On The Ball Pediatric Physio and Occupational Therapy

10/10/2026

Did you know what changed?

If you thought it was Maria’s demeanour when approaching Sarah, then you are correct!

Notice how Sarah was more willing to engage in regulation strategies, like using her favourite squishy, when Maria approached her in a calm, reassuring approach? This example is a key component of co-regulation!😌

Co-regulation is allowing a child (or another person) to borrow part of your nervous system to help regulate their own. Kids feel what you feel, and sometimes those feelings can amplify. So if you’re approaching your already distraught child in a high-pressure, inquisitive, and frustrated manor, they are going to feed right off that.

That’s why when we talk to parents about supporting meltdowns, shutdowns, or moments of disregulation, we suggest this approach:

🔹Using a calm, gentle voice
◽Getting down to or below their eye level
🔹Reducing questions and demands, providing “this or that” options
◽Using sensory supports when available

Being able to access this approach also takes awareness, that moment to recognize your own feelings, regulate yourself, then step in to help. This is something we touch on in our upcoming online course, ✨The Autism Mini Education Series✨

We cover topics ranging from OT scope of practice, coregulation, neuro affirming and accepting approach, and coping strategies to help support your neurodivergent loved ones

Interested? Comment “courses” and we’ll send you the link and a FREE visual schedule digital download!

10/08/2026

Visual schedules are more versatile than you think😉

We talk about this and many other strategies to support regulation, participation, and independence in our upcoming online course, the ✨Autism Mini Education Series✨

Launch date coming soon, comment “course” to get on the waitlist (and receive a FREE visual schedule digital download)💙

10/06/2026

Did someone say “neuro-affirming and accepting care”⁉️

At our clinic, we feel very passionate about honouring, supporting, and celebrating neurodiversity - not viewing it as something to be fixed.

Our clients are capable of more than you know. We work together to find activities, strategies, or alternatives to grow their skills instead of viewing their neurodiversity as a deficit. And this is something we talk about in our upcoming online course, ✨The Autism Mini Education Series✨

This course goes through theories, case studies, and reflection to help you build essential skills in supporting children, teens, and adults with autism & ADHD.

We want to not only support your child, but you in this journey!

Comment “courses” and we’ll send you the link, and a FREE visual schedule digital download!

10/01/2026

‼️WE ARE HOSTING AN ONLINE WEBINAR‼️

Through our practice, we’ve seen all to well the impact of compassion, connection, and co-regulation have on children’s success. Autistic and neurodiverse children need that little bit of extra support from their community to reach their goals! 🪴💪🧠

And want to help you become the part of that support system with a snippet into our online course, ✨The Autism Mini Education Series✨ Here are the details ⤵️

📅 Tuesday, October 6th at 8pm
💲39.99 (but use code OTBFAMILY for %50 off, only $19.99!)
🗣️ A 45min webinar will be led by Liane Norman (PT & Clinic Owner) and Sarah Wise (OT) includes introductory education on Understanding Autism & The Nervous System for their child, finishing with a Q&A portion, then a special offer for early access to the Autism Mini Education Series course - exclusive to webinar attendees only!

Not only do we want to support the children, but the community it takes to help them grow!💙

Comment “webinar” and we’ll send you access to register!

Send a message to learn more

02/23/2022

The Orleans' staff showing our support for today's Anti-Bullying Day (Pink Shirt Day).

02/07/2022

Last week, we talked about Sensory Processing Disorder and Autism with our partners at Mothercraft Ottawa. Did you know that your child can have Sensory Processing Disorder and not be Autistic?
Sensory processing is the ability to process information received through our senses to help us navigate our environment. When the information is not well processed, the child can feel overwhelmed and/or shut down as his body does not know how to react in a certain situation.
Here are some examples: dislikes getting hair cut or brushed and will cry or scream to avoid the situation, poor coordination and often bumps into things, cover his ears, cries or screams when in an environment with loud sounds (ie: vacuum, alarms, hair drier, etc.).
For many, the root cause of the behaviour is often sensory overload or poor processing.
It is important to find the underlying cause of the behaviour so we can provide tools to help them!
Did you know occupational therapy and physiotherapy can help? Don’t know which one your child needs?
Call us or take our QUIZ (https://www.ontheball.ca/)on our website and we will be happy to help you!

