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Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

OT4me, 5 Middlethorpe Business Park, Sim Balk Lane, York (2026)

27/12/2025

Does anyone actually know what day it is right now, or are we all just existing somewhere between Christmas and New Year? 😆

Ever wondered why that bit between Christmas and New Year feels so strange?

It is not just you, and it is not just because no one knows what day it is.

A lot changes all at once. Routines drop away, and our brains rely on routine more than we realise. When there are no school runs, workdays, or usual patterns, the days lose their shape and everything blurs together.

December is also a lot. Even good things take effort. Planning, socialising, travelling, sensory input, holding things together. Then suddenly it all stops. For some people that feels like relief. For others it feels flat, foggy, or oddly unreal. That is the nervous system coming down after being on high alert for a while.

Sleep shifts, eating times drift, daylight looks different. Small changes, but enough to affect mood and focus.

And sometimes the brain does not feel rested straight away. It finally has space to process what it has been carrying, and that can feel like tiredness rather than calm.

So if you feel a bit out of sync, low energy, or not quite yourself, nothing is wrong. This is what happens when structure disappears and the body gets a pause.

At OT4me, we see this a lot. Rest does not always feel cosy or productive. Sometimes it feels quiet, floaty, or confusing.

If you are in that in-between space right now, you are not behind. You are just adjusting.

22/12/2025

A Christmas message from all of us at OT4me 💚🎄

As the year draws to a close, we want to take a moment to thank you for trusting OT4me to be part of your journey.

We know that Christmas can bring a mix of emotions for many families. Alongside moments of joy and connection, there can also be changes in routine, sensory overload, and increased demands that feel challenging. However your family experiences this time of year, please know that you are not alone.

We are continually inspired by the children, young people, parents, carers, and professionals we work alongside. Your insight, resilience, and advocacy remind us every day why this work matters.

Over the festive period, we encourage you to do what feels right for your child and your family. That might mean quiet moments, familiar routines, flexible expectations, or simply getting through the days as best you can. There is no one right way to do Christmas.

Thank you for being part of the OT4me community this year. We look forward to continuing to support you in the year ahead.

Wishing you a peaceful Christmas and a gentle start to the New Year.

Opening hours over Christmas:
We are open as usual except the bank holidays, some of our staff are enjoying a Christmas break so our responses may be slower than usual.

Warmest wishes,
The OT4me team

19/12/2025

Good news 🎉 OT4me now offers Autism diagnostic services.

If you would like more information about this new service, comment 'referral' on this post or send us a DM with 'referral' and we will be in touch.

18/12/2025

If you are a business based in York or North Yorkshire, you can access our support at no cost.

You can also watch our recent webinar on demand, delivered by our Clinical Director and Occupational Therapist, Lizzie Huxford, alongside Elaine Morris from Curious Edge. The session explores practical, accessible ways to support neurodivergent people at work and beyond.

📺 Watch the webinar on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fly6zkRbJso

Curious Edge and OT4me have partnered to deliver our Thrive At Work – Inclusive Futures programme, York and North Yorkshire’s only fully funded initiative that brings together leadership coaching, occupational therapy, HR expertise, and workplace sensory integration support. This partnership gives organisations a practical, whole-system approach to supporting inclusion and wellbeing in the workplace.

This is a pilot project supported by York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. Funding comes from the Department for Work and Pensions - DWP Get Brain Working Economic Inactivity Trailblazer.

In the session, we covered:

⟶ What the Thrive at Work programme offers to microbusinesses, larger organisations, and individuals
⟶ How leadership coaching builds inclusive, confident leaders
⟶ Why sensory integration and occupational therapy make a measurable difference
⟶ How practical adjustments improve retention, reduce absence, and support diverse needs
⟶ What a whole-system approach to inclusion looks like in practice
⟶ How to access the fully funded support available

If you would like to get started, you can send Curious Edge an email to: hello@curiousedgeco.uk

Let us know if you have any questions in the comments 👇

17/12/2025

Meet Lobby the weighted lobster! 🦞💚

We have just completed an incredible journey of Ayres Sensory Integration intervention alongside interoception work with a truly amazing young person. Together, we reached every single functional goal that was set, which is no small achievement.

As we said goodbye, this superstar reminded us exactly why we do what we do. They very generously donated a special friend for other learners to enjoy… introducing Lobby, our new weighted lobster. A perfect companion for sensory regulation, comfort, and playful engagement.

Weighted toys play a really important role in supporting sensory regulation, emotional wellbeing, and engagement, particularly for children and young people with sensory processing differences.

The gentle, evenly distributed weight provides deep pressure input, which can have a calming and organising effect on the nervous system. For many children, this helps reduce feelings of overwhelm, supports emotional regulation, and makes it easier to feel grounded and safe in their body.

Beyond regulation, weighted toys offer comfort and connection. They can become trusted companions that provide reassurance, predictability, and a sense of control. When combined with playful elements, such as animal shapes or familiar characters, they invite interaction and enjoyment rather than feeling like a therapeutic tool.

