The Sensory Project

Whether it's your first or fifth child, today’s guests are here to help! Every child has successes and challenges, and every family needs support, regardless of whether or not those families include members with special needs. Tuning in, you’ll hear from Sonya Abegglen and Lynnelle King from the Family Seasons Postpartum Clinic, where they offer pre- and postnatal education, advanced lactation care, specialized bodywork, parenting resources, and – the topic of this episode – craniosacral...

Life can be challenging if you’re struggling with knowing where your body is in space. Some of your kiddos might be facing daily challenges if they lack body awareness, mid-range control, or force modulation, so today’s episode is all about these skills and tips for improving them. These three “skills” act like a little triad that you have to think about when you are addressing these challenges with a client (as a therapist), or if you are a parent and you are trying to figure out w...

The topic of essential oils gives rise to varying opinions & reactions, & to help us understand this often misunderstood topic, we invited our friend Erin Owings, who runs The Supernatural Project, to have a discussion! As the mother to two children who have struggled with Laryngomalacia, which can greatly inhibit a baby's ability to breathe, Erin discovered the power of essential oils out of necessity, to help her children thrive. The immense difference that a few simple pr...

Today’s show is all about speaking to your pediatrician about the different developmental stages of your child when they are between the ages of three months and one year old. Your hosts, Jessica and Rachel, are both mothers, so they are speaking from experience, and the episode is full of their personal stories. Rachel and Jessica want all new parents to know that decisions regarding your child’s health are entirely up to you! Don’t feel bad to ask as many questions as you need to, ask ...

Raising a child with Level 3 autism and a combined diagnosis of PANDAS can be a challenge for parent and child. Today we welcome back the Blymillers. We first interviewed Angela and Shawn 122 episodes ago! Much has changed since then. In this show, we check in with these super-parents to find out how their five-and-a-half-year-old boy, Theo, is responding to his various therapies, and to hear some of the lessons they have learned. We hear how Angela and Shawn have refined their priorities, ho...

As parents, therapists, and teachers, we have specific goals we want our kids to be able to achieve, whether it’s something like brushing their teeth at home, drinking water from an open cup, or working on their handwriting. What we don’t always think about are those underlying skills that we need them to establish before they can actually work on and achieve those specific goals. Today, on All Things Sensory, we are going to talk about how to address those underlying skills for spe...

Welcome to All Things Sensory by Harkla! This trailer is a great place to start if you're new to the show! We cover:Who we (Rachel & Jessica) areWhat our background is as Certified Occupational TherapistsWhat are our most popular episodesWho Harkla isIf you're looking to go deeper on any of the shows, we always include show notes and transcripts as Harkla.co/Podcast.If you want to connect with us more, make sure to follow up on Instagram!Podcast Listeners Save at Harkla.co:All Things...

In our early stages of development, we all have a template in our brains that guides how we move. And the movements we make based on that guide are called innate rhythmic movements. This set of movements helps us go from being defenseless babies to developing skills like walking, speaking, and even coping with stress. Today’s guest is Sonia Story, an expert in innate rhythmic movements and the creator of the Brain and Sensory Foundations course, and she joins us to help us learn more abo...

We've got BIG NEWS to announce to everyone during this podcast episode!We're joining the Harkla Team as in-house content creators, experts, and podcast hosts! This means we're changing the name of the podcast to All Things Sensory by Harkla!Like we mention in the episode, to celebrate we're having a big sale on all of our Harkla products:One month free to the Harkla Sensory Club (which was The Sensory Project Club)25% off all of our digital courses15% off Harkla Therapy Products and Supplemen...

We are often asked about how to deal with fighting between siblings and how to help them get along better. First off, it’s always useful to remember that fighting is a natural and inevitable part of life between children, and it’s just a matter of making sure that the difficulties that do arise are within a reasonable limit and are not dangerous. When a child has sensory challenges, these kinds of conflicts can be exacerbated and in some cases may be harder to deal with; sensory pro...

A career in occupational therapy can take on many different characteristics and trajectories. Our guest today, Reema Naim, is a great example of this and she shares her unique path and how she built a business and lifestyle around her passions and strengths. We hear from Reema about her early forays into the world of health and the different exploratory steps she took before settling into the role of an OT. Reema was able to open her own clinic, and since then has increasingly pursued wo...

Facilitating speech for your child or the child you care for can be loads of fun, and in today’s episode, hosts Rachel and Jessica cover a whole bunch of activities that can incorporate language into daily tasks. While we don’t focus specifically on language development - but rather verbiage - some of these tasks may help your child with enunciation, so there should be something for everyone! We kick off the show by diving into our first exercise: sequencing through singing. We talk...

Welcome to episode 138! This episode is sponsored by Harkla Co. Learn more about why we LOVE this company HERE! Use the Code: “sensory” for a 10% discount on everything in their shop! This week’s episode is an incredible conversation with Whitney Sarnowski. Whitney spent the first few years after graduating with her undergraduate degree - in special educations and a minor in primary education - teaching children with Autism. In her third year of teachi...

Back in 2018, we released our third podcast episode all about bedtime and sleep. This episode is an updated version of that episode - Sleep 2.0! Get ready for a discussion on WHY many children struggle to get a good night’s sleep as well as our fav tips, tricks, and strategies to help the entire family feel successful with bedtime. This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this thr...

This episode is an incredible conversation with Rachel McFedries - Rachel is passionate about helping parents of children ages birth - 7 years balance screen time and play time. Because parenting these days can feel overwhelming and energy-draining, screens can become the “easy” answer. As a result, some children are experiencing more screen time than ever before. Rachel’s passion began 4 years ago with the birth of her third child - she was really struggling to limit screen time for her...

Have you ever had your child, client, or student draw a picture of a person, or of themself? Did you know that the drawing can tell you a lot about the child’s understanding of their body and environment? That’s what this episode is all about! And of course, stay tuned ‘til the end to hear tips, tricks, and strategies to help improve body awareness, spatial relations, and more! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast. Brought To You By Harkla This podca...

Today we have an incredible conversation with Jennifer Barnard, an Occupational Therapist who is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of plagiocephaly without a helmet, while treating torticollis quickly and effectively. You can hear the passion in her voice so make sure you check out her website and start following her on Instagram after listening to today's episode! Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast. Brought To You By Harkla This podcast is...

Today’s episode is in answer to a listener question about treatment planning - how to plan and set up treatment activities for a variety of kiddos, at a variety of levels, to address a variety of goals. Get ready to take notes as Rachel & Jessica break down how to set up an obstacle course activity and how to easily modify each step. They also provide you with several of their favorite games that can be used. This is an episode for therapists and parents alike!Be sure to check out the sho...

Today’s conversation is with McKenzie Hoffman, M.A., CCC-SLP, a Speech Pathologist who began her career in the NICU as well as providing feeding therapy in a pediatric outpatient clinic. Her passion led her to create a feeding program, as well as her Instagram account - @playingatyourplate - where she helps families feed their children in a positive and holistic way. Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast. Brought To You By Harkla This podcast is brought to...

This episode is all about birth stories - Rachel and Jessica talk about their sons and how different their experiences were. No judgement, no criticism. Just stories. Can you relate?!Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at Harkla.Co/Podcast. Brought To You By Harkla This podcast is brought to you by Harkla. Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products, child development c...