Sensory Therapy

11/06/2026

A Guide for Swimming Instructors for

Developmental coordination difficulties are though to affect between 5-10% of school-aged children. In the UK these difficulties are often referred to as Dyspraxia although in other countries the term Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is more commonly used.
These children often struggle with physical activities and sports. They can appear awkward and clumsy, and make slow progress compared to other children. Children with dyspraxia/DCD have particular difficulty learning new movements and they aren't able to transfer learned skills easily to different situations.
If children with movement difficulties are not encouraged to participate in physical activities this will affect their fitness and general health over time. It is important to encourage people with dyspraxia/DCD to participate in and enjoy physical activities throughout their lives.
Swimming is particularly good for children with dyspraxia/DCD as it is made up of repetitive sequences of movements and it isn't as unpredictable as team and ball games. Although difficult to learn the early skills it is worth encouraging the child to persevere as he or she will often become quite proficient. Swimming style can however be rather individual!
Swimming can help with the development of balance, strength, flexibility, endurance and coordination as well as self-esteem and social skills. Children with dyspraxia/DCD will however need special encouragement and individual attention to prevent them from becoming dissatisfied and disillusioned.
Difficulties experienced by children with dyspraxia/DCD when swimming
Movements appear awkward and uncoordinated.
Children often swim better underwater or on their back rather than on their front.
They have difficulty using limbs separately from their body so the torso lifts when doing front crawl. Sometimes they may turn right over.
Children may have difficulty attending to instructions because of the noise around them and there may be a delay before they respond.
They may have difficulty organising their body to get into the swimming pool.
Some children have no fear of water while others are very afraid of their feet leaving the ground.How you can help
Reward effort.
Encourage participation and fun rather than competition.
Teach skills in smaller, more manageable parts.
Breast stroke may be easier than front crawl because both sides of the body move at the same time.
Give clear, concise instructions and repeat these for the child if necessary.
Position the child next to a wall so that he can follow the pool edge when swimming lengths.

29/05/2026

Masking at school but burnt out at home. The solution is more support 🥰

“Your child is fine at school, so the problem must be home.” Does this phrase sound familiar to you?

We would never say this to an adult.

If you come home from work exhausted, irritable, overwhelmed, or needing silence, nobody says:

“Well, clearly home is the problem — you were fine at work.”

We understand what’s actually happened: You’ve spent the whole day coping.

Holding it together.
Meeting expectations.
Managing sensory input.
Masking frustration.
Pushing through stress.
Being “on.”

And home is the place where your nervous system finally feels safe enough to exhale.

Children are no different. Especially neurodivergent children.

Many children work incredibly hard all day at school to stay regulated, follow rules, cope with noise, navigate social demands, sit still, transition constantly, and meet expectations that may not naturally fit how their brain or body works.

By the time they get home, the “holding it together” energy bank is empty.

So home gets the collapse.
The tears.
The anger.
The overwhelm.
The unmasking.

That doesn’t mean home caused the distress.

It often means home is where they feel safest to show it.

The meltdown after school is not proof that school is easy for them.
Sometimes it’s proof of just how hard they worked to survive it.

Its important that this concept is understood so appropriate strategies and support can be put in place in school so the pressure valve can be released more.

28/05/2026

Learning to use cutlery.

26/05/2026

Worth remembering 🥰

The true test of the environment we build under our roof never happens when everything is running smoothly. It is easy to feel connected, warm, and entirely on the same page when the grades are high, the routines are effortless, and the home is quiet.

But our children do not measure our safety by how we handle their sunshine. When a storm of big emotions, a massive mistake, or an ugly behavioral slip hits the room, they are waiting for the impact. They are looking to see if their chaos is going to wreck your baseline.

If they meet a frantic wall of anger, shame, or immediate rejection, they learn that our approval has strings attached. But when we choose to step back, lower the internal noise, and offer a steady presence instead of an explosive reaction, the message completely changes. They realize that a hard moment is not a threat to their belonging.

You are showing them that your care is a fixed constant, not a reward for good performance.

By holding that steady line right when they deserve it least, you give them the ultimate sense of security. You ensure they grow up bold enough to navigate their own stumbles, secure in the knowledge that no matter how heavy the outside world gets, they will always have a soft place to land. ❤️

Image Quote Credit: ❣️

24/05/2026

The overlap of diagnoses in neurodiverse populations

23/05/2026

Parenting teens can be difficult.

If you’re in the thick of raising teenagers, you know they can be so frustrating.

They love to argue about everything. They think they know everything. They want to be treated like adults, but they have no life experience yet.

Sometimes, we get caught in such a bad cycle with our teens that fighting, snarky comments, and door slams ultimately become your standard house language. Teen disrespect becomes the norm, and you wonder if you will ever have a regular conversation with them again.

But here is the thing, and there’s no getting around it: we have to remember that we are the adults, and we have to model the behavior we want to see.

I get it. It’s hard, oh so hard, to stay calm when you are in the midst of teenage tomfoolery. When there are six-foot-tall people who are messy, eat all your food, and then expect you to give them $20 for Starbucks after calling you “Bruh,” finding your Zen in the middle of a battle can be a challenge.

But remaining calm is a superpower, and showing your teen how to keep your cool during conflict, communicate respectfully, and cope in difficult situations is an incredible gift. It also will help them disarm other people who speak to them aggressively or disrespectfully.

Keeping calm also puts us in charge of the rules of engagement and balances the power game. It may infuriate them at first when you don’t engage, but eventually, they will learn that they only get what they want by speaking to you calmly and respectfully.

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22/05/2026

Safety is the soil where confidence grows. 🌱

When children feel emotionally safe, they are more able to ask questions, make mistakes, take healthy risks, express their feelings, set boundaries, and explore who they are becoming.

A child who feels safe doesn’t need to be perfect to feel loved.

They can say:

“I don’t understand.”
“I need help.”
“I made a mistake.”
“I feel sad.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Can I try again?”

And each time we respond with connection instead of shame, we teach them that relationships can be a safe place to learn, grow, and be fully human.

✨ Emotional safety doesn’t mean children never struggle.
It means they know they don’t have to struggle alone.

Credit:

22/05/2026

Do you agree?

The radical mid-century furniture she designed with her husband put Melbourne on the global design map. Now Mary Featherston says we need to harness natural curiosity of children, and change the spaces in which they learn. https://www.smh.com.au/culture/art-and-design/desks-and-chairs-are-straitjackets-for-kids-says-rock-star-designer-20260514-p5zx3n.html?utm_content=feed&utm_term=metros_social_eds&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sydney_morning_herald&utm_source=Facebook =1779231998

18/05/2026

Neurodivergent children can thrive when we offer a supportive environment 🥰