Little Life Development

24/02/2026

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Relational safety is a core environmental layer we’ll be unpacking this month.
The social / relational environment shapes whether a space feels safe or threatening.

Attunement or misattunement.
Safe humans or controlling ones.
Co-regulation or compliance.
Shame or dignity.
Being believed or dismissed.
Autonomy honored or overridden.

Distress often increases not because someone is “too sensitive,”
but because their nervous system doesn’t feel safe with the people around them.
Support lives in relationships.

How we respond, especially during rupture, can either escalate distress or help repair it.

Learn more in our new course: https://www.kelly-mahler.com/product/live-online-course-when-environments-hurt/



Image Description: Pink Tile with a big bubble in the center that reads: Social/ Relational Environment. Smaller bubbles around it read: safe humans, co-regulations, attunement, rupture, autonomy, believed, dignity

16/02/2026

Sorry for the radio silence! January was quite the slog and I know that many families have really been feeling that. Hibernation has been needed at times and it's been important to honour this and listen to what our nervous system needs at this time of year. Sometimes that means chocolate and a hot drink under a blanket.. Other times a walk in nature. It's all about the small things.

Sessions this half term have continued to be creative, child and needs led. Both indoors and outdoors. Ranging from creating stories linking interoception, to valentines nature decorations, to creating an autism identity workbook to help support advocacy and help others understand us more.

We are still at capacity but a small number of initial assessments will be available in April. Those on my active referrals list will be contacted soon.

I am taking a break to be with my children this week and enjoying seeing the crocuses popping out of the ground and the (little) glimmers of sunshine when they arrive! ☔ 🌞 🌷

Happy half term for those taking a break. ❤️🌿 ❤️

10/02/2026

My personal favourite was stabbing the rubber! And tipexing everything in sight including my nails. Anyone else? 😂https://www.facebook.com/share/17BKQdQbmP/

"Old School Fidgets"
😂
I bet you had this one, too: https://amzn.to/4tiLfdy?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

04/02/2026

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Safety is something a person decides internally.

It doesn’t matter if someone tells us ‘you’re safe’.
People who say that are usually referring to physical safety.
‘Physically you are safe here.’

It’s often not as simple as that.

If we don’t feel safe, we don’t feel safe, and we often don’t mean physically.

The thing we’re missing might be relational safety. It might be sensory safety. Emotional safety. Environmental safety.

We may not be able to explain what exactly is happening in our bodies, or why.
We may not have the words to wrap around our experience.
If our nervous system is heightened, for whatever reason, it can be hard to identify messages from our bodies. It can be even harder to explain that to someone who clearly is not experiencing the same thing as us.

It’s a big ask. We may not be able to.
But you might see clues in our actions, our emotions, our energy, our capacity, our behaviour.

Returning to authentic connection and coregulation in these moments is always a good move, whether you believe we have reasons to feel unsafe or not.

If we don’t feel safe, for whatever reason, it’s not up to you to decide something different.

It’s your job to recognise that our nervous system may be different to your own, and support us in our tricky times. And make sure that support is kind, curious, and empathetic, otherwise you are only pushing that sense of safety further and further away from us.

Yes?

Em 🌈

04/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FCAQoMZsd/

13/01/2026

Echo Carly Budd Developmental Play Academy thoughts here entirely ❤️ let me know yours! 🙏❤️

13/01/2026

When you have the best view of the water under a shelter to hide out from the heavy rain! 🌳🌧️

Today was a wet one and we got pretty soaked taking the equipment down at the end of our Eco Sensory session. The weather can impact our mood and engagement and everyone is different. The weather is a sensory experience and as we all have different sensory preferences and profiles, what is enjoyed by one person could be really uncomfortable for another. I have worked with children who love being under the rain and love the feeling it gives them, whilst others have a real aversion to it. It is also important to remember that our regulation and arousal levels fluctuate throughout the day. Just because a child LOVES standing in the rain one day, it doesn't mean they will the following day.

When I was a teenager I would love long walks in the rain.. I am sure this helped me to navigate all the changes I went through. Now? Most of the time I'd prefer to be under an umbrella and just listen to the beautiful sound! ☔😂

Who here loves walking in the rain? Or are you someone who tends to hibernate as soon as there is rain forecast? ☔🌧️🧠

09/01/2026

Receiving this thankyou card this week made my heart happy 🥰 from a child on caseload who has recently found his love for drawing, it includes items related to our sessions including beautiful trees, clouds, natural items we find and create with, my backpack of resources, dogs we come accross on our walks and the drinks we make... And the fact he got my coffee cup on there means he knows me very well 😂☕

Thankyou Harry (pseudonym) I'll be keeping this envelope and will cherish it 🙏🌿🌲



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08/01/2026

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08/01/2026

🦆Just me..casually hiding ducks in theraputty first thing in the morning prepping for a session..😂

🤩 I love the little moments of joy that being a Paediatric OT provides. Of course there are some challenging times in this job, but there is also so much fun, creativity and joy in the small meaningful tasks that we do in every day 🥰🦆👐

As we start a new year, I am super thankful to be an OT 🙏❤️


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24/12/2025

Happy Christmas Eve Everyone!🎄

I just thought I would take a moment to thank you for supporting Little Life Development this year and being part of this little family. This year I have continued to deliver sessions in schools, homes and in the beautiful outdoors as part of my Eco Sensory Therapy offer. I love the diversity of the work we do and how it is constantly evolving to meet the child's needs. 

I have loved working with all of your amazing children, supporting them through the challenges and seeing the progress they make with everyone's consistent approaches and hard work. So many successes this year from improvements in writing, gross motor skills and coordination, to developments in noticing body signals and connecting these to emotions. The increase in confidence for so many of the children this year; being able to advocate for their own needs a little more has been wonderful to see. 

Here are some pictures of the wonderful Christmas creations in sessions from the past couple of weeks. So much creativity, focus and fun! Thankyou for supporting my small business this year and I wish you all a magical Christmas. See you in the new year- I'm looking forward to continuing to support your children to develop what matters to them

Merry Christmas.🎄