Today Dr. Dan welcomes Occupational Therapist and author Kelly Beins to the Parent Footprint podcast. Kelly Beins is an Occupational Therapist certified in sensory integration.  She has over 22 years of clinical experience.  Through her Ovis the Sheep book series, she uses characters and a love of reading to help children make challenging real-life experiences easier for families. 

Kelly owns the private practice About Occupational Therapy Consulting, LLC

in Frederick, Maryland.  The organization’s mission is to make life easier for children and families living with sensory processing disorder (SPD).  Kelly’s children's book series and her course for parents of kids with sensory processing challenges ("Sensory Parenting: An EASIER Way") as well as all of her work teaches parents to learn positive co-regulation. Kelly works through the many daily challenges so many families face (sleeping, eating, toileting, dressing), and explores the many overlaps between SPD and other existing conditions like ADHD, anxiety, and autism, 

The world of sensory processing can be a confusing place. One in fifteen school-aged children experience sensory differences. Despite an advancing body of research and a quickly expanding body of knowledge, those children and families living with sensory differences often feel misunderstood, and at a loss for how to communicate to others what they are going through and what they need. Kelly’s work and her books are lighting the way for families to see everyday challenges more clearly and work through them.

Dr. Dan and Kelly discuss the many types of sensory disorders, other diagnoses related to sensory processing disorder, mental health, parent survival tips, the importance of parent intuition, how kids mirror parental regulation/dysregulation, and many other important sensory related topics.

At the end of today’s episode, Kelly shares two enlightening Parent Footprint moments that will surely resonate with listeners as she describes the intersection of her work and her parenting.

Originally from Canada, Kelly lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

For more information about Kelly and her books go to:  https://www.otc-frederick.com/