252 episodes
All Things Sensory by Harkla Rachel Harrington, COTA/L, AC & Jessica Hill, COTA/L
-
- Kids & Family
-
-
4.5 • 23 Ratings
-
Rachel Harrington and Jessica Hill, are two passionate Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants who answer your questions related to all things sensory, occupational therapy, parenting, self-care, nutrition, and health, from a therapist’s perspective. Providing raw, honest, fun ideas, and strategies, for parents and families to implement into daily life. Great for those who work with children with sensory processing disorder, special needs, autism, and ADHD. This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. At Harkla, our goal is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives.
-
#248 - Will My Child Grow Out of Sensory Processing Disorder?
Answering a listener question today - Will my child grow out of sensory processing disorder?
SPD is a neurological disorder that affects how your brain interprets sensory information. SPD can affect one or more of the eight senses. You might be over-responsive to one type of input while simultaneously being under-responsive to another. Learn more about SPD HERE.
SPD can be lifelong, but there are strategies and modifications you can use to help. Things like environmental modifications, skills training, and sensory integration therapy can be helpful. We dive into these strategies and MORE in this episode!
Sensory Processing Disorder Training
Make sure to check out all of our links below!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Looking for more in-depth help? Sign up for 2-on-1 Mentoring With Us!!
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram
Blog - The Ultimate Guide to SPD
Book - Sensational Kids (Amazon)
Article: Sensory Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Impact on Functioning - 2012 -
#247 - Autism is Not a Burden with Jessie from @daily_dig
Jessie is a social media manager, work-from-home mother, Autism advocate, and accidental influencer. She’s the mother to a wonderful 4-year-old boy and she shares their journey on Instagram.
You can find all of her links below.
Looking for more in-depth help? Sign up for 2-on-1 Mentoring With Us!!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
Jessie’s Instagram @daily_dig
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla Website
Harkla YouTube
Harkla Instagram -
#246 - What Are Preparatory Activities and Why Does Everyone Need to be Doing Them?
Preparatory activities are the “warm ups” you incorporate into a treatment session. These activities should stimulate different sensory systems, wake up different muscle groups, and help the child prepare for functional, occupation-based activities.
We dive into WHY we love preparatory activities and we give you our top 10 favorites that you need to include daily!
This isn’t just for therapists - parents and teachers can use these preparatory activities to help children prepare for daily activities at home and in the classroom!
Make sure to check out all of our links below!
Learn 30 fun ways to use a metronome - 30 Day Multi Sensory Processing Challenge
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Looking for more in-depth help? Sign up for 2-on-1 Mentoring With Us!!
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram
Ep. 139: Easy Ways to Incorporate Speech into Play
Ep. 173: What is Overflow?
Ep. 223: Implementing Sensory Strategies with Pre-Verbal Children
Build an Obstacle Course in 5 Easy Steps (YouTube)
5 Ways to Use a Sensory Bin (YouTube)
10 Visual Motor Activities (YouTube)
Astronaut Training - Vital Links
Benefits of the Brushing Protocol (Blog)
Borax Slime Recipe
TalkTools - Horn (whistle) Kit -
#245 - Therapy Case Study: 2 Year Old Sensory Seeker
We LOVE answering your questions! Today’s episode comes from a listener who reached out with a question about a client they work with.
“He’s 2 years old. Definitely has a large sensory cup. He is extremely rough and tumble. This kid has face planted on concrete and will get up and keep running. I tried a weighted vest on him but he ripped it off right away. I’ve informed mom about heavy work at home. Our sessions usually look like me chasing him around. Any tips / strategies for kids like him?”
We brainstormed and came up with some ideas on how to incorporate his preferred sensory activities (like running) into structured 2 step obstacle courses. We talked about meeting his sensory needs, using a visual schedule, and MORE!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Make sure to check out all of our links below!
Looking for more in-depth help? Sign up for 2-on-1 Mentoring With Us!!
Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram -
#244 - Treatment Planning Brainstorm Session
A big piece of therapy is treatment planning - as a therapist, you spend a lot of time planning and executing treatment sessions for your clients. The more clients you have, the more treatment plans you have! It’s time consuming and can oftentimes be frustrating.
We took 7 common treatment planning challenges and brainstormed ideas! The challenges we discussed ranged from lack of time, keeping it fun and play-based, to writing goals and burnout.
If you’re a therapist, this episode is for you! Be sure to share it with your fellow therapists!
Make sure to check out all of our links below!
Need new treatment activity ideas?! We’ve got you covered!
Fine Motor Skills Activity Course
Gross Motor Skills Activity Course
Visual Skills Activity Course
Looking for more in-depth help? Sign up for 2-on-1 Mentoring With Us!!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram
Episode 74 The Beauty of Building Rapport
Episode 95 Burnout Part 2: Therapist Edition -
#243 - 10 Tips if You're Starting Your Sensory Journey!
Whether you’re a new listener and new to the sensory world, or if you’ve been here for a while and are familiar with sensory processing, this episode is full of little tips and tricks for anyone navigating sensory processing challenges!
The tips that we dive into:
EmpathyJust right challengeFeeding the sensesWorking as a teamIn-person OTPrimitive reflexesSensory strategiesSensory breaksModificationsElevator pitchLearn How to Create a Personalized Sensory Diet
All Things Primitive Reflexes
Free Handout - Understanding Sensory Kiddos
Check out the links below!
Looking for more in-depth help? Sign up for 2-on-1 Mentoring With Us!!
We’d love to answer your questions on the podcast! Fill out this form -> https://harkla.typeform.com/to/ItWxQNP3
Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast.
Brought To You By Harkla
This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products & child development courses.
Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.
Links
All Things Sensory Podcast Instagram
Harkla YouTube Channel
Harkla Website - Shop Sensory Products!
Harkla Instagram
Episode 146 All Things Essential Oils
Episode 153 What Do I Do After My Child Gets a Diagnosis?
Episode 175 Empathizing with Individuals Who Have Sensory Differences
Episode 194 The Just Right Challenge
Episode 218 After School Activities
Customer Reviews
Helpful OTA/OT student resource!
I’m an Aussie OT student who has recently become an OTA at a local paediatric clinic. The podcast is super informative, is a great way to do extra learning in the car travelling and has even helped as a prompt for strategies to use with my kiddos. I’ll be recommending your podcast to all of the OTs & OTAs at my clinic!
Lost me when you used the word ‘compliance’
Elitist and not accessible to majority of families who are living with ADHD. Also ableist. Purify your water?! Create compliance in the child?!
SO helpful - content for adults with these difficulties please!
Great find! As an adult only diagnosed with some of the difficulties tackled here in recent years, these are the best resources for understanding and LIVING WITH them better in the last few years! A fertile new audience perhaps?