Building Blocks Therapy Centre

16/03/2025

07/03/2025

Parenting is hard. Childhood is hard.

As parents, we juggle endless responsibilities, manage meltdowns, and try to stay patient through exhaustion. It’s overwhelming.

But childhood is overwhelming too.

Imagine navigating a world where emotions feel enormous, but you don’t yet have the words to explain them. Where rules change depending on the situation, and impulses are stronger than reason. Where every frustration, every disappointment, feels like the end of the world—because, to a child, it sometimes is.

Behind every big emotion is a little person learning. Learning how to cope, how to express, how to feel safe in their feelings. And in those moments of frustration, defiance, or tears, they aren’t looking for perfection. They’re looking for you—their steady, calm presence in the storm.

It’s not easy. Some days, you won’t feel calm. Some days, they won’t either. But every time you meet their storm with understanding instead of anger, with patience instead of punishment, you teach them that big feelings aren’t something to fear—they’re something to work through, together.

And that’s how they learn.

28/02/2025

Messy Play is More Than Just a Mess!

Messy play isn’t just fun—it’s a powerful tool for child development! From reducing anxiety to improving sensory tolerance, it helps children of all ages grow and thrive.

Calms & Soothes – Squishing, squeezing, and pouring can ease anxiety and regulate emotions.

Builds Sensory Tolerance – Helps children get comfortable with different textures in a fun way.

Boosts Creativity – Fuels imagination and pretend play.

Strengthens Motor Skills – Fine motor (pinching, scooping) & gross motor (jumping, smearing).

Encourages Focus & Independence – Engages children in deep, hands-on learning.

15/02/2025

Understanding Before Labeling

Autism and ADHD share many overlapping traits, which can sometimes lead to rushed or inaccurate diagnoses. A thorough assessment by a skilled practitioner—one who takes the time to truly understand the individual—is key to ensuring the right support and intervention.

Instead of quickly labeling a behavior, we should first seek to understand why it happens. Every child is unique, and their needs deserve careful attention.

01/02/2025

Say Goodbye to Old-School Testing – Try Our Interactive iPad Assessments!

At Building Blocks Therapy Centre, we offer a wide range of face-to-face assessments using a modern, iPad-based system that makes the process way more engaging than the old pen, paper, and easel method!

✨ Our interactive assessments include:

✅ IQ Assessments
✅ Educational Assessments
✅ ADHD Assessments
✅ Dyslexia Assessments
✅ Access Arrangement Assessments..and more!

With real-time scoring and a fun, digital experience, our assessments provide accurate insights in a stress-free way.

📍 Book your assessment today—DM us for more details!

09/01/2025

How often do you find yourself saying “stop” “no don’t touch that” “I think it’s enough playing with this” and other due to fears and worries that come up for you as you watch your child play? An immediate reaction that you make once your child plays or does something specific, and you just don’t know why you keep reacting this way?

How often do you say things then find that you are reacting exactly how your own parent used to? Did you realise that the patterns and behaviours we grew up exposed to often shape parts of the parents we become? Some patterns and behaviours are to be celebrated, but others we may find that we want to learn more about and possibly change. These are part of what we call generational patterns.

08/01/2025

Adult ADHD vs. Childhood ADHD

ADHD isn’t just a childhood disorder – it can persist into adulthood, though the symptoms often look different. According to the DSM-5, the core symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, but how they manifest can vary between age groups.

In Children:
Symptoms often include being easily distracted, fidgeting, and trouble sitting still. Hyperactivity is more pronounced, and impulsivity can result in difficulties with waiting, taking turns, and making rash decisions.

In Adults:
While the hyperactive behaviour tends to decrease, inattention and impulsivity remain, but they may show up differently. Adults may experience chronic disorganisation, forgetfulness, difficulty following through on tasks, and a tendency to become easily bored. Impulsivity might manifest as hasty decisions, poor time management, or interrupting others in conversation.

Key Differences:
- Hyperactivity reduces with age but inattention and impulsivity remain prominent in adulthood.
- Adults may struggle with executive function challenges, like organising tasks or managing time.
- Emotional regulation becomes a significant issue for many adults with ADHD, often leading to stress or anxiety.

Recognising these symptoms in adulthood is crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment. ADHD may look different as we age, but it still impacts daily life. If you identify with these traits, feel free to contact us for support.

02/01/2025

🎉 Happy New Year from Building Blocks Therapy Centre! 🎉

As we step into 2025, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for the trust you've placed in us this past year. It's been an incredible journey of growth, healing, and progress with each of the wonderful children and families we’ve had the privilege of working with.

This year, let’s continue to nurture resilience, embrace new beginnings, and celebrate every milestone—big and small.

💫 Here’s to a year of more joy, strength, and success for all our little ones. We are so excited for all the possibilities ahead.

Wishing you and your family a year full of health, happiness, and growth.

21/12/2024

Children’s play is not just a leisure activity – it’s a vital part of their development. Through play, children explore, learn, and refine the skills they will use throughout their lives. It fosters creativity, problem-solving, social interaction, and emotional regulation.

Swings, in particular, offer significant developmental benefits. The rhythmic motion helps children develop proprioception – their awareness of where their body is in space – which is crucial for coordination and balance. Swinging also supports sensory regulation, helping children manage their emotional responses and achieve a state of calm. This kind of movement stimulates the vestibular system, which plays a key role in balance, spatial orientation, and motor planning.

Allowing children the freedom to engage in unstructured play, including using swings, provides them with valuable opportunities to grow physically, emotionally, and cognitively. It’s essential that we give them the space to experience and learn through play without unnecessary limitations.

21/12/2024

Cognitive distortions are ways that a person’s mind convinces them to believe things about themselves and their circumstances that are not necessarily true.

In this distortion, a person goes beyond simply ignoring positive information (as happens in mental filtering) and
actively argues against it. For example, if someone receives a compliment they might conclude that the person has
a hidden agenda, such as wanting a favour.

In our current example, as seen in our post, the student does seem to display challenging behaviour, and therefore the teacher has disqualified any positive behaviour or suspected that the positive behaviour is due to gain something. While this may be true, it is not a definite truth and may not be the truth this time.

Have you experienced this cognitive distortion before?

18/12/2024

By empowering our children with respect, we create a foundation for lifelong learning and resilience.

17/12/2024

Emotions can be tricky to navigate, especially for little ones. Understanding feelings and expressing them openly is a vital life skill, but it’s not always easy to know where to start. That’s where The Colour Monster comes in!

This delightful book by Anna Llenas is a brilliant way to introduce young children to different emotions. It also invites an array of creative activities, like this one you see in the image, to use to facilitate and practise discussing emotions and feelings. Through the colourful journey of the monster and their colours, kids learn to identify and understand feelings like happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and calm. It’s an interactive and fun approach to emotional literacy that can spark meaningful conversations.

As parents and educators, we can use The Colour Monster as a tool to guide children through their own emotions. After reading, ask questions like, “Which colour are you feeling today?” or “What does your heart look like when you’re happy or angry?” This helps children connect emotions to colour and language, giving them the words they need to express themselves. And in the example image above, we’ve done just that!

The colour monster is a frequent guest in our therapy sessions, whether using the monster toys, or the colour monster book!



By regularly exploring emotions in this creative way, we empower children to recognise and manage their feelings with confidence. Let’s make emotional understanding a colourful adventure!