Thank you for trusting us, and thank you Lobby for joining the team 💙

Do you have any weighted companions that help?

15/12/2025

Does your school environment help children feel calm and ready to learn? 🌱

As mainstream schools expand their inclusive provision following recent government announcements, it is more important than ever to look beyond policies and consider how school environments actually feel day to day. At OT4me Ltd, we support schools to create spaces where inclusion is experienced, not just stated.

We are specialist Occupational Therapists for children and young people, fully HCPC registered and guided by evidence based practice. Using the PEO model, we look at the child, the environment and the demands of school life together. This helps schools reduce sensory overload, support regulation and create calmer, more effective learning environments.

A sensory friendly school is not only for pupils with identified SEN. When sensory processing, mental health and developmental needs are considered in classroom design, routines and expectations, the whole school community benefits. Children are better able to focus and engage, and staff experience fewer barriers to teaching and learning. 📘✏️

We also help schools strengthen emotional and social literacy, supporting children to build resilience and positive relationships. Through consultancy and training, we provide practical strategies that are realistic, affordable and deliver long term benefits.

What we offer:
⟶ Guidance on creating calm, inclusive school environments
⟶ Emotional and social literacy support
⟶ Expert consultancy and staff training
⟶ HCPC registered Occupational Therapists using evidence based OT models
⟶ Support for mainstream schools expanding provision
⟶ Expertise in mental health, developmental needs and sensory processing

We help schools get inclusion right, in ways that last.

If you are rethinking your school environment or expanding provision, we are here to support you.

📩 Get in touch to learn more about our tailored work with schools.

enquiries@ot4me.co.uk

14/12/2025

This very important study highlights the effectiness of using Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) with children with ADHD. The evidence base for Autism and/ or ADHD is now really strong thanks to those in research working hard!

Here's a summary of the latest paper:

This study was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the effects of occupational therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration® (OT–ASI) in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In children with ADHD, OT–ASI improved sensorimotor skills such as praxis, balance, and coordination; cognitive skills such as attention and problem-solving; emotional skills such as coping with negative emotions and impulse control; and participation skills such as independence in home, school, and community activities.

This study shows that OT–ASI is an evidence-based occupational therapy approach that can be applied to children with ADHD. Therefore, OT–ASI is recommended as one of the intervention approaches that occupational therapists may prefer in working with children with ADHD.

Ayres' Sensory Integration WISE

12/12/2025

We are excited to share that OT4me Clinical Director and Specialist Occupational Therapist, Lizzie Huxford has been awarded the Elizabeth Casson Grant to fund her MSc in Advancing Practice with Ayres' Sensory Integration WISE. This marks the beginning of an important research journey and a fantastic opportunity to further the profession of Occupational Therapy.

Lizzie’s research will focus on identifying gaps in service provision and advocating for inclusive, occupation focused approaches within paediatric and adolescent justice settings. This learning will directly benefit the young people she works with, many of whom face barriers to accessing meaningful occupations, experience sensory differences, mental health challenges, and significant occupational deprivation.

By strengthening her evidence based practice, Lizzie aims to enhance occupational performance, promote inclusive participation, and support sustainable, long term outcomes. She is excited to develop her clinical and research skills and to contribute to the growing evidence base for the profession.

Thank you to the Elizabeth Casson Trust for investing in practitioners and research that supports inclusive futures. Please drop them a follow and support their amazing work.

Here is to shaping a more inclusive future 🌟💚

10/12/2025

There is a growing movement across many sectors towards person centred, strengths based and neuroaffirming practice. 💛

It is wonderful to see this gaining momentum, because people deserve support that respects who they are, not who they are expected to be.

But for Occupational Therapists, this approach is not new.

It has always been at the heart of our profession.

We work with people, not on people, and we value lived experience as expertise. Co-producing goals and approaches is not an optional extra for us, it is central to practice.

OT has long understood that there is nothing wrong with the person. What matters is the fit between the person, the environment and the occupations that give meaning to their life. Long before these ideas became widely recognised, we were already working in a way that affirmed identity, honoured difference and prioritised participation on the person’s own terms.

Our practice is grounded in evidence based models such as:

PEO (Person-Environment-Occupation) – recognising that wellbeing and performance emerge from the relationship between a person, their environment and the things they want or need to do.

CO-OP (Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance) – enabling people to find approaches that work for their brain, their body and their goals, using guided discovery rather than prescriptive methods. 🧠

In OT, we do not try to change who someone is. 💚

While many services focus narrowly on symptoms or isolated behaviours, OT looks at the whole system around a person. We understand that wellbeing often improves not through changing the individual but through changing the system that surrounds them.

We adapt environments, reshape expectations, build on strengths and co-create solutions that make everyday life more accessible, joyful and possible.

Where others may still use deficit-based language, OT continues to challenge that. We view differences in attention, movement, communication or sensory processing as part of human diversity, not problems to be corrