Ayres' Sensory Integration WISE

20/09/2025

✨ Schools Therapists Community of Practice!

Join our Schools Therapist Community of Practice at our new time of 2pm - 3pm – a supportive space to explore how sensory integration influences your work in educational settings.

This group is a chance to connect with peers, share experiences, raise questions, and reflect on the challenges and successes of applying sensory integration approaches in schools. Whether you're new to this field or have years of experience, your voice matters.

We’ll discuss real-world practice, and experiences of supporting sensory needs in diverse school environments – from classroom adaptations to therapeutic interventions.

📅 When: 4th Friday of the Month (Term Time)
⏰ Time: 2:00 PM UK Time
💻 Where: Microsoft Teams

Let’s learn from each other, build our community, and strengthen our practice together.

🔗 Sign Up Here:
https://sensoryproject.org/product/community-of-practice-special-schools-special-interest-group/

20/09/2025

20/09/2025

Forward thinking. Feedback led. Consistently excellent.

We teach Ayres Sensory Integration across the lifespan, with a clear focus on adolescents and adults. For over 25 years our Director's approach has stayed steady and strong. Co-produced tools, practical activities, and tutor groups help you turn learning into confident practice.

Recent evaluations rate Overall Experience, Module Content, Interactive Learning, and Lecturer Support as Excellent or Very Good. Trustist reviews highlight knowledgeable, caring lecturers, interactive sessions, and accessible resources for different learning needs, including video and podcast options.

If you want training that listens, adapts, and delivers real-world impact, you are in the right place with ASI Wise & The Sensory Project.

https://sensoryproject.org/learn-sensory-integration/

Transform your skills - learn Sensory Integration. Our training bridges theory and practical application for effective outcomes.

20/09/2025

New research published in Nature Communications highlights how our social exposome – the sum of our life experiences including childhood, education, food security, healthcare access, and trauma – can shape brain health and risk of dementia across the lifespan.

What struck us is how closely this links to sensory integration.
Our sensory systems develop within our social and physical environments. When early life is rich in safe, playful, and varied sensory experiences, the brain has the chance to build strong foundations for learning, regulation, and participation. But when experiences are limited by poverty, trauma, or lack of access to support, the developing brain may struggle to integrate sensory input effectively.

This study reminds us that:
✨ Sensory integration does not happen in isolation – it is shaped by the environments we grow up and live in.
✨ Social disadvantage and sensory deprivation can leave long-lasting marks on the brain’s structure and connectivity.
✨ Interventions that consider both sensory processing and the social context have the potential to reduce inequalities and improve participation across the lifespan.

At ASI Wise & Sensory Project, we are passionate about ensuring no one is left behind. Every person is a sensory being, and every environment should offer opportunities for growth, safety, and connection.



Read the full article here:

The social exposome—lifelong social and economic adversity—can shape brain health and dementia risk. Here, the authors show that an adverse social exposome is linked to poorer clinical, cognitive, and brain changes in Latin American older adults.

20/09/2025

🌟 A Changing Understanding 🌟

For years, terms like Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Sensory Integration Dysfunction shaped how we spoke about sensory challenges. But language evolves — and so does our understanding.

Today, we’re moving toward phrases like sensory integration and processing differences that recognise strengths, affirm neurodiversity, and focus on participation in daily life.

Why does this shift matter? Because words influence how people see themselves, how families feel supported, and how therapists work alongside them. It’s about moving from “dysfunction” to difference, and from labels to lived experience.

Read our latest piece to explore the history, the current recommendations, and the practical ways we can all use language that empowers rather than limits.

👉 Read more here: https://sensoryproject.org/sensory-processing-disorder/

Understand sensory processing disorder and the impact of evolving language on our understanding of sensory differences.

20/09/2025

We’re so delighted to read about Kerry’s achievement in completing her learning with ASI Wise! 🎉 It’s inspiring to hear how this learning is already deepening practice and sparking curiosity for the future. Our community thrives on shared journeys like this - where specialist knowledge, peer support, and lifelong learning come together to make a difference for occupational therapists and the people they support. Well done Kerry - and so pleased to hear how this learning has impacted your practice and personal growth and development.

19/09/2025

🌟 Congratulations to Helen Brennan on the launch of her new perinatal mental health workbook Self-Regulation: Using a Sensory-Informed Approach (Matched Care Level 3).

Developed as part of her MSc Advancing Practice in Sensory Integration with Ulster University and ASI Wise, this evidence-based resource reflects the power of interprofessional collaboration. It shows what is possible when Occupational Therapists work alongside colleagues in psychology, psychiatry, midwifery, health visiting, speech and language therapy, and nursing — each profession bringing its own expertise to the table to create compassionate, practical resources that truly make a difference.

