Supporting Sensory Needs | Stefanie Larsen

Listen in as Stefanie, an occupational therapist, talks to Clare about sensory support for children who don’t seem to feel the cold, pain, or hunger, or who seem unaware of where their body is in space, and may seek out sensory input by crashing into things.

Stefanie is the owner of Sensationally Thriving Children Therapy. She has been an occupational therapist for over twelve years and has worked in a variety of paediatric specialities, including home care, schools, private practice, sensory integration, and outpatient rehabilitation.

She has certifications in Therapeutic Listening, Astronaut Training, the SOS Approach to Feeding, and is an Advanced Mentored Clinician at the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing. Most recently, she has offered parental consultations to help parents better understand the complexities of sensory processing, so they can best support their child.

Stefanie recommends the book, Sensational Kids, by Lucy Jane Miller.

She also shares three tips during the episode:

• Sometimes, dysregulation can look like sleeping, shutting down or avoidance.
• Often, children who are under-responsive may not feel pain, hunger, the need to urinate, or stress and anxiety as readily as others.
• Heavy work (movement that involves pushing, pulling, carrying, or jumping) is the best activity for calming.

The My Family Coach podcasts covers every aspect of children’s behaviour, all in handy 15 minute (ish) bite-sized chunks. Each episode features a new guest chatting about a different aspect of behaviour and leaves you with three handy tips to use at home.