Areas of Expertise
Expert Witness
I continue to support families in their SEND Appeal as an expert witness through comprehensive assessments and detailed reports for children and young people up to the age of 25-years in considering their sensory and physical needs. I have many years experience of attending Tribunal hearings as an expert witness.
Family coaching
I work with families who have a child with additional needs and focus on each family member's sensory preferences and how this impacts on family life. Through guidance and working together we explore and implement sensory strategies that improves family harmony and provides everyone with the nurture, rest and zest that they need
Executive cheerleading
I realised early on that I am not very good at telling people what to do but I am comfortable in encouraging others. Working within corporate settings I provide group- and individual coaching exploring the sensory preferences of individuals and we then put in place practial environmental and task-focused strategies that improves staff well-being, reduces stress related absence from work and improves productivity and a healthier work environment.
Sensory Integration
Grounded in neuroscience and human occupation, Jean Ayres, pioneered the science of Sensory Integration in the late 1960's and early1970's. Her theories have been proved through modern MRI and other brain-related studies.
Sensory Integration is the premise that the way our senses perceive our world directly influences our behaviour, emotional reactions, social interactions and our abiltiy to focus, engage and participate.
In addition to our five senses (touch, hearing, vision, taste and smell) we have three additional senses.
Our proprioceptive sense is our body sense that helps us know where we are in relation to the space around us.
Our vestibular sense is our balance sense that helps us orientate our bodies in relation to earth and helps us move through the space around us.
Our interioception sense is the sense that informs us about our intenal body reactions, our heart beat, whether we are hungry, thirsty, in pain, breathless, etc.
Our sensory systems are an integral part of who we are and how we respond to events around us. By understanding whether we respond too much or too little to sensory input and find strategies to manage this, we can influence our emotional reactions, how we connect with others and how we engage with the world and its demands.
