The Sensory Code Podcast

Today I got to ask Kelly Mahler (aka the QUEEN of interoception) all about the 8th sense and how our experiences of interoception differ so much across individuals, but especially within the neurodivergent community.

Kelly Mahler OTD, OTR/L, earned a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Misericordia University, Dallas, PA. She has been an occupational therapist for 20 years, serving school-aged children and adults. Kelly is winner of multiple awards, including the 2020 American Occupational Therapy Association Emerging and Innovative Practice Award & a Mom’s Choice Gold Medal. She is an adjunct faculty member at Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA as well as at Misericordia University, Dallas, PA. Kelly is a co-principal investigator in several research projects pertaining to topics such as interoception, self-regulation, trauma & autism.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What interoception is
How early interoception starts developing
What we know (and don’t know) about interoception development in infants/early childhood
Best ways to start when you want to start building interoception understanding in your neurodivergent child

Links:

Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/72

More from Kelly: www.kelly-mahler.com

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

Re-Air: How to make the most of Occupational Therapy Services Apr 16, 2023

Show notes

Happy OT month! To continue our celebration, I'm re-airing an episode that gives you information on not only accessing OT in the US, but how to leverage and make the most out of the OT services you may already be getting for your child.
Making the most out of your child’s OT services (that you had to fight tooth and nail for, go down very deep internet rabbit holes and stalk the local mom group just to find) is important, but how? In this episode, I’ll be answering common questions I get from parents, like what to do if your child isn’t making progress, how you can ask your OT to support you in non-traditional ways, when it might be time to take a break or pause from OT, and even some signs that you may need to switch therapists.

Links:

Work with me: www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

Transcript/show notes at www.theotbutterfly.com/24

instagram: @TheOTButterfly www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

How to advocate for OT with your pediatrician: with Dr. Krupa Playforth Apr 09, 2023

Show notes

www.instagram.com/thepediatricianmom

In honor of Occupational Therapy month, I’m interviewing Dr. Krupa Playforth to help us understand the challenges parents and doctors face when it comes to referring kids with sensory needs to OT. Dr. Playforth and I will unpack from a parent perspective, therapist and pediatrician perspective and give tips on specific questions to ask/what to say in order to best advocate for OT services with your pediatrician.

Dr Playforth is a board-certified pediatrician (and a mother of 3) who believes every parent deserves clear, evidence-based, nuanced answers to their child health questions. Although social media and the internet are powerful tools, they can also be a mine of misinformation. Using a combination of sincerity, dry humor, and practical tips from her own experience as a mother, she created The Pediatrician Mom - a safe space and resource full of free information for parents on everything from milestones and constipation to ADHD and COVID. Dr Playforth can be reached at www.thepediatricianmom.com or on social media (@thepediatricianmom).

In this episode, you’ll learn:

What makes someone a “good pediatrician?”
How you can rephrase certain questions to get more support from your pediatrician
What are some common roadblocks parents run into when trying to advocate for OT services with their pediatrician
Questions to ask the pediatrician if they don’t give you a referral to OT right away
Strategies, scripts and tips for getting a referral to OT
How you can self-refer to OT if you need to.

Links:
Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/70

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

Find more from Dr. Playforth www.thepediatricianmom.com

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

The role of OT in a school based setting: unpacking IEPs and 504 plans with Casey Waugh, MS OTR/L Apr 02, 2023

Show notes

Book a free consult with Casey
Free download: how to start the conversation with your child's school about sensory needs in the classroom

It's Occupational Therapy month and we are celebrating by highlighting some of the ways you can get OT support for your children. Today we're talking about OT support through the public school system, specifically in the United States. This episode covers basic information about IEP services and 504 plans, how they differ and how to effectively create a support team that has your child's best interests in mind.
Casey Waugh is a pediatric occupational therapist with 11 years of experience in outpatient, early intervention, and school settings. Casey’s passion is to elevate parent confidence through education and advocacy. Her social media channel OT Time with Casey was created in response to a desire to help fill gaps between professional knowledge and parent knowledge. Casey has focused her effort on learning and training in the areas of feeding, sensory processing, and special education processes particularly in regard to ADHD and OT in schools. On a personal note, she is a mom of two active and sweet little boys, and the idea of a perfect date night with her hubs is a night on the couch watching The Office with their cats Frank and Beans.
Links

Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/69

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

Casey’s instagram

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

Why you shouldn’t worry about your preschooler’s handwriting skills, with Susie Allison, M.Ed. Mar 26, 2023

Show notes

If you’ve ever worried about your preschooler’s handwriting skills and whether or not they’ll be able to write their name or their ABCs by kindergarten, let us (a pediatric Occupational Therapist and a former teacher with a Masters in Early Childhood Education) put your mind at ease. You might be shocked to realize that some of the expectations placed on kindergarteners and young learners isn’t actually backed by evidence. This episode will give you insights into how handwriting is actually developed, what underlying skills we should be focusing on and how to start that conversation with your child’s school or teacher.

