Play & Learn Occupational Therapy

20/01/2026

This one is coming up on the 28th January for paeds OTs - I'd love to see you there! Register via Verve OT Learning

Many children experience big shifts in regulation, energy or emotion that can seem sudden or hard to predict. When internal body signals are unclear, children may struggle to recognise hunger, fatigue, discomfort or emotional changes until they feel overwhelming.

Interoception is often the missing piece.

This week’s Workshop of the Week introduces interoception and explores how body awareness shapes regulation, participation and everyday function.

This is a brand new session to Verve OT Learning which supports clinicians to move beyond surface level responses and understand what is happening inside the body.

90 minute online workshop 👶 Paediatric focus 🎓 Practical and evidence informed

Sign up today: https://www.verveotlearning.com.au/live-introduction-to-interoception

09/01/2026

Whether you’re a family seeking support, an educator wanting training, or a clinician looking for supervision – we’d love to hear from you.

Not sure if we’re the right fit? That’s okay. Send us an enquiry anyway and we’ll have a conversation about what you’re navigating and whether we can help.

Need training for your team in 2026? Now’s the time to book – Term 1 and 2 professional development days fill up fast.

On a waitlist somewhere and wondering what options exist now? Let’s talk about intensive consultation support or family workshops.

Paediatric OT feeling isolated or stuck? Our supervision creates the non-judgemental space you need.

Play & Learn OT is here for connection, collaboration, and practical support that actually works in real life.

However we can help – we’re ready to have that conversation.

Email us or visit our website for more..

07/01/2026

Some children move through the world with ease. Others are navigating it on hard mode.

The sensory system that makes a cotton t-shirt feel like sandpaper. The body that can’t find calm. The brain wired for connection but missing the social cues everyone else seems to catch instinctively. The developmental timeline that doesn’t match what the milestone charts expect.

These are the children we think about when we show up to work.

Not as problems needing fixing, but as kids who – along with their adults – deserve support that respects who they are while making participation in everyday life more achievable.

Whether we’re working with a 2-year-old navigating childcare transitions, a 7-year-old whose body needs movement to think, or an 11-year-old preparing for high school when executive functioning feels impossible – we’re committed to understanding their unique wiring and building strategies around it.

In their homes where morning routines unravel. In classrooms where focus is hard. In childcare centres where play with peers feels confusing. In communities where sensory input is unpredictable.

These children aren’t “difficult.” They’re developing differently. And when the adults around them understand what’s actually happening, everything changes.

That’s why we’re here. For every child in western Adelaide who experiences their world differently and needs people who get it.

07/01/2026

Thanks to NeuroWild (Em) - a really important reminder about fluctuating capacity - for these "less structured" holiday days, and as we gear up for return to school/transitions to new routines.

06/01/2026

We’re not just an OT practice you call when you need an assessment.

We’re growing into something broader – a place where anyone supporting children’s development in western Adelaide can access practical understanding, strategies, and genuine support.

Need a workshop for your whole teaching team on managing diverse regulation needs? We deliver that.

Wondering if your 5-year-old’s behaviour is sensory-related or something else? Intensive consultation sessions can give you answers and strategies without ongoing commitment.
Paediatric OT feeling stuck on a complex case? Our clinical mentoring creates space to think it through.

Family on a waitlist and need support now? Our workshops and upcoming online modules offer practical help while you wait.

School wanting embedded consultation beyond individual student referrals? Let’s talk about partnership models.

Educator preparing for a challenging placement? Our training helps you enter those environments with confidence.

Training is becoming our primary focus – not solely for its own sake, but as another way to support children. What we learn through hands-on therapy informs everything we teach. And what we’re discovering through training feeds back into better clinical practice.

It’s a cycle that serves more children.

We’re building this gradually, thoughtfully, in ways that honour the relationships and trust we’ve already established in western Adelaide.

And we’re really looking forward to where this evolution takes us.

04/01/2026

Our training serves three distinct groups.

✖ Clinicians – Paediatric OTs wanting 1:1 mentoring and supervision. Building clinical reasoning confidence, navigating complex cases, reflective practice without judgement. CPD-compliant.

✖ Educators – Teachers, early childhood staff, OSHC workers needing practical classroom strategies. Our “Confident and Connected Children” workshop plus sessions on sensory processing, interoception, co-regulation and more. Tools you can use tomorrow.

✖ Families – Parents and grandparents seeking understanding without therapy commitment. Small group workshops, online modules (coming soon), intensive consultation options. Support when you need it.

Same values. Different delivery. Training that actually serves the people using it.

01/01/2026

As Play & Learn OT evolves, three things remain non-negotiable.

1. COMMUNITY-BASED
We come to you. Therapy in homes, schools, childcare centres – where children actually live and learn. Training delivered at your site. Support embedded in real life, not clinic rooms.

