adaptABLE Occupational Therapy

01/15/2026

I recently had a client tell me that she was happy to have connected with me because, in her words, “you know all the things, but you’re still a hot mess — and you get me.” I don’t know that truer words have ever been spoken. While it may not sound like the world’s biggest compliment, I absolutely took it as one. She told me that she saw me for who I really am — a mom, a partner, and a human trying to keep it all together while navigating the impossible balance of parenting and working. I felt that she saw, and appreciated, the authenticity I strive to bring to my practice.

Becoming a parent has profoundly changed how I see my clients. I can no longer silo children and parents into separate compartments. A family can’t be broken into parts — it is a gestalt, a living system where each member is woven into a shared web. When the web is pulled in one direction, the rest of it moves too. When one person in the household is having a rough day (or week, or month), everyone feels it.

I feel it in myself, and I see it in my own kids when I’m dysregulated. In fact, it took seeing the impact my stress was having on my family to fully realize just how much of a hot mess I can be.

I’ve also always struggled with the advice we so often give parents: you can’t pour from an empty cup, put your oxygen mask on first, and all the rest. It makes sense in theory, but rarely feels practical in real life. How, exactly, are we supposed to take care of ourselves when there are 100,000 tiny beads to clean up off the floor? (This may or may not be a true story.) I’ve spent a lot of time sitting with this question over the past few years. I’m tired of being pulled in a thousand directions while never feeling fully present with my own family. I started to feel like my kids were growing up right in front of me — and I was watching from the sidelines while cleaning up the trail of destruction in their wake. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way.

All of this is what led me to create a Family Regulation Program, and I’m so excited to finally begin working with families in this way. Together, we'll explore each family member’s unique sensory profile, communication style, and daily routines. We’ll look at what’s flowing well and where the friction points are. We’ll talk about the physical environment, chores, and even how to repair relationships after our nervous systems have gotten the best of us. We'll focus on what's important to you and your family and find ways to get you there.

I’m so excited about this new journey and I truly hope you’ll join me in going from hot mess to hot damn.

01/13/2026

12/28/2025

Anyone else feeling like the grinch this holiday season? I think 95% of the toys here now make noise and my nervous system was not ready for it.

Auditory sensitivity is a real thing and it doesn’t make you a bad parent if you’re feeling a bit (or a lot) on edge because of it.

To help you get through, here are a few strategies:
🎺 use noise canceling head phones/loops/earplugs, whatever you need
🎺 switch off with a partner when you’re starting to get overwhelmed, don’t wait until you’re “in the red”
🎺 ask your kid(s) to play with noisy toys in another room, with the door closed
🎺 give a time limit with an explanation “I’m starting to feel like this is too much for me, in one minute I’m going to ask you to play with something quieter”
🎺 use noisy toys in rooms with lots of blankets, pillows, rugs, carpets, etc - anything that can absorb the noise
🎺 put a piece of painters tape over the speaker to dampen the sound at the source
🎺 when all else fails, send them outside

12/20/2025

Here’s a job hazard they don’t teach us about in OT school. Walking into hanging carabiners 🙈

12/14/2025

Looking for a last minute stocking stuffer? I highly recommend Kanoodle. We leave this game in the glove box of our van and pull it out whenever we’re waiting on something (ie Walmart grocery pick up, like today). It’s awesome for visual perceptual skills and problem solving. The puzzles start super easy and gradually get harder so it’s good for all ages. (It says 7 and up but my 5 year old likes to play). There are 2D and 3D puzzles too.

Get it here ➡️ https://amzn.to/3YpZP4y

11/21/2025

Things I love - the incredible creativity and curiosity my son exhibits multiple times per day.

Things I don’t love - cleaning up after said creativity and curiosity

I woke up this morning to B trying to make a parachute for his oatmeal muffin using a latex glove and scotch tape; followed by him washing his collection of turtle egg shells that he collected last summer. 🤷‍♀️

11/20/2025

One of my all time favourite things is helping families create spaces in their homes that work for them.

Story Time: When I was younger I wanted to be an interior designer. I loved flipping through magazines (anyone else remember Girls Life?) and cutting out scaled replicas of my furniture so I could play with colour and layout of my bedroom. Over the years, my love of biology and psychology won out and I became an occupational therapist, but I still get so much joy out of creating beautiful yet functional spaces ("luckily" for me, we're a military family so we get a new home to decorate every few years 😂).

Around this time last year, I started offering a service to clients who were struggling to create spaces in their homes that met the needs of their child, children, or whole family. I've gotten great feedback about how much having a customized space has helped these families. (One family even called me their secret weapon for regulation - NBD! 💁‍♀️)

When I first meet with families, we discuss what's working and what isn't working. We then create a sensory profile (or profiles, depending on the needs of the family) and I get to work. I dig around until I find the perfect equipment recommendations for the needs (and budget) of the family. I also make recommendations on how to lay out your space to get the most out of it. You get a full report with information on what the sensory needs are, equipment suggestions (with links so you don't have to find them yourself), and a drawing of how to lay out your space. Don't have a full room to dedicate? That's ok too, we can look at bedrooms, closets, tents, corners... whatever works for you!

This is a great way to decide what to look at purchasing for the holidays too, so you don't waste your money on toys that may not work for your child.

PS - I don't have a waitlist right now!

PPS - Many of the families I have worked with have Ontario Autism Program funding. I am registered with them as a provider and my services and the cost of the equipment have been covered for most families.

11/20/2025

December is just around the corner and I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think about all the ways to make the holidays magical for my kiddos. One of the projects I take on every year is creating an advent calendar. Last year, I decided to create a sensory-motor advent calendar to share with everyone and I'm sharing it again this year!

This resource is great if you're looking to count down the days to Christmas or even if you're looking for a few festive activities to keep the kids busy while you sneakily eat cookies behind their backs.

Whatever the reason, you can grab the Sensory Motor Advent Calendar here 👉 https://www.adaptableot.ca/adventcalendar

11/19/2025

What do you think? Is this how I should brand myself from here on out??

11/15/2025

I’m working on a multi-session family regulation program… What are your biggest pain points as a family? What is the most stressful part of your day/week? Where would you like to see things improve?

10/19/2025

This new systematic review consisting of 31 studies investigated patterns in individuals with - the researchers found that individuals with ADHD showed a significantly higher prevalence of sensory differences across all four domains of the Sensory Profile assessment compared to those without ADHD.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2025.02.019

09/28/2025

When it’s Sunday morning and the family is at gymnastics and you get an idea….

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