Katie Stokes - Occupational Therapist

22/12/2025

SURVIVAL TIPS FOR CHRISTMAS DAY FOR KIDS WITH SENSORY CHALLENGES: Christmas day and its celebrations can be fraught with many emotions ranging from elation and laughter, to tears and tantrums. For our clients it can be even more challenging to cope with due to sensory sensitivities and eating challenges. Meeting and greeting relatives, eating strange food at unfamiliar places, and travelling by car or plane can be a source of overload. Planning ahead may help ease the challenge. Check out our blog post for some strategies to help. https://www.katiestokesot.com.au/blog/survival-tips-christmas-day-kids-sensory-issues

21/12/2025

https://www.katiestokesot.com.au/blog/survival-tips-christmas-day-kids-sensory-issues

Christmas day and its celebrations can be fraught with many emotions ranging from elation and laughter, to tears and tantrums. For our clients it can be even more challenging to cope with due to sensory sensitivities and eating challenges. Meeting and greeting relatives, eating strange food at unfam

18/12/2025

Count down to Christmas is on!! Here’s a few Christmas creations that have been crafted in the clinic recently.
Our last day in the clinic is Thursday 18 December. We will be having a break to recharge the batteries and enjoy some family time. Clinic will re-open Monday 5 January. 🎄

18/12/2025

Reflections on 2025:
It’s the final day in the clinic for me for 2025. Let’s celebrate getting through another school year with our kids and all the achievements made along the way. ❤️

10/12/2025

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING can be joyful for some, but a sensory overload for others. Check out our blog for some tips on surviving Christmas shopping with kids: https://www.katiestokesot.com.au/blog/8-tips-for-christmas-shopping-with-kids.

09/12/2025

🙂. Drawing a Smiley face on the thumbnail of the ‘helper hand’ (ie non dominant hand) can act as a cute visual cue for kids to remind them how to hold the paper. Try it out! ✂️

06/12/2025

Transition to high school:
Don’t forget to purchase our webinar and view before the upcoming statewide transition day in Victoria next week. It’s full of tips and ideas to help smooth the transition to high school and has some great suggestions of questions you might like to ask your School before they close for the holidays. Purchase the pre recorded webinar here: https://www.katiestokesot.com.au/shop/transition-to-high-school.

05/12/2025

HANDWRITING GOALS:
It is important to keep reviewing and reflecting on the progress of clients. Recently I compared some handwriting of my client from May 2025 to December 2025. The progress and improvement in letter size, letter formation, placement of letters on lines and spacing between words is obvious from these examples pictured. Well done to my client for persisting with these tasks, and for his motivation to practice. Using some preferred writing topics (Pokémon) and some ‘silly Christmas sentences’ has helped with his motivation and engagement. And of course lots of encouragement and support of his family. Well done!

03/12/2025

🏆 Great achievement by my client today! She managed to catch a train from one station to another, managing the use of her Myki card, coping with the sensory demands at the station , being able to manage her anxiety when being around unknown people in the community, and reading the timetables. Super proud! Her next self chosen goal is catching it on her own. So pleased to see this progress. We even spotted a billboard promoting the Hidden Disabilities program and sunflower lanyards at the station!

25/11/2025

Parent support group:
For the last two terms I have been running sessions for a group of five parents who have autistic teen daughters. Today marked our final session. It has been such a great experience sharing stories and strategies. I appreciated the parents feeling comfortable in sharing the highs and lows of their journeys. The group has got along so well that they are planning to continue their connection beyond our formal group sessions. TAKING EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST for 2026: Due to the success of this current group I am offering the group again in 2026. If you are the parent of an autistic teenager and would like to connect with families, hear from myself and guest speakers, please express your interest via a comment below or by emailing hello@katiestokesot.com.au.

17/11/2025

SUPPORTING KIDS WITH ANXIETY:
A large percentage of my caseload experience anxiety. Last night I attended an online webinar learning about more ways to support these kids and their families. Thanks kidlinkot for a great learning opportunity.

16/11/2025

After presenting my webinar yesterday (on a Saturday) , I stumbled across this gorgeous note in the clinic. I have no idea who wrote it or when (I’m assuming a parent) - whoever you are, you made my day. This little random act of kindness gives me an energy boost to keep going in these busy last weeks of the year. Thankyou x.