Making Sense

Calm Strips is the proud sponsor of Season 2 of Making Season.

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Play is a child’s occupation and has a profound impact on attachment and neuro-development. Therapeutic and developmental experiences benefit from a deeper understanding of the importance and impact of play. Today, Carrie Schmitt and Mim Ochsenbein unpack The Interpersonal Neurobiology of Play by highlighting and defining Play, while considering both the impact of play on brain development and the way that play in the context of relationship is powerful for driving development. 

Resources Mentioned In this episode:​

• Brown, S. L., & Vaughan, C. C. (2010). Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul. Avery.

SPONSORED BY CALM STRIPS

To learn more about Calm Strips and to purchase your strips today, visit www.calmstrips.com. Save 20% on your order for $20 or more with promo code CALMSTAR20.

The vestibular system is critically involved in integrating sensory signals from inside our bodies (interoception) with sensory signals from outside ourselves (exteroception). There is a large body of work showing that our sense of self stems from multisensory integration. Today, guest Lisa Porter, PhD, OTD, OTR/Land Carrie Schmitt, OTR/L unravel the important role of the vestibular system in our sense of self. From the role, vestibular sensation plays in modulating sensory processing to vestibular sensations contribution to safety and perspective taking, listen to Lisa and Carrie discuss the impact of this important sensory system. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:​

• Kestly, T. (2014). The interpersonal neurobiology of play: Brain-building interventions for emotional well-being (First ed., Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Find Lisa Porter at https://sensorykidsot.com/

Motor development is essentially psychological. In this conversation, Carrie Schmitt, OTR/L and Renee Allen, MS, OTR/L discuss the idea that motor development informed by sensation allows us to act on the world in the context of culture and relationship and ultimately enables skill acquisition across both motor and psychological milestones. Using clinical examples, they unpack what motor development challenges can tell us about a child’s sensory and psychological development.

Resources mentioned in this episode:​

• Adolph, Karen E, & Hoch, Justine E. (2019). Motor Development: Embodied, Embedded, Enculturated, and Enabling. Annual Review of Psychology, 70(1), 141-164.

Sensory differences have a profound impact on learning. Colleen Whiting is our faculty specialist on school-based practice. Today, Carrie Schmitt and Colleen Whiting discuss an article highlighting a study aimed at capturing parent and teacher perspectives on how sensory differences affect learning and life at school. This conversation covers topics such as the current day impact of distance learning, sensory profiles mismatches, sense of agency, and what specific strategies work to support students with sensory differences. Parents and school-based therapists alike will benefit from this discussion. 

Resources Mentioned In this episode:​

• Bialer, D., & Miller, L.J. (2011). No longer A SECRET: Unique common strategies for children with sensory or motor challenges. Sensory World. 

Find more about the school-based course Colleen Whiting designed at https://www.sensoryhealth.org/basic/school-based-intensive-for-occupational-therapy-practitioners

In pediatric occupational therapy, play is often used as a therapeutic medium. Today Carrie Schmitt and Michele Parkins discuss how the ways in which we play can include emotion regulation alongside sensory motor regulation. They explore the concept of psychosensory experiences tying in temperament as it manifests in play and how this guides therapeutic play aligning with sensory modulation, discrimination and sensory motor development.

• Foley, G. (2017). Play as regulation: Promoting self-regulation through play. Top Language Disorders 37(3), 241-258. doi:10.1097/TLD0000000000000129

Executive Director Virginia Spielmann and Carrie Schmitt introduce the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing’s podcast and discuss how a podcast is a wonderful medium to further the vision and mission of STAR Institute. In addition, they discuss the cornerstones of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4) highlighting the OT’s unique ability to integrate macro and micro viewpoints into our practice. Listen in and hear how we plan to use this season of the podcast to share research to practice translation through our unique perspective on sensory integration, relationship, and regulation. 

STAR Institute is a 501(c)3 organization, for more information and to donate please visit www.sensoryhealth.org.

Resources:

• American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi. org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

STAR Institute. (n.d.). Vision, Mission, & History. https://www.sensoryhealth.org/basic/vision-mission-history

This Making Sense podcast season is dedicated to the memory of Janet Wright. Who was Janet you ask? Janet was an incredibly enthusiastic occupational therapist who loved what she did. More importantly, she was always striving to further her education and was passionate about bringing that knowledge to her patients, parents, peers, and most especially OT students.

STAR Institute is a 501(c)3 organization, for more information and to donate please visit www.sensoryhealth.org.