Heart and Soul OT

09/26/2026

Haha 🤯

08/06/2026

"Stay calm, and share your bananas"!!!

07/16/2026

Aw, more gold from one of my fav OTs on the planet Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist!!!! A million times yes....this reframe is a biggie. Love it!

It’s time to move beyond the “functions” of a behavior.

The traditional four functions: attention, escape, tangible, and sensory, offer a surface-level view of a child’s behavior. They identify what a behavior accomplishes in the moment but often miss the deeper context. Each child’s experience, state of regulation and personal history shape behavior, and these antiquated, broad categories can overlook individual needs. In fact, by reducing behavior to categories like “attention-seeking,” we risk ignoring the emotional, sensory, or cognitive realities that drive behavior. This over-simplification can lead to generic behavior management or behavior modification rather than providing meaningful support to the child.

Modern neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and research on interoception have taught us that behavior is a signal, a clue that a child is either dysregulated, unable to solve a problem, or lacking a skill. That’s why a shift to the PENS lens is necessary and honors all that we’ve learned about the brain since the original four “functions” were considered generally acceptable.

This re-frame guides us to understand the problem a child can’t solve, an emotion they can’t handle, a need that’s not being met, or the skill not yet developed. With this new lens, the PENS lens, we don’t just label or simplify behaviors, we use them as entry points to offer individualized support. While the original four functions ‘blame’ the child for the observable behavior, each component of the PENS lens offers an opportunity to HELP the child: HELP them solve a problem, HELP them manage an emotion, HELP them meet a need or HELP them learn a skill.

So grab your pen and write this down next time someone analyzes or assesses behavior. With the re-frame of the PENS lens, we’re not just identifying a function of a behavior, we’re offering the right support so that every problem, emotion, need or skill finds the care it deserves.

Please share this so that we can better support kids who are having difficulty meeting expectations and communicating this difficulty through their behavior, as kids often do.

05/26/2026

One of the BEST explanations for self regulation I have seen! Love the peeps at Think Sensory !!!!! 🥰

11/24/2025

Yup. Unfortunately.....zero accountability for so many abusers

11/24/2025

Interesting thoughts on demons in mental health...

There Are NO "Mental Health" Demons!

The idea that people have “demons” is one of the most damaging myths ever tied to human suffering. It teaches us to fear parts of ourselves that are actually just hurt, scared, or overprotective. From an Interpersonal Neurobiology perspective, there are no demons inside us; only survival adaptations. Our troubles don't come from a demon inside us, but a part of the nervous system doing its best to protect us from pain or danger that once felt unbearable.

When we name those reactions as evil or dark, we make the same mistake the mental illness industry makes when it calls them disordered. Both approaches shame and isolate us from what needs understanding and care. No one heals by exorcising their own pain. We heal when we can safely turn toward it with compassion and *when we’re met by others who can hold it without fear or judgment.*

Labeling people’s trauma responses as demons turns human suffering into a moral or spiritual failure instead of recognizing it as a biological and relational one. It ignores the real causes--violence, neglect, injustice, and loss--and puts the responsibility back on the person to purge or fix something that isn’t broken.

There are no demons here, only wounded nervous systems trying to find safety in a world that too often withholds it. What we need is not cleansing, but connection. Not repentance, but repair.

11/19/2025

Love her infographics!

If there was a recipe for co-regulation, I'd make sure to add these three ingredients:

1- Physical Proximity
2- Attunement
3- Matching the Energy

As babies get older and become teenagers and then adults, they still need co-regulation!

And co-regulation still has those three ingredients!

It is HARD to offer co-regulation to a child with big, baffling behaviors but it's crucial if we want to strengthen their stress response system.

I created this two-page infographic for you based on my podcast episode "What Does Co-Regulation REALLY Look Like" - because it's hard to remember when your teen is yelling at you!

The link to download the infographic is in my bio, OR leave me your favorite GIF that'll make me laugh and I'll respond back with a clickable link.

11/06/2025

A thousand times yes!

11/01/2025

💯💯💯