The workbook draws on trusted tools from ASI Wise and The Sensory Project – including Sensory Ladders®, Sensory Spiders and a Sensory Checklist – and is already being shared nationally within the NHS. It will soon be available via the ASI Wise & Sensory Project Perinatal Community of Practice and the NHSE Futures Perinatal MH Platform.

💜 Helen’s achievement is a wonderful reminder that when we collaborate across professions, we not only strengthen services but also create resources that better support parents, babies, and families in perinatal care.

🔗 https://sensoryproject.org/perinatal-book/



Royal College of Occupational Therapists fans

19/09/2025

🌟 Congratulations to Helen Brennan on the launch of her new perinatal mental health workbook Self-Regulation: Using a Sensory-Informed Approach (Matched Care Level 3).

Developed as part of her MSc Advancing Practice in Sensory Integration with Ulster University and ASI Wise, this evidence-based resource is designed to support both parents and Occupational Therapists in perinatal care. It explores how our sensory systems influence emotions and behaviour, while offering practical, compassionate strategies to build resilience, strengthen self-regulation and nurture relationships.

The workbook brings together trusted tools from ASI Wise and The Sensory Project – including Sensory Ladders®, Sensory Spiders and a Sensory Checklist – making it a practical guide for everyday use.

Helen generously gifted the resource to her former colleagues at the Cheshire & Mersey Specialist Perinatal Service , and it is now being shared nationally. It will soon be available via the ASI Wise & Sensory Project Perinatal Community of Practice on our new platform and for NHS professionals through the NHSE Futures Perinatal MH Platform. Helen has also proudly presented her work internationally, including at an ADHD conference in South Africa.

This project forms part of the MSc Advancing Practice in Sensory Integration, delivered by Ulster University in partnership with the ASI Wise Directors as lecturers since 2011. Ros Urwin was central to the tender with Ulster in her then role of Post Graduate Education Lead

💜 Please join us in celebrating Helen’s achievement and share this news with colleagues working in perinatal mental health.

https://sensoryproject.org/perinatal-book/

Celebrate the launch of the Helen Brennan's Perinatal Book, designed to aid parents and therapists in their perinatal journeys.

19/09/2025

🌟 Live Today! 🌟

We’re excited to announce that our brand-new Ayres Clinical Observations Across the Lifespan – Neuro-Affirming workshop is happening live today with ASI Wise & Sensory Project.

This workshop brings Ayres’ original clinical observations into the present day, extending their use beyond childhood and into adolescence and adulthood. Rooted in a neuro-affirming approach, it celebrates every person as a sensory being and equips therapists to embed strengths-based, co-produced observations into practice.

Join us as we explore how these tools support participation, identity, and well-being across the lifespan.

19/09/2025

🌟 Live Today! 🌟

We’re excited to announce that our brand-new Ayres Clinical Observations Across the Lifespan – Neuro-Affirming workshop is happening live today with ASI Wise & Sensory Project.

This workshop brings Ayres’ original clinical observations into the present day, extending their use beyond childhood and into adolescence and adulthood. Rooted in a neuro-affirming approach, it celebrates every person as a sensory being and equips therapists to embed strengths-based, co-produced observations into practice.

Join us as we explore how these tools support participation, identity, and well-being across the lifespan.

18/09/2025

What a great reminder of the power of the senses. Temple Grandin gave voice to the lived experience of being Autistic.

15/09/2025

Leadership in Sensory Integration eductaion: Flexible, Affordable Pathways : MSc or Certificate Routes

Our innovative and flexible pathways for education in Ayres’ Sensory Integration include our MSc & ASI Wise Certificate options that so many managers and teams are choosing. Built for the realities of the NHS, they offer flexibility and real affordability in a climate where every pound and every hour must count.

What this means for services:
- Study in stages with modules you can pace around service pressures.
- Gain recognised university credit with Ulster University upgrades when the time is right.
- Blend learning with work, using resources you can put into practice straight away.
- Choose an individual route or plan a team cohort to make CPD budgets go further.

We have listened carefully to managers. You told us budgets are tight, backfill is hard, and impact must be clear. These pathways respond with practical options that grow skills, support retention, and provide open progression to PGCert, PGDip, and MSc for those who start on the Certificate route as early career therapists.

Explore the pathway: https://sensoryproject.org/pathways-msc-certificate/

From ASI Wise & Sensory Project