Sensory Smart Kids

24/09/2025

We are closed until Monday, making the most of the school holidays and the long weekend.

We hope you have a wonderful long weekend and for our footy fans, good luck on Saturday 💙🤍

14/08/2025

Tired parents we see you!
We love having you present in our sessions but acknowledge the load you carry.
The cloudsacs in the clinic are very comfy and you are always welcome to pop out for a 15 minute Power Nap in your car if that works for you. Or if a brisk walk around the block or a coffee from one of the local spots is more your regulator style that is fine too.

Sleep Issues in ASD: What Every Family Should Know ❤😴

💤 About 53% of children with autism struggle with sleep—whether it’s falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early. Poor sleep can impact attention, learning, and behavior.

✨ Helpful at-home strategies:
🛁 Epsom salt baths (½–1 cup) in warm water—add a drop of lavender oil for extra calm.
📵 Avoid screens for at least an hour before bedtime.
🕰 Create a consistent routine with quiet music, weighted blankets, and a dark, peaceful room.
📡 Reduce EMF exposure by turning off Wi-Fi and unplugging devices at night.
🏃‍♂️ Daily exercise + 💧 good hydration can improve sleep quality.

🩺 If sleep doesn’t improve, talk to your child’s doctor about possible causes like:

▪️Low potassium or iron
▪️Constipation or food sensitivities
▪️Allergies
▪️Vitamin or mineral deficiencies (magnesium, vitamin D, folate)
▪️Enlarged adenoids/tonsils
▪️Seizures or reflux
▪️Side effects from medications

😴Good sleep can make a big difference in health, mood, and daily life. Let’s help our kids get the rest they need! 🌙✨

Read the full article here: https://tacanow.org/family-resources/sleep-issues-in-asd/

24/07/2025

👯‍♀️
Is this the unofficial uniform of Sensory Smart Kids?

Rebecca and Pamela turned up dressed the same today and I promise it wasn’t planned.

22/06/2025

On Friday we said goodbye to Hazel, our fourth year student from Deakin who has spent the past 10 weeks with us. It’s a great learning opportunity for everyone and Hazel brought some fun ideas to therapy for many of our Sensory Smart Kids. All the best for the rest of your studies!!!
Thanks to all of the families who welcomed Hazel into their sessions.

11/06/2025

Children have a right to play!

Today was international day of play. Like every day, we use the occupation of play in therapy.

We also educate and model how important play is to the parents we work with, and problem solve how to build quality play time into their busy lives.
Play doesn’t have to be complicated, you don’t need expensive toys.

Find ways to play everyday. It’s great for your child’s development and your mental health. it doesn’t just benefit the kids. Adults can play too!

30/05/2025

Play is a key occupation for children. In OT we use games to teach not just how to play, but we practice all of the underlying skills involved in games in a safe, supportive environment where kids can have real reactions to challenges and have supportive adults to co-regulate them. When it comes time to play against their friends they’ve practiced the games, know the rules, and might even have some strategies to cope better with winning and losing.

So yeah, we “just play” in a lot of our sessions but for some really important reasons!

If you’re a parent, don’t be afraid to ask your therapist why they choose to play certain games. If you’re a therapist, don’t undervalue you the important work you’re doing even when it looks simple.

25/05/2025

We have lots of tools for self regulation in OT. Sometimes we need to try different approaches to find something that clicks. Today we used the Red Beast book to explore what happens when our emotions get really big and out of control, and tried some tools that might help tame the red beast. When kids can become familiar with what feels good for them while they’re calm, we don’t need to ask them what they need when they’re overwhelmed. Having a plan to follow can reduce the overwhelm, and keeps language to a minimum. It’s often an evolving process and strategies wear out, but a great way to acknowledge that sometimes our actions feel like they’re out of our control.

11/05/2025

Happy Mother’s Day to the wonderful mums and special people who we work with support our sensory smart kids!
We appreciate everything you do. We acknowledge that it’s can be extra hard to get a break when you’re caring for children with sensory needs, which is why we’re on a mission to help educate as many people as we can on how to understand and support diverse sensory systems.

We hope you can do something that supports your own sensory system and makes you feel good today (and every day)

05/05/2025

At Sensory Smart Kids we love using the occupation of play as a mode for working on important skills that children need to thrive. We know that children are more regulated and will maintain their attention for longer when they’re doing something that interests them. Our therapists use just right challenge and co-regulate children through challenges supporting them to be more comfortable with using cognitive flexibility and coping when they don’t win. When children have an opportunity to practice these skills in a supportive, structured environment, they are often better able to play these games at home with family and friends.

21/04/2025

Sometimes it can feel like there are too many things in your to do list to make time for self care.
Self care is more than bubble baths and massages, it’s doing things that support our nervous system and help our physical and mental health. That can include a short walk, some time in the garden, or batch cooking healthy meals.
The key to self care activities and using them to support your nervous system is finding something that doesn’t place stress in you. If you’re feeling like you have too much to do right now, pick one thing that you know you’ll feel batter after doing. For me it’s a dog walk but sometimes that actually doesn’t help, it can make me more frustrated and I don’t come back to the house feeling more regulated.

What’s a self care activity you can do to finish the long weekend?

17/04/2025

We’re wrapping things up before the long weekend.
Rebecca and Hazel will be back on Tuesday, 22nd April, but Pamela is taking some extra time off and will be back on Monday 28th.

We hope you stay safe and enjoy the extra long weekend.

08/03/2025

Happy International Women’s day!

It’s a time to pause and reflect on the wonderful work women do in our community, the barriers that generations before us have fought to pave the way for us today, and the barriers that we are currently presented with.

Rebecca was lucky enough to attend the Women’s day breakfast at GMHBA stadium with the wonderful as the keynote speaker.

Gina shared the lessons she would give her own daughter if she was still in this world, demonstrating the importance of boundaries, trusting instincts, saying no, and connection with our community and our environment. These are lessons for all women (and men), but resonated with me as a mum, business owner and OT as we work to support others in our work, in raising the next generation and in the work we do supporting young people who aren’t always understood in mainstream systems.