Sensory Junction

09/11/2022

This week is OT week and we have been promoting Paediatric Occupational Therapy amongst our colleagues at work. I often get asked “what does OT do for children?” or get referred to as being from Occupational Health 🙈
I wish I had a brief succinct elevator pitch ready for these instances, however what makes OT an amazing profession is that it addresses the uniqueness of each individual we work with. Every treatment is tailored specifically to that person or child and can be tweaked at a moments notice to ensure our patients/clients have a sense of success. It is hard but very rewarding work!

08/07/2021

Sleep as an occupation…Do your kids follow this sleep schedule or something like it?

https://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/why-my-kids-dont-go-to-bed-early/

13/05/2021

This is why I became an OT ❤️❤️❤️

10/09/2020

The neuroscience of bonding and attachment is fascinating! Did you know that in premature babies and their mothers it’s the quality of this bond that becomes the best predictor of the child’s long term outcomes in terms of quality of life?

This is the world’s first ever magnetic resonance image showing a mother and child’s bond.
The image is of neuroscientist Rebecca Saxe kissing her two month old son.

The child’s brain appears to be smoother and darker. This is because it has significantly less white matter. White matter is comprised of myelin, which is fatty tissue that acts as insulation for the wires that communicate messages inside your brain.

The activations in the image do not refer to the act of kissing but to the organisation of functional activity in infant brains when viewing meaningful images.

Kissing causes a chemical reaction in your brain, including a burst of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is often referred to as the ‘love hormone’ because it stirs up feelings of affection and attachment.

Kissing activates the brain’s reward system; releasing dopamine which makes us feel good. It also releases vasopressin which bonds mothers with babies and romantic partners to each other. It also releases serotonin which helps to regulate our mood.

22/11/2019

NEW Resource - Helpful approaches for a PDA profile of autism at Christmas.

Christmas can be an overwhelming time for autistic people. We've put together some general suggestions of helpful approaches for PDA families & individuals.

A PDF of this resource is also available to download via >www.pdasociety.org.uk/resources/resources-for-families

Update: an Image Description is now in the comments.

23/06/2019

The senses help to create synapses between neurons and form new brain connections.

Much more important than we thought it was.

06/06/2019

And we have so many ‘containers’ for infants that’s it’s become concerning.

The positions and activities you have your quickly developing baby in will set their spine and nervous system up for the rest of their lives. I strongly encourage you to pay attention to the positions you have your children in so they can develop well rounded, balance musculoskeletal and nervous systems! Building Your Baby From the Ground Up

17/05/2019

“It's not about permissive parenting, says Dr. Dan Siegel in his new book "Yes Brain" with co-author Tina Payne Bryson. It's about using "yes" to find ways to relate, which encourages kids to explore and be resilient, instead of starting at "no," which shuts them down.”

https://www.mindful.org/dr-dan-siegel-hearing-yes-childs-brain/

15/05/2019