La semaine dernière, nous avons présenté les troubles du traitement de l’information sensorielle et l'autisme à nos partenaires à Mothercraft Ottawa. Saviez-vous que votre enfant peut avoir des troubles du traitement de l’info sensorielle et ne pas être autiste ?
Le traitement de l’information sensorielle est le processus par lequel notre cerveau reçoit l’information, relayée par notre corps et par nos sens, pour ensuite y répondre par un comportement approprié. Lorsque l'information n’est pas bien relayée au cerveau, l'enfant peut se sentir dépassé ou désemparé car le cerveau va en mode « fuite ou lutte ».
Par exemple : n'aime pas se faire couper ou brosser les cheveux et va pleurer ou crier pour éviter la situation, mauvaise coordination et se cogne souvent aux murs ou objets, se bouche les oreilles, pleure ou crie en entendant des sons forts (par exemple l'aspirateur, le sèche-cheveux, etc.).
Dans la majorité des cas, la source du comportement est une surcharge ou un mauvais relai de l’information sensorielle au cerveau.
Il est donc important de trouver la cause du comportement afin de pouvoir fournir des outils pour l'aider !
Saviez-vous que nos ergothérapeutes et physiothérapeutes peuvent aider! Si vous êtes incertain (e)s, appelez- nous ou remplissez notre QUESTIONNAIRE (https://fr.ontheball.ca/) et il nous fera un plaisir de vous aider!

02/02/2022

Happy Lunar New year!
Today marks the start of the Lunar New Year for many who have ties to East and Southeast Asian countries.
And this is the year of the Tiger!
May all your wishes come true 🤗
Bonne année Lunaire!
Aujourd'hui marque le début du Nouvel An lunaire pour beaucoup de ceux qui ont des liens avec les pays d'Asie de l'Est et du Sud-Est.
Et c'est l'année du Tigre!
Que tous vos rêves se réalisent 🤗

01/07/2022

Why we started “On the Ball”?
Liane, co-owner of On the Ball, began looking into pediatric physiotherapy after working in physiotherapy with adults for years. She went on to learn all she could and travelled all over Canada and the States to acquire tools and knowledge from amazing pediatric instructors. She met Heather Chan, pediatric occupational therapist, at a primitive reflex integration course and a partnership was born. Their vision was to work together and help kiddos achieve their full potential! Occupational therapy and Physiotherapy compliment each other well in the clinical setting which resulted in happy kiddos and families achieving their goals.

Pourquoi avons-nous commencé « On the Ball » ?
Liane, copropriétaire de On the Ball, a commencé à se pencher sur la physiothérapie pédiatrique après avoir travaillé en physiothérapie avec des adultes pendant des années. Elle a continué à apprendre tout ce qu'elle pouvait et a voyagé partout au Canada et aux États-Unis pour acquérir des outils et des connaissances auprès d'incroyables instructeurs pédiatriques. Elle a rencontré Heather Chan, ergothérapeute pédiatrique, lors d'un cours d'intégration des réflexes primitifs et un partenariat est né. Leur vision était de travailler ensemble et d'aider les enfants à atteindre leur plein potentiel! L'ergothérapie et la physiothérapie se complètent bien dans le cadre clinique, ce qui a abouti à des enfants et familles heureux d'atteindre leurs objectifs.

01/05/2022

Despite the announcements this week about several closures in Ontario, our clinic remains open for both in-clinic OT and Physio, virtual sessions, phone consults, and parent coaching. We have had some cancellations due to children having to isolate, so we are working our way through our OT waitlist and taking new clients for both Physio and OT. Our services fall under the category of essential health care services and we continue to provide the highest quality of cleanliness to keep everyone healthy.

Malgré les annonces cette semaine concernant plusieurs fermetures en Ontario, notre clinique reste ouverte à la fois pour l'ergothérapie et la physiothérapie en clinique, les sessions virtuelles, les consultations téléphoniques et le coaching des parents. Nous avons eu quelques annulations en raison de l'isolement des enfants, nous travaillons donc sur notre liste d'attente et prenons de nouveaux clients en physiothérapie et ergothérapie. Nos services entrent dans la catégorie des services de santé essentiels et nous continuons à fournir la plus haute qualité de propreté pour garder tout le monde en bonne santé.

12/23/2021

Happy holidays from the staff at On the ball! 🎄 We're signing off for the week, we hope you do the same and spend some times with your beautiful families! We're very excited to see everyone once again in the new year happy and healthy!

Bon temps des fêtes de la part du personnel à On the ball! 🎄 On se déconnecte pour la semaine, on espère que vous en ferez de même et passerez du temps avec vos belles familles! Nous avons hâtes de vous revoir dans la nouvelle année heureux et en bonne santé!