One of my favorite verses of scripture is 1 Peter 4:10, which says: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."

I really believe that we were all given a gift to use to help, serve and bless others. I think serving, teaching and nurturing children is one of the best gifts. It takes a special person to be able to work in the life of a child, especially with children who are neurodivergent or neurodiverse.

My guest today is Brittni Winslow, a dear friend of mine who lives in Durham, N.C. She is an occupational therapist and executive director of Emerge Pediatric Therapy in North Carolina. She helps create confident kids through customized therapy.

6:46 – Brittni 101

• Brittni is married and has three daughters. She is an occupational therapist and always wanted to open her own business.

8:17 – How is occupational therapy different from physical therapy?

• Brittni works on functional skills for kids, such as play, caring for themselves, sitting at the dinner table, etc. Physical therapy is working on strengthening or rehabilitating.

9:17 – What makes Emerge so different?

• Brittni wants Emerge to be different from other occupational therapy providers. A big part of that is working with the kids and educating the parents, teachers and community partners.
• "We want to make sure everyone is on the same page and everyone is educated on how to best work with this child," said Brittni.
• "I truly believe that no kid is intentionally trying to be bad. There are some ways that their system might be wired that makes it really hard for them," said Brittni.

14:07 – Generational changes in helping children

• Brittni says she'll often hear parents say, "I dealt with this [issue] as a kid."
• Kids are sometimes misjudged as being lazy, disinterested or having behavioral problems. But really, there are some underlying issues that could easily be addressed.

16:48 – Removing the stigma

• "It's not that how these kids are wired is wrong. It's just a different wiring," said Brittni.
• You need to uncover what will work best for kids.

20:51 – Has Brittni's job affected how she parents her own kids?

• She's always taking one hat off and putting another hat on. She tries to use her tools to help her own children.
• Even though Brittni has helped hundreds of kids, it can be hard to help her own children. But, having kids has helped her be a better OT and help other parents.

26:35 – How Covid has impacted her business

• Brittni has worked on compassion fatigue with her therapists to make sure they are OK.

31:10 – Sensory night at the Durham Bulls

• They partnered with the Durham Bulls baseball team and did a sensory night for kids. Some parents said it was the first baseball game they ever took their child to.

36:20 – Get to know you

• Song she has to sing? Any song from the Trolls soundtrack
• Who has influenced her the most? Her grandfather
• Favorite meal? Angus Barn steak and salad

FEATURED QUOTES

"We want to make sure everyone is on the same page and everyone is educated on how to best work with this child." – Brittni

"I truly believe that no kid is intentionally trying to be bad. There are some ways that their system might be wired that makes it really hard for them." – Brittni

"It's not that how these kids are wired is wrong. It's just a different wiring." – Brittni

https://www.emergepediatrictherapy.com/