vision boarding and connecting with inspiring women in a beautiful setting. It’s super important for me, as a mother and business owner (and surely for all of us!) to take time out of the normal routine of life for intense immersion in sensory-rich activities so we can create, innovate, manifest and live more joyful lives!
Thank you for a great time!! 💚

I love Easter and creating magical moments and traditions for my boys this time of year - those beautiful looks of surprise on their faces when they find an egg hidden in flowers, painting wooden eggs to add to our collection, egg hunting parties with friends, planting all my spring flowers and getting the garden ready… I love it all.

The vibrant colours, warm sun, silly time with friends and playing in nature - all such rich sensory experiences.

If you’d like to learn more about how to add beautiful, sensory-rich activities to your family’s life and hear more on the basics of sensory neuroscience - a process we are all doing all the time, which we can use to enhance and supercharge our routines - check out our new online courses. Link in bio 🌿🐣💚

Lovely to see this article about a community outreach project we delivered for children with sensory needs - generously funded by Arsenal The Arsenal Foundation and coordinated by Integrated Therapy and Education❤️

https://www.arsenal.com/community/stories/therapy-and-education?fbclid=IwAR2E1MMxD3OwH5kGpiMmazfB4sauMLq6urFigjbLbnRUYCF0tAGoEowZNaA

How our Sensory Rooms can help kids The Arsenal Foundation has supported Integrated Therapy and Education to set up the PEPTalk Therapy Series

I couldn’t be happier to share our new website and online courses!

Join us and you’ll learn about the magic of sensory processing and how this can help everyone - parents and children- be more joyful, relaxed & productive.

We also have courses on how to successfully help picky eaters!

Easy listening format at your leisure - 2 hour courses broken into several short videos. Lots of colourful photos to illustrate strategies & inspire sensory-rich living.

Shares would be much appreciated- everyone can live a richer life with this information! 💚🌿

Short online courses now available!
Super excited to share with you- the magic of Sensory Processing- what everyone needs to know

Sensory Children - Courses We have a range of online courses for parents, teachers and therapists to help you understand children's sensory needs and preferences. This will help them make progress in all their daily activities- from eating, play, school work, sleep, dressing, speech, behaviour, attention....and much more.

Im loving watching my second baby grow and change. His sensory development is so completely different from his older brother’s! It’s so interesting to see how this impacts on his personality, his interests and the activities he enjoys.

Children’s sensory development (which is a neurological/ brain process) underpins all of their other development- from sleep & feeding to emotions & behaviour, from motor skills to speech, from social to play skills. It’s wonderful to understand this & I think every parent and early years professional should have access to the magic of this information!

We’re very excited to be releasing an online course next month so we can share this with you all!

We’re happily swinging into 2023! Sending best wishes to you all for a wonderful, sensory-rich year ahead 🌿

Getting children out in all weather can be abit of a challenge for parents (the clean up at least!) - although it’s a great way to help your child’s sensory development as its helps them learn to tolerate a variety of textures, temperatures (wind, mud, cold rain!).

And moving across changing surfaces like slippery rocks, muddy puddles or squidgy grass helps develop balance, core strength, planning and problem solving.

But being out in a variety of weather can be difficult for some little ones. If that’s the case for yours, try to keep them as comfortable as possible (good quality waterproof clothing) and just go for very short periods where you join them in the fun - followed by warm drinks, big hugs, dry towels & deep baths.

Or if your child still struggles, this may indicate they have some trouble with their sensory development. Sensory issues can manifest as ADHD symptoms, difficult behaviour or a range of issues like trouble with sleep, eating, toilet training, even handwriting.

You can book a free call to chat about how we can help by emailing [email protected] or DM check out our online courses- coming soon! 💙🌊

Playing with sticks- drumming with sticks- sword fighting with sticks- drawing with sticks- dancing with sticks!

There are Endless opportunities here for developing hand eye coordination, pre-writing skills, sensory processing, spatial awareness, body awareness, attention and much more…

…So let’s all buy fewer plastic toys and help our children get outside and find the perfect stick instead 💚🌿

So good to have relaxed, warm summer evenings in the garden with my boys.

Slow, unstructured free play is wonderful for children’s development.

It helps reduce reliance on screens, supports communication and motor skills to improve and - of course - is great for their sensory development! 💚

If you’d like to learn more about the magic of sensory integration and how this helps children’s eating, sleep, behaviour and more- you can register to be put on the waiting list for one of our online short courses, coming soon! [email protected]

Dreaming of Croatia today… the perfect sensory environment for me! Cool calm water, gentle warm breezes, hot sun, all day swimming, wonderful fresh seafood, quiet private beaches, walking barefoot on rocks and sand, singalongs at night with great friends… yes please. Must go back soon!

Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season, from our family to yours ❤️

If your child is a picky eater / has a very limited diet, it’s very important to keep offering lots of variety and exposure to a range of foods. And this doesn’t have to mean lots of work for parents or lots of food waste!

At each meal or snack time- Always offer at least one food you know they will definitely eat, as well as one food they might eat or interact with in some way (touch it, smell it, etc). It’s also important to offer a small amount of one or more foods that you’re pretty sure they won’t eat or interact with. This can be offered on a seperate plate if your child finds that easier. Don’t ever pressure a child to eat, but you can show them how you enjoy eating or interacting with a food!

For example… In this meal, I was pretty positive the child would eat the cheese, the beetroot cracker and the sliced beef (he did). I thought he might eat or interact with the blueberries and the pear if I removed the skin (he played with them and stacked them on the cracker). He wouldn’t interact with or have the green beans or pear skin on his plate, so we offered them on the chopping board next to it. He was happy to have the raw broccoli on his plate and was happy playing with it, which was a nice surprise to me!

He had water with his meal as he would otherwise full up on milk / juice and eat much less. It’s important not to offer drinks that children can fill up on for 30 min before a meal.

I’d love to see some photos of the variety in meals that other people are offering their picky eaters if you’d like to share below! 🥬💚

For families who are on a Iong waiting list for an autism assessment from the NHS… there is info here on how Caudwell Children may be able to help - they apparently have charity funded and self funded appointments available now.

https://www.caudwellchildren.com/ccas-charity-funded-autism-assessment/

CCAS Charity Funded Autism Assessment - Caudwell Children Charity-funded autism assessment A multi-disciplinary approach to autism assessment,intervention and support for children Caudwell Children can provide charity-funded multi-disciplinary autism assessments, plus diagnostic feedback and 12 months of post-diagnostic support to eligible children living....

Baby wearing is such a great multi-sensory activity for little ones… especially those born premature, with reflux or the especially fussy ones!
When in a baby carrier, little ones get all their senses involved - there’s lovely calming movement which stimulates their vestibular and visual sensory systems, rhythmical sounds and vibration from hearing their parents’ heartbeat, calming full body deep pressure touch from being pressed against their parents bodies, and proprioceptive sensory input from moving their limbs against gravity.

They get to breathe in the comforting smells of their parents. (And their parents might get time to read whilst they walk!) This teething babe also takes the opportunity to taste as well by nibbling on our fingers or the sling.

And wearing your baby outdoors in nature gives a huge range of added sensory experiences- fresh air, soft breeze on their skin, sounds of the leaves, scents from plants- and so much more.
This all supports your child’s sensory systems to develop, which supports the development of healthy sleep patterns, eating, behaviour / moods, motor skills / coordination, posture and learning.
If you have a fussy baby (or sensitive toddler or older child), then learning about the magic of their sensory development could be life changing. DM us to book a 1:1 session. 💚

Today’s rainy day fun includes running through our garden with a bare bottom and wellies!
If your kids enjoy it (and it’s safe / appropriate to do so) then it’s great for little ones to play in nature with their skin exposed. This provides such a lovely variety of different textures on their skin, which helps their sensory systems develop. And sensory development in turn helps their coordination, balance, behaviour, speech, sleep, eating and much more!
If have any concerns about your child’s development, then please send us a DM to book a 1:1 session- learning about the magic of sensory integration can be life changing!
Loving these new boots from !

Today we’re barefoot and naked in the garden, enjoying the warm sunshine and the feeling of cool grass under our feet. Mmmm... summer, we are ready for you!
Having skin exposed when playing in nature (even just feet, legs, arms if you don’t want to get their bottoms out !) gives children the opportunity to experience a huge variety of textures, which helps their sensory systems develop.
And sensory development supports the development of children’s coordination / motor skills, emotional regulation / behaviour, communication / speech, eating skills - and much more!
So let’s celebrate the arrival of warm weather by getting the kids outside and taking off some layers!
If you’d like to learn more about the magic of sensory integration to support your child to live their best life- keep an eye out for our upcoming courses or book a 1:1 session with me to discuss any concerns you have about your child’s behaviour or development- l’d love to help! [email protected] 💚

‘1000 hours outside’ is an inspiring online resource and one I’d recommend! And here’s an interesting article they shared explaining how outdoor play is important for developing reading and writing skills.

https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/blog/outside-play-is-crucial-for-emerging-readers-and-writers?fbclid=IwAR2rTiFi4m7G3wLCpocIOCGhwzWC3EMxRujKBZ8GMkvZZbq8T4kzKaXc97k

Outside Play is Crucial for Emerging Readers and Writers — 1000 Hours Outside What I have learned throughout the past decade of outside play is that my kids are developing in untold ways. They are obtaining the skills needed for future success as they jump, run, skip, roll, and tumble.

A lovely article about the importance of outdoor play for children - post lockdown (& always!) 💚

https://theconversation.com/rewild-your-kids-why-playing-outside-should-be-a-post-pandemic-priority-156077?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=bylinefacebookbutton&fbclid=IwAR06zZuhuW8RKZB_sakfcXWOeHEtNWwAFUffnjX8WBdosHGNimbx-wpihOA

Rewild your kids: why playing outside should be a post-pandemic priority If we want to avoid playing outside becoming a thing of the past, we need to restore the habit in our children after lockdown.

We’ve had a roller coaster past few days. After our baby arrived early and weighed on the small side, he then lost weight and had some jaundice which meant we had to go back to hospital several times. This has been stressful and difficult- watching my new baby being pricked and poked, being separated from my partner and 3yr old because of covid regulations in hospital, having increased pain and fatigue as I really needed to be in bed resting after my c-section.

On top of all this, the baby was having some trouble developing his feeding skills and was having issues with reflux. I was lucky to know where to go for help and went straight to who is a Speech and Language Therapist and fellow feeding therapist, but one who specialises in working with premature babies and children with swallow (Dysphagia) and feeding issues. We did a 1:1 session with her where she reviewed videos of his feeding and gave us a range of things to try changing with his feeding routine. After a few days of implementing her strategies, the baby has gained weight and developed much more efficient skills for breastfeeding. Most importantly, my partner and I have gained confidence in our instincts that this early baby really been benefits from staying at home, having frequent positive, low stress feeding experiences, getting good sleep for both mama and baby, and spending most of his time upright on my chest with skin to skin contact.

If your baby is having trouble with feeding, I’d really recommend getting support from a professional as soon as possible to help your child have positive experiences with eating from the start of their lives. This can also help to prevent other problems from developing in many children. runs some brilliant preventative courses for new parents to help them with bonding, feeding & communicating with their babies. She also offers 1:1 consults if you already have concerns about your child’s eating or speech development. I feel very grateful to have had her help over the past few days- thank you, Sara. Now I’m just ready to get back to resting, healing and enjoying newborn cuddles! ❤️

Celebrating new life and our new baby! Taking it slow to emerge from a period of hibernation after a difficult pregnancy.

Spending my days with a newborn sleeping skin to skin on my chest couldn’t be a nicer way to spend my time at the moment. And I know it’s fabulous for the baby’s development, especially as he was born 3 weeks early so he can use some extra ‘womb space’ time! And it’s helping his sleep (and mine) for sure, so it’s great for my recovery as well.
Sensory Children has had lots of new followers recently on Facebook and Instagram- so hello to all! Thank you for your interest in the magical world of childhood sensory development! I look forward to sharing lots with you all soon.

But for today, let’s all just stop and hug our babies / families / loved ones and enjoy some skin to skin time 💕