Assessments are typically carried out in an informal and fun environment over a period of four one-hour sessions. At the conclusion of the sessions, a detailed report is produced highlighting the child’s particular strengths and weaknesses. This report can then be shared by the parents with other people working with their child.
Working with families
The parents are constantly involved with the Sensory Therapy and present at every session. I interview the parents alone so they may talk frankly about their child without distressing them. My role is to help families to better understand difficulties which drive their child’s behaviour. I have trained additionally to work with children who are adopted or fostered and support their carers. This often means working with children who may have experienced trauma or who are highly anxious. Training with parents is never completed in front of the child as this undermines the parent.
Sensory Therapy can help to strengthen attachment, develop skills, enable sensory information to be processed more effectively and help children to focus better. This approach places parents at the centre of all treatment and aims to work on the dynamic interaction between parent and child.
Adoption
I work with parents to improve the attachment and relationship between themselves and their child. The intervention is centred around unstructured play in which the child and parent together develop interactions. This allows the child’s brain to assimilate new pathways and develop positive experiences. The outcome is a closer bond, an improvement in regulation, and less anxiety in both