Spirited Conversations - Engaging and Elevating Pediatric OT

Tracy Stackhouse, Cory Dundon, Michelle Maunder

We are on a mission to build the collective knowledge of paediatric occupational therapists and fellow human beings alike. Most of us are drawn this field because we love children and we believe in the infinite possibility of childhood. But. Once we enter practice, there is often a feeling of being  overwhelmed by all there is to know in order to be effective. This podcast was conceived to include you in our SpIRiTed conversations. These discussions have kept us engaged and had an unmeasurable impact on us as therapists. We want to share our regular clinical conversations with others, not knowing all the answers, but allowing each of us to have the space to think and put the pieces together.  Tracy’s ability to make clinical reasoning and neuroscience accessible to all is incredibly powerful and worth sharing. ‘Show Notes can be found at www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1日前

    36. The Joy of Mentoring: Reflective Practice in Pediatric OT

    Learning almost always involves some friction. This episode started before we hit record. We were chatting about the therapists we mentor and why we love it so much, and Tracy stopped us and said we needed to be recording. So we did. It's a different kind of episode for us: unplanned, honest, and full of the things we usually only say to each other. Each of us shares why we mentor. Tracy talks about helping clinicians find themselves in the work and bring theory into practice. Michelle talks about seeing the possibility of the clinician the same way we see it in every child. Cory talks about the privilege of sitting with someone's vulnerability and offering the just right challenge for where they're at. From there, the conversation turns to reflective practice. What it looks like on an ordinary day, why it needs another person, and how it helps us get out of our own way so we can stay present and compassionate in session. In this episode: - Mentoring as knowledge translation, within and across disciplines - Why friction and vulnerability come before growth - A three-part reflective practice model: theory, action, and who we are in the work - Safety as the foundation of every good mentoring relationship - Reflective practice at the intersection of development and mental health - Noticing your pull in session, and finding your way back If you've ever finished a session thinking "I didn't land that", this one is for you. [00:00] Introduction [01:00] The conversation we almost didn't record [02:29] Tracy's why: mentoring as the thing she loves most [05:52] Learning from within your discipline, and across disciplines [08:07] Michelle's why: seeing the clinician the way we see the child [12:41] Cory's why: the friction before the aha [17:02] The podcast as mentoring, and a three-part reflective practice model [19:54] Michelle on the Bali CPD retreat and being on the edge of capacity [23:01] Getting the friction out in front of you, and finding your edges [24:44] Safety as the foundation of mentoring [28:42] Reflective practice at the intersection of development and mental health [32:52] What reflective practice looks like in practice [38:11] "There that is": noticing your pull in the moment [42:36] Loose threads: boredom, doing enough, and the pull to do [46:02] Closing reflections [47:18] Outro Build your clinical reasoning skills with DFX Learning Journeys: https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/ Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/spirited-conversations-engaging-and-elevating/id1557795901 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0HU23iOAvwGqF7KUTpU6Ax Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT Loved this episode and want an easy cost-free way to support us? Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. 9月29日 ·  附贈內容

    SPIRITED CHATS: S, A and M

    Sensory, affect, motor (S.A.M). Three letters that sit underneath almost everything we say on this show. In our very first Spirited Chat, Tracy explains where SAM came from and why every one of those letters has a high route and a low route of processing in the brain. Spirited Chats are our new short episodes: one idea, short enough to fit between clients or on the drive home. We started at the very core of the SPIRIT Model, because if you've ever heard us say "the low route of M" and felt like we were speaking our own language, this one is for you. Tracy traces SAM back to Dr Stanley Greenspan and shows the unique and amazing quality of her thinking mind as she builds on it. Using Dan Siegel's hand model of the brain, she explains why sensory processing splits into modulation and discrimination, and why affect and motor have their own high and low routes too. Michelle and Cory then bring it back to the clinic: how SAM guides assessment and intervention, and why having three clear places to look matters most when a child's presentation gets complicated. Clinical reasoning starts with clarity. We differentiate so we can integrate. Find the show notes and more Spirited Chats at https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/ Build your clinical reasoning with DFX's Learning Journeys: https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/ Instagram: @spiritedconversations_ot YouTube: @spiritedconversations_OT Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. 8月11日

    35. Where Movement Begins: Bilateral Integration and the Vestibular System.

    If a child is relying heavily on their visual system to drive movement, the missing piece might not be where you think. This one started the way our best conversations usually do, with Michelle bringing a genuine clinical wondering. A five and a half year old, a diadochokinesis task, and a quality of movement that looked robotic no matter how much practise was offered. We took that single clinical moment and mapped it through the SPIRIT model, and landed somewhere we did not expect: the vestibular system as the foundational source of bilateral coordination, rhythm and midline reference. Tracy did what Tracy does and made the neuroscience not just accessible but genuinely exciting, and by the end of it we were all doing bicep curls at home. This is one of those episodes where we kept saying we would keep it simple, and then absolutely did not, in the best possible way. WHAT WE COVER Bilaterality as a distinct sensory integrative function. Dr Ayres identified bilaterality as its own cluster within sensory discrimination, not just a motor output. That changes how we reason about coordination tasks that look straightforward on the surface. The vestibular system as the foundation for bilateral movement. Before a child can coordinate two limbs in an antiphase pattern they need a stable midline reference, and that reference is vestibularly mediated. If the foundation is shaky, children may compensate by watching you the entire time rather than generating movement from within. In phase versus antiphase movement patterns. The difference between homologous bilateral movement and the more demanding antiphase patterns, and why grading back to the simpler pattern tells you so much about where the breakdown actually sits. Rhythm, the saccule, and why gravity is always working. How the saccule functions as a background rhythm detector, and what the vestibular system's constant relationship with gravity means for rhythm generation and for multisensory supports in treatment. Top down versus bottom up coordination. When a child is manufacturing movement through visual monitoring and cognitive effort rather than generating it from an embodied sense, that is clinically significant and observable. FREE CPD WORKSHEET Five reflective practice prompts, free to download and ready for your CPD record. Grab it with the full show notes and transcript at spiritedconversationspodcast.com Want to build your clinical reasoning further? Check out DFX Learning Journeys: https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/ FIND US Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/ Loved this episode and want an easy cost-free way to support us? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. 6月7日 ·  附贈內容

    BONUS: A Spirited Retreat

    This is a short bonus from us, and it comes with an invitation. From the 9th to the 14th of November 2026, Tracy is leading a Spirited Retreat in Ubud, Bali, through CPD Retreats, and we wanted our listeners to know. If you have ever wanted to learn the SPIRIT model deeply, this is the way to do it. You complete the SPIRIT course online beforehand at your own pace, then land in Bali with around 25 others, mostly paediatric OTs, though other professions and educators are welcome too. Mornings are theory and lectures with Tracy. Afternoons are practical: you spend time with children in the local community, then come back together and use the SPIRIT model to clinically reason what you saw and plan for the next day. Each evening there is something restorative built in. Michelle went last year and says it shifted the way she thinks about herself as a clinician, not just the strategies she uses. There are only a few spots left. If you can make it to Bali in November, Tracy would love to see you there. Sign up here: https://cpdretreats.com.au/retreats/ols/products/a-spirited-retreat-with-tracy-stackhouse-bali-september-2025-a-spr-rtr-wth1 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. 4月2日

    34. From Sensory Surplus to Praxis: a developmental approach

    What does it really mean for sensory integration to be a developmental theorym and how does that change the way we see the children in front of us? In this episode, we pick up right where Episode 33 left off. Tracy opens with a powerful quote from the Sensory Integration Theory and Praxis textbook that bridges sensory discrimination and executive functioning, and the conversation takes off from there. We explore how Praxis doesn't arrive all at once but interacts with a child's changing developmental competence, from the six-month-old reaching for a toy, all the way to the basketball player executing a perfect shot. Tracy shares a rich clinical story of a little boy with Fragile X syndrome whose play shifted dramatically, not because he was taught new skills, but because his motivational system was met exactly where it was. And we get into genuinely fascinating territory around sensory surplus, neurodivergence, and what it means when a child needs to spend far longer making sense of perceptual qualities before they can move into representational play. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction & recap of Episode 33 01:43 Tracy's quote from Sensory Integration Theory and Praxis (2nd ed., 2002) 03:00 Sensory integration as a developmental theory — the spiralling continuum 07:17 What does "developmental theory" really mean here? 08:14 The embodied experience of a six-month-old becoming a reacher 10:34 Praxis elaborating from affordances — the basketball example 12:33 The interrupted development of Episode 33's little cherub 14:22 "Praxis interacts with the changing developmental competence of the child" 18:00 Connecting to executive functioning — planning and inhibitory control 20:06 Sledging, dysregulation, and the autonomic nervous system 20:33 Affect is the glue — Stanley Greenspan 21:48 Clinical story: the boy with Fragile X and the red cars 26:33 Attunement, pacing, and knowing when to stretch 29:00 How you find the affect inside a child's category interest 30:03 Sensory discrimination as the foundation of executive function shifting 31:20 Executive functions are embodied before they are cognitive 33:27 Visual discrimination and cognitive flexibility 35:00 Stuck in developmental stages — integration dependency 37:26 From concrete/literal to representational thinking 38:42 The million repetitions problem — and why play partners get tired 41:00 Filling the perceptual cup 42:04 Wired to Feel — autism as a condition of sensory surplus 44:00 Motivational bias, executive function, and the "not done yet" feeling 45:26 Affect as the glue in pathway building 47:12 Meeting children exactly where they are 49:14 DIR, honeypots, and what it means to really be with a child in play 49:55 Did affect unlock self-other connection? 53:15 Pulling it together for parents — the relief of knowing this is the work 54:52 We don't teach shoe-tying to 2-year-olds — developmental readiness Resources mentioned: Sensory Integration Theory and Praxis, 2nd ed. (2002) — Anzaloni & Murray Children Adapt — Gilfoyle, Grady & Moore Wired to Feel: Autism as a Condition of Sensory Surplus — Sweezy & Bergenfeld (2025) DIR/Floortime — Stanley Greenspan Early Start Denver Model — Sally Rogers SPIRIT Model — Tracy Stackhouse, Developmental FX The Felt Sense Polyvagal Model — Jan Winhall If this episode resonated with you, please share it with a colleague and take a moment to leave a review — it genuinely helps more people find us. Check out DFX's learning journeys to sign up for our learning journeys community and take any of the courses available to build your clinical reasoning skills -->  https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/ Connect with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/ Loved this episode and want an easy cost free way to support us? Subscribe to our youtube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. 2月2日

    33. Another look at Praxis: Stories from the OT Clinic

    In this episode, we dive deep into the clinical reasoning behind a case study of Cory's involving a 3.5-year-old boy. We do our best to link the experiences of this little boys daily challenges, such as dressing, social interactions, and emotional regulation, and unpack them through the lens of sensory integration and praxis. We explore the vital difference between "high route" and "low route" brain processing of sensations and affect, and how we can use playful, relational interactions to bridge the gap. We also discuss the intersection of sensory integrative knowledge and Polyvagal Theory. With another aha moment in how the foundation of safety becomes a way we can facilitate sensory discrimination to emerge for motor planning and skill development. Check out DFX's learning journeys to sign up for our learning journeys community and take any of the courses available to build your clinical reasoning skills --> https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/   Full transcription of our episode is available on our website.  Timestamps 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Case Study: Functional challenges 02:52 Observations in Daycare 04:39 Therapeutic Approach and Techniques 07:04 Progress and Insights 09:15 Discussion on Sensory Integration and Praxis 19:17 Practical Applications and Tools 26:22 Playful Beginnings: Exploring Interaction 26:48 Progress and Social Development 29:23 Understanding Sensory Discrimination 32:28 Trusting Theories in Practice 33:19 Praxis in Action: Another Case Study 36:42 Reflecting on Clinical Observations 43:01 Developmental Pathways and Testing Connect with us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/   Loved this episode and want an easy cost free way to support us? Subscribe to our youtube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  7. 10/12/2025

    32. Unpacking Clinical Language: Eye Control and the Vestibular System

    In this episode, we’re wrestling with something that comes up all the time in clinic: how do we explain the tricky clinical terms (like ocular control) to parents without losing them? We are continuing on the journey of trying to unpack language, talking about how we translate what we’re seeing in terms of ocular motor functions, vestibular contributions, and somatosensory discrimination into language that actually lands and makes sense for families.   We unpack how the vestibular system and sensory discrimination play into eye movements, how modulation bumps into these issues, and how neurodevelopmental factors shape what we’re observing. Happy Listening!   Check out DFX's learning journeys to sign up for our learning journeys community and take any of the courses available to build your clinical reasoning skills  --> https://dfxlearningjourneys.thinkific.com/   Full transcription of our episode is available on our website.    Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Translating Clinical Concepts 00:36 Challenges in Communicating Clinical Terms 02:26 Navigating Clinical and Medical Spaces 05:58 Understanding Ocular Motor Function 08:25 Connecting Sensory Systems to Daily Life 19:01 Developmental Perspectives on Sensory Integration 26:19 Integrating Information for Developmental Understanding 26:59 Vestibular System and Its Functions 28:39 Motor Control and Its Origins 30:25 Challenges with AI in Understanding Motor Skills 37:20 Clinical Reasoning and Interpretation 38:30 Attachment and Motor Development 42:03 Connecting Threads in Therapy 44:19 Concluding Thoughts and Future Discussions   Connect with us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/   Loved this episode and want an easy cost free way to support us? Subscribe to our youtube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. 29/07/2025

    31. Wonder, Safety, and the Power of Showing Up

    In this episode, we dive into the complexities of neurodiversity, sensory modulation, and the importance of safety and curiosity in therapy and life. Through some of our personal stories and clinical anecdotes, we explore how embracing individual differences and showing up authentically can foster resilience, learning, and connection. Resources & Mentions: Ruth Lanius and Dr. Stephen Porges (on neuroception and sensory matrix)Lois Hickman, OT, and nature-based therapyIf you enjoyed this episode, check out our Instagram for more resources and Cory’s “Spirit” rap. Keep showing up, stay curious, and embrace your own unique innate qualities! TIMESTAMPS 0:00 — Introduction, no context, just starting 0:08 — Hosts reflect on being non-professional communicators and podcasting 0:38 — The experience of listening to yourself on a podcast 0:55 — Balancing each other's communication styles 1:27 — Embarrassing travel stories and trusting the process 2:16 — Resilience and strengths-based language 4:33 — "Neuro spicy" and personal quirks 5:43 — Funny story about ADHD realization 9:13 — Learning from yourself and collective learning 10:19 — Embracing neurodiversity in the podcast 11:41 — Recap of last episode and moving into new terminology 12:47 — Discussion of neuroception and modulation 14:15 — Sensory matrix and evolving language 17:02 — Sensory affective dual process 18:22 — Mobilization and nervous system responses 21:02 — The importance of safety and curiosity in therapy 29:23 — The "milk and butter" story: using curiosity and safety in therapy 36:05 — Reflections on the story and its impact 39:23 — The importance of following the child's lead in therapy 43:58 — Wrapping up, next episode preview, and social media plug 43:26 — Final thoughts and goodbyes Connect with us:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedconversations_ot/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spiritedconversationsOT YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@spiritedconversations_OT Website: https://www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com/ Loved this episode and want an easy cost-free way to support us? Subscribe to our youtube channel! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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關於

We are on a mission to build the collective knowledge of paediatric occupational therapists and fellow human beings alike. Most of us are drawn this field because we love children and we believe in the infinite possibility of childhood. But. Once we enter practice, there is often a feeling of being  overwhelmed by all there is to know in order to be effective. This podcast was conceived to include you in our SpIRiTed conversations. These discussions have kept us engaged and had an unmeasurable impact on us as therapists. We want to share our regular clinical conversations with others, not knowing all the answers, but allowing each of us to have the space to think and put the pieces together.  Tracy’s ability to make clinical reasoning and neuroscience accessible to all is incredibly powerful and worth sharing. ‘Show Notes can be found at www.spiritedconversationspodcast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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