Sensory Therapy

30/10/2025

Care for yourself 🥰

27/10/2025

The use of an assistance dog can support children with autism.

German shepherd Frank is trained to pick up on Bodhi's body language and support him in public.

26/10/2025

Let’s teach our children how to be kind

❤️

24/10/2025

Some children seem to manage so well at school — polite, quiet, compliant.
Then they come home and everything falls apart.

That shift isn’t manipulation.
It’s the crash that happens when a child has spent all day masking, suppressing, and holding it together.

At school they survive.
At home they release.

Our new visual explores what’s really happening beneath the surface — and why those meltdowns after school are actually signs of trust and safety, not defiance.

Explore our linked toolkits for deeper support:
Masking Toolkit – understanding the hidden effort of blending in
After-School Restraint Collapse Toolkit – practical strategies for recovery and regulation at home.
Instant electronic download with secure global checkout. at link in comments ⬇️ or via our Linktree Shop in Bio.

Save this post for when you need the reminder that 'coping' can come at a cost — and that behaviour always tells a story.

24/10/2025

Masking is exhausting 😢

Following the success of yesterday's post, which now has a reach of almost 2 million, I have decided to release the boy version I created at the same time.

Whilst masking is more prevalent in females, there are without doubt males who do and this should not be overlooked.

Want to understand more about masking and neurodivergent wellbeing?

Explore the full Masking Toolkit by The Contented Child for visuals, guides, and practical tools that help uncover what’s behind the mask — and support children to feel safe being their true selves. Link in comments ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in our Bio.

NOTE
Some children do mask so competently that it can be hard to get a diagnosis - that is why I created Meet My Brain: Power & the Tricky Bits. Link in comments.

22/10/2025

Attachment is a dance of attunement where baby and mothers brains synchronise ❤️

16/10/2025

This is heartbreaking 😢

Existing inequalities in society and in education are being exacerbated by SEND provision, warns a union leader, as new a report exposes a stark divide in the support richer and poorer families can access.

13/10/2025

We don’t need perfect we need authentic, honest and empathetic ❤️

Today is World Mental Health Day and I would love to take a moment to remind everyone that your perfect is not needed here.

It’s in the breaks of this life that we grow into our true selves and every time you share that with another, you are spreading not just hope but power.

Do not fall for the hype my friends, you are not on this planet to plod perfectly every day.

You are here to feel. And you are here to love. And you are here to grow. And you should very much feel broken sometimes, if you are doing all of those things.

Love to you all.

We do good work here and you are very much a part of that web of sharing.

Donna x

(And this isn’t grammatically incorrect, this page always confuses people 😘😘)

This poem is in Joy Chose You :

https://amzn.eu/d/adtkTz0

.

11/10/2025

This maybe helpful to some parents

It can be really hard to know when the right time is to embark on the EHCP process. It can be hard to know how long it will take, because the system is overloaded. Particularly if your child is nearing a transition, such as going into secondary school, it’s hard to know whether to wait and see if things are better afterwards, and get a plan which is appropriate for the new school, or to go for it when they are in primary, with the setting that knows them well.

Parents tell me that when they start talking about the application process they are told they won’t get one, they hear that the local authority is turning most of the applications down, and school say their needs aren’t high enough to qualify anyway. Parents say they get discouraged, because they aren’t really sure what their child is struggling with in school anyway, and don’t know where to turn next.

If you are thinking that your child might need an EHCP, this webinar is for you. Dr Abigail Fisher will talk about who they are for and give you some tips about how to decide what’s right for your child, outline the process and show you some examples. She will offer some ideas about how to think about your child’s needs, and how to look at a draft plan.

Does my Child Need an EHCP?
Wed 15th Oct lunchtime. It is recorded.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/does-my-child-need-an-ehcp-tickets-1634945679539?aff=fb1

11/10/2025

Clapping to a beat helps with reading.

Children’s rhythm skills are strongly linked to early language and reading development. Studies have found that preschoolers who can clap, tap, or move in time with a beat tend to perform better on early literacy measures, such as phonological awareness and word recognition. This is because rhythm and reading share underlying neural processes involving timing, prediction, and auditory processing.

Brain recordings show that children with stronger rhythm skills have more precise neural responses to speech sounds, allowing them to segment words into syllables and phonemes more effectively.

In 2024, researchers extended this understanding by using a rhythm-based training game with elementary students. After six weeks, the children who practiced rhythmic tasks showed measurable improvements in reading fluency compared to a control group.

Scientists think this happens because reading is inherently rhythmic: the brain must synchronize to the cadence of language, anticipate upcoming sounds, and map them to meaning. Engaging in rhythm games or musical play seems to train these timing mechanisms, giving children a cognitive boost that helps reading come more naturally.

07/10/2025

Interesting fact 🤯

The Kids’ Intelligence Is Attached to Their Mother — and It's Backed by Science!💡

A mother’s love does more than comfort her child.
It builds her child.

Science says that a big part of a child’s intelligence is linked to their mother, not only through genes, but through connection, presence, and nurture.

Researchers discovered that intelligence genes are found on the X chromosome.
Women have two X chromosomes, while men have one.
That means children are more likely to inherit their intelligence from their mother’s side.

But here’s the part science doesn’t always measure — the power of a mother’s love.

Because intelligence isn’t just about test scores or school performance.

It’s also about emotional intelligence, curiosity, problem-solving, creativity, and confidence — all the things that grow best in an environment filled with love and safety.

From the moment a mother holds her baby for the first time, she begins shaping that little brain.

The tone of her voice.
The look in her eyes.
The warmth in her touch.

Every song she sings.
Every story she tells.
Every time she wipes away a tear or answers a curious “why?” — she’s wiring her child’s brain to think, explore, and believe.

Science has shown that children who share a strong emotional bond with their mothers tend to develop better memory, communication skills, and emotional stability.

That’s because a secure attachment creates a safe space for the brain to grow.

When a child feels loved, they feel free to learn, try, and fail — and that’s where real intelligence blossoms.

So to every mother who doubts herself…
To the mom who feels like she’s not doing enough…
To the one who’s tired, stretched thin, but still shows up every single day —
You are shaping something extraordinary.

Your patience builds pathways in your child’s brain.
Your words become their inner voice.
Your hugs are their comfort.
And your belief in them becomes the voice that says, “I can do it,” long after they’ve grown up.

Never underestimate the power of your role.
You are not just raising a child — you are forming a mind, nurturing a heart, and creating a legacy of intelligence, empathy, and strength.💪