NeuroplayAustralia - Play Therapy and Child Counsellor

04/05/2026

Spot on! 🎯

04/05/2026

Comment '341' to download this freebie PDF - 🙋‍♀️ Do you know a girl who shows these examples of masking? ... I think you will find this week's podcast super informative and helpful!

30/04/2026

Some children get labelled as “attention-seeking” when their behaviour feels loud, constant or hard to manage. But most of the time, that behaviour is not about wanting attention for the sake of it. It is about needing connection, safety and reassurance.

Children do not always have the words to say “I feel left out”, “I am worried”, or “I do not feel important”. So it comes out in other ways - interrupting, clinging, acting younger, pushing boundaries, or demanding attention at the worst times. When adults only react to the behaviour, the real need underneath stays unmet.

The shift matters. When we see behaviour as communication, we respond differently. We stay curious instead of frustrated. We look for what is driving it instead of trying to shut it down. That is where trust builds, and where behaviour starts to change.

Free ATTENTION-SEEKING ICEBERG POSTER

LIKE the photo and comment "ICEBERG" and we will send you a message with a link to a free PDF of this resource.

29/04/2026

28/04/2026

The octopus is a solitary creature. It does not play socially. And yet it plays.

Individual octopuses will spend time bouncing objects back and forth in their tanks — not for food, not for survival advantage, but interacting with objects just for the sake of it.

The researchers who first investigated this identified three conditions required for octopus play to occur:
- The animal must be safe.
- Not stressed.
- And curious about something worth exploring.

Safe. And curious.
That’s it.

Octopuses haven’t shared a common ancestor with humans in at least 600 million years — and yet they independently evolved remarkable problem-solving abilities, curiosity, and intelligence.

Play didn’t travel from a shared ancestor. It arrived again. Separately. From scratch. Because across the deepest divisions in the animal kingdom, nature keeps selecting for curious minds in safe conditions.

This is the most fundamental argument for play that science has ever produced. Not that play builds skills or bonds or resilience — though it does all of these things. But that play is what curious minds do when they are safe enough to do it.

In an octopus. In a child. In anyone.
Make them safety. Give them something worth exploring. Then get out of the way. 🌿

Nature Knows — A series of posts by Dr Play
📍 drplay.com.au

16/04/2026

When a child is dysregulated, they are not choosing behaviour. Their nervous system is overwhelmed.

The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics helps us understand that before we can build relationships, we must first support regulation.

Play Therapy naturally offers this through:

• predictable sessions
• sensory play
• attuned, responsive adults

These experiences help the child’s nervous system settle, creating the conditions for connection to grow.

Connection doesn’t come first. Regulation does.

And play is where that begins.

16/04/2026

🐦‍⬛ What ravens teach us about play and the birth of intelligence.

Ravens are extraordinary. They plan ahead. They remember social relationships across years. They understand what others can and cannot see — a cognitive skill once considered uniquely human.
In systematic testing, ravens parallel great apes in both physical and social cognitive performance.

But the question that matters most for your children, your classrooms, and your communities is not what ravens can do. It’s how they got there.
Research identifies forming and maintaining social bonds as one of the main driving forces for the evolution of higher cognitive abilities in ravens.

And it begins in the nest. Raven nestlings show play behaviours at levels equal to — or above — maintenance behaviours and flight training.
A raven prioritises play over learning to fly.

This is the sequence nature designed:
🐦‍⬛ Safe relationship first
🐦‍⬛ Play within that relationship
🐦‍⬛ Intelligence emerging from both

The raven didn’t evolve intelligence and then become social. It became social — through play — and intelligence followed.

Nature Knows — A series of posts by Dr Play
📍 drplay.com.au

15/04/2026

“Not all wounds announce themselves. Some are formed quietly in what was missed, in what was not mirrored, in what no one paused long enough to see.
And because there is no single moment to point to, the pain is often carried without validation…and without a voice. Healing begins when what was once unseen is finally witnessed.”
-Leah Ausch

15/04/2026

Play therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) serves as a neuro-affirming approach that honours their unique neurological needs, communication styles, and strengths, rather than forcing them to conform to neurotypical norms. By creating a safe, non-judgmental space, play therapists uses play, art, music and movement to build trust, enhance emotional regulation, and improve social engagement without requiring verbal communication. In play therapy our role as therapists is to act as a compassionate guide, fostering a space of unconditional acceptance. 💜 For more information on how play therapy can therapeutically support children please reach out to Talia on 0409 334 452. Talia holds a Masters Degree in Child Play Therapy from Deakin University and is a registered play therapist both in Australia and abroad.

31/03/2026

“When a child’s nervous system is shaped by survival, development does not disappear, it pauses.
The brain is not broken. It is waiting.

Waiting for enough safety.
Enough consistency.
Enough relational steadiness to risk growing again.

Healing is not about pushing children forward.
It is about creating the conditions where growth can finally feel possible.

When we become a safe presence, we are not just comforting a child.
We are helping their brain remember how to develop.”

- Leah Ausch