Susie is a former teacher with a Master's in Early Childhood Education and a mom to 3 kids. She taught kindergarten and first grade for 8 years, and was also a math and reading curriculum specialist for a large school district outside of Seattle. Her mission is to bring hands-on play and learning back to childhood, support others in their parenting journey, and help everyone make it to nap time. Susie’s parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon and she also created Playing Preschool- a homeschool preschool curriculum.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why there’s such a huge discrepancy between natural childhood development and what schools are expecting of early learner
Why we shouldn’t force preschoolers to practice handwriting too early
What we should be focusing on instead
The sequence of underlying skills that need to be mastered before even attempting to form letters
When is the right time to start practicing handwriting?

Links:
Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/68

Companion blog post (email template to teachers is at the bottom): https://busytoddler.com/learning-handwriting/

Susie’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busytoddler

Susie’s PlayingPreschool program

Susie’s book on Amazon

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

Unscripted: Update on our clothing sensitivity journey Mar 19, 2023

Show notes

Grab the from stressed to dressed clothing guide

Here’s a quick update on how our sensitivity to clothing journey has progressed, including the most game-changing hack I got Liliana to try (and hope it might save you some meltdowns in the future as well)
Behind the scenes morning routine clothing challenge

Blog post on clothing sensitivity

Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/podcast

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

From whole body listening to everyday regulation with Elizabeth Sautter Mar 12, 2023

Show notes

Download the template to email your child’s teacher

This week I get to share the great conversation I had with Elizabeth Sautter, an SLP who specializes in social communication, emotional regulation and executive functioning for over 25 years. She strives to provide neurodiverse affirming therapy, training, resources and an online course for parents with a passion to make it simple and sprinkled into everyday life as an “add IN”, not an add “ON” to everyday routines and activities. She’s an author of Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick! Practical Activities to Manage Emotional, Navigate Social Situations and Reduce Anxiety (elizabethsautter.com). She is a collaborator and trainer with The Zones of Regulation team and co-author of The Zones storybook set, Tools to Try card decks and Navigating the Zones game. She strongly believes in supporting regulation and advocacy for all individuals (everydayregulation.com). She resides in California, with her husband, two sons, dog and cat.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How the idea of whole body listening came to be
Why whole body listening needed to be redefined
How we should be teaching the idea behind whole body listening in a neuro-affirmative way
An ideal way to integrate regulation strategies and awareness into the mainstream classroom

Links:

Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/66

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

Episode on my issues with Whole Body Listening

ElizabethSautter.com

https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth.sautter/

https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethSautterMACCCSLP

More information about the Larry Resources: EverydayRegulation.com

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

Re-air: Is it Sensory or is it Behavior? Mar 05, 2023

Show notes

This is a re-air of episode 20.
All behavior is a form of communication, but sometimes it can be hard to decipher what our children are communicating. When kids hit, kick, spit, punch, throw or push, parents often ask me, “is this sensory or is it behavior?”

I’m here to end that debate once and for all. Well, maybe not end it, but at least help you reframe it.

Because what the real question should be is “What is it my child is trying to communicate with me right now?”

Listen to this episode to hear more about the sensory and behavior link.

Links:

Grab the course: www.theotbutterfly.com/behavior

Transcript/show notes at www.theotbutterfly.com/65

instagram: @TheOTButterfly www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

website/blog: www.theotbutterfly.com

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

How to get started with a sensory lifestyle in 5 easy steps Feb 26, 2023

Show notes

Description (buzz sprout & meta):

We all benefit from using sensory supports throughout our day (regardless of neurotype). However, some individuals, particularly neurodivergent individuals with sensory processing disorder need a more specialized, proactive and consistent schedule of sensory input throughout their day, which is often referred to as a sensory lifestyle.

Listen to this episode to learn:

What a sensory lifestyle is
Signs your child may benefit from a sensory lifestyle
Examples of how we are all engaging in sensory regulation tools
How to get started with a sensory lifestyle

Links

Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/64

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book

Proprioception: what is it and how does it support my child? Feb 19, 2023

Show notes

What exactly is proprioceptive input and why do Occupational Therapists keep talking about it? If you’ve never heard of the term proprioceptive input, you might have heard of “heavy work” which is the more commonly used term. Keep reading to find out what proprioceptive input is, and why it’s probably the answer to some of your sensory regulation questions.

Links:
Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/podcast

The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly

Heavywork freebie

Heavywork webinar

Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult

~Formerly known as The Sensory W.I.S.E. Solutions Pocast~
The Sensory Code Book