HeartSpacept

HeartSpacePT Shelley Mannell PT has over 25 years experience in pediatric Physical Therapy.

HeartSpace provides Physical Therapy clinic services to babies, children and adolescents with motor and sensory challenges at our Kids Therapy Circle location. Shelley has been a clinical faculty member at McMaster University and has developed HeartSpace Yoga and Meditation for children with special needs. She has co-created Dynamic Core for Kids, an approach to treating core strategy in children with challenges. As well as clinical work, Shelley teaches continuing education courses for pediatric therapists internationally. HeartSpace has Michelle Duncanson PT who provides home-based services in Niagara and Kristyn Watters PT who serves children at home in the Hamilton area.

12/30/2025

Cheers to 2025!! Our brains use dynamic systems to organize postural control and our clinical lens needs to reflect that. When we integrate sensory processing + motor control + emotional arousal in our clinical reasoning, we see the “why” behind movement and we can shape interventions that truly support functional change. This is the difference.

12/20/2025

Today is my son's birthday ❤ and it has also become the day I traditionally sign off for a holiday pause. Thank you all for being part of my research and reflection journey this year. May your holiday season sparkle!

12/17/2025

I've been thinking a lot more about sleep since taking a short sleep course in November (thanks .ca !). Here's a 2025 article that studied high risk for obstructive sleep apnea in children (OSA) with CP.
Clinical takeaways:
*Prevalence of high risk for OSA was significantly higher in the GMFCS V group.
*Higher frequency of tonsil hypertrophy, hospitalizations, antibiotic use, reflux, drooling and epilepsy found in GMFCS V group
*Prevalence of high risk OSA in GMFCS I-IV was still higher than in TD control group
*Tonsil hypertrophy was significantly correlated with high risk for OSA
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40789332/

12/13/2025

Another in the series. In a group of dyslexic children this 2025 study examined the effects of combined training of reading and postural control.
Key takeaways:
*Oculomotor skills improved in the study group; reduced fixation time, reduced forward fixation skills and reduced reading time
*Significant reduction in postural instability (unfortunately measured in isolation not in function)
*The authors suggested that improved cerebellar activity could be the mechanism for changes.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41300225/

12/09/2025

Just in case there was still any doubt this 2024 study affirmed that all children with CP experience vestibular and somatosensory differences. Every child with CP should have a thorough sensory processing assessment AND assessing clinicians need to deeply understand the interconnections between motor control and the sensory systems. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39041978/

12/05/2025

heartspacept I know research distinguishes between static and dynamic balance but function in daily life require dynamic balance. This study 2025 study examined how much postural control depended on proprioception and visual motion acuity in typical children.
Key takeaways:
*Sensory acuity (visual and proprioception) plays a key
role in improved dynamic balance
*Reweighting of sensory information during balance is
required for dynamic balance

Although the study did not include children with DCD, the authors noted:
*Children with DCD have differences in visual
reweighing and multisensory reweighing
*Children with DCD present more difference in dynamic
postural control
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41266779/

12/03/2025

I've often said that if we want kids to be active, we need to give them more natural opportunities and rely less on organized sports. As the mom of 2 young adults, I can tell you that organized sports absolutely drop off after high school - there are very, very few rec leagues for young adults which leaves less opportunity for activity, fitness, social connection. On the other hand, for kids who enjoy more naturalized activities (hiking, running, biking, climbing) these continue to be available (groups are everywhere!). Kudos to this elementary school we saw on our morning walk (we're in British Columbia this month) - I had fun on these! Share if you have a picture of your favourite natural activity/structure from around the world!

12/01/2025

Final call! Cyber Monday course discounts end at midnight tonight. Use the code BLACKFRIDAY25 for 25% off all on-demand courses and bundles.

11/28/2025

It’s that time of year again — our annual Black Friday Sale is here! All online courses (including bundles and mentoring) are 25% off for newsletter subscribers. Use the code BLACKFRIDAY25 at checkout.
Explore short courses on neurodiversity in babies and whole body vibration in paediatric practice, or dive into longer learning experiences like Foundation for Function, exploring dynamic systems in postural control, and Dynamic Core for Kids, our evidence-based approach to central control in children.
The sale runs from Friday November 28 to Monday December 1, 2025. www.heartspacept.com/online-courses/

11/25/2025

Black Friday is almost here! Discount codes for all on-demand courses land Friday morning—watch this space. Or sign up for my newsletter (www.heartspacept.com) to get early access, clinical resources, and the codes delivered directly to your inbox.

11/25/2025

Dual-task training seems to be getting some press these days. Here's another article, this time a comprehensive review looking at autistic children. The results support previous literature for children with CP.
Key study takeaways:
*Motor, sensory and cognitive differences are interconnected in autistic children
*Traditional interventions fail to address these interconnections
*Interventions that integrated sensory, motor and dual task components significantly improved postural control and motor proficiency
*The studies included addressed dual task training using VR
My takeaways:
*Motor, sensory and cognitive domains are interconnected in ALL children
*There are many low tech/no tech options to incorporate dual task training that can be implemented without any additional cost
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41146756/

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Saint Catharines, ON
L2T2S4

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+19053801627

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http://www.heartspacept.com/

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HeartSpace provides Physical Therapy clinic services to babies, children and adolescents with motor and sensory challenges at our Kids Therapy Circle location. Shelley Mannell PT has over 30 years experience in pediatric Physical Therapy. She began teaching as a clinical faculty member in the School of Rehabilitation at McMaster University. Shelley developed HeartSpace Yoga and Meditation for children in her clinic and more recently co-created Dynamic Core for Kids, an approach to treating core stability in children with challenges; this approach is used by therapists all over the world. In addition to her clinical work, Shelley teaches continuing education courses for pediatric therapists internationally. HeartSpace PT includes associate Michelle Duncanson PT who provides home-based services in Niagara.

12/30/2025

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