2. ACCESSIBLE TRAINING
Complex child development concepts made practical. Strategies you can use tomorrow. No jargon unless necessary, and then we explain it. Achievable, not overwhelming.

3. COLLABORATIVE CONSULTATION
You’re the expert in your setting. We bring OT knowledge, but genuine support happens when we problem-solve together. With families, educators, and fellow clinicians.

From 1:1 therapy to our “Confident and Connected Children” workshop, from clinical mentoring to family training modules – it all comes back to accessible understanding, delivered in natural settings, through genuine partnership.

That’s the Play & Learn OT way.

01/01/2026

Rachel founded Play & Learn OT in 2014 with a belief she’s held since graduating in 1993 – children learn best when they feel safe and supported in their everyday environments.

Over thirty years, she’s worked across Australia and the UK, integrating approaches from sensory processing to neurodiversity-affirming practice, parent coaching to trauma-informed strategies. Not chasing trends, but staying curious about what actually helps.

What started as Rachel working solo with children and families has grown into a small team of OTs who share her values – connection before skills, collaboration over prescription, accessible understanding without the jargon.

Now Play & Learn OT is evolving again. From a primarily clinical practice into a place where training for clinicians, educators, and families sits alongside hands-on therapy.

Rachel’s also committed to supporting fellow paediatric OTs through clinical supervision and mentoring – creating non-judgemental space for reflective practice when cases feel complex or isolating.

Play & Learn OT exists so every child can thrive in their everyday life. And every adult supporting them can access practical understanding and strategies without overwhelm.
That’s why we’re here.

30/12/2025

That child who “won’t listen.”
The one who melts down over nothing.
Who disrupts the classroom, resists routines, refuses participation.

Behaviour isn’t the problem. It’s the signal.

Children don’t wake up wanting to make life difficult. They’re showing us – often in the only way they know how – that something isn’t working. Their nervous system is overwhelmed. The sensory input is too much. The task demands more than their current skills allow. They don’t feel safe enough to learn.

We help decode what’s really going on.

Through clinical support, we work directly with children and families to understand their unique brains and build regulation strategies. Through our training for educators, we share the neurodevelopmental lens that changes everything – seeing “won’t” as “can’t yet” and responding with connection rather than consequence.

Whether it’s a 1:1 therapy session unpacking why mornings are impossible, a school consultation helping teachers understand sensory-seeking behaviour, or our signature workshop, “Confident and Connected Children,” giving your whole team practical regulation tools – we’re helping adults shift from managing behaviour to supporting the child underneath it.

When you understand what behaviour is communicating, you can finally respond in ways that actually help.

30/12/2025

We work with children who experience their world differently.

The 4-year-old who finds the childcare sandpit unbearable but will spend an hour lining up cars. The Year 2 student whose body needs to move to think. The kindy kid whose emotions arrive like thunderstorms – big, sudden, overwhelming.

We show up where they already are. Not in clinical rooms with unfamiliar toys, but in the places that matter – your lounge room where morning routines fall apart, the classroom where focus feels impossible, the childcare centre where social play is confusing.

Our job is to help everyone understand what’s actually happening beneath the behaviour you’re seeing. Then build strategies that work in real life, not just in theory.

For children 0-12 years navigating developmental differences, sensory processing challenges, emotional regulation struggles, or just finding everyday tasks harder than they should be – we’re here. In homes, schools, childcare centres, and communities across western Adelaide.

Supporting children to participate in their everyday lives. Not by changing who they are, but by changing how we support them.

29/12/2025

Something’s been shifting at Play & Learn OT.

We’ve been doing this work since 2014 – showing up in homes, schools, and childcare centres across western Adelaide. Building relationships with kids and their grown-ups. Watching children to figure out their place in the world when things feel hard.

And somewhere along the way, we realised something. What we’ve learned through years of sitting on lounge room floors, crouching beside sandpits, and pondering alongside families could reach further than individual therapy sessions.

So we’re evolving.

Clinical services aren’t going anywhere – that hands-on work with children will always be our foundation. But we’re expanding into what feels like the natural next step – sharing what we know through accessible training.

For the educators wondering how to support that kid who can’t sit still. For the families on waitlists who need strategies now. For the clinicians who want a safe space to talk through complex cases.

What stays the same? Our belief that connection comes before skills. Our commitment to working in real environments where life actually happens. Our curious, collaborative approach that respects you as the expert in your own setting.

What’s growing? The ways we can support children to thrive – through empowering the adults around them.

And we’re genuinely excited about where this is heading.

18/12/2025

Our last day for 2025 is Friday 19th December, and we'll be back on 8th January 2026.

Thank you for trusting us with your children and families this year – it means so much to work alongside you all.

Wishing you a safe and gentle summer filled with connection, rest, and plenty of joy.

See you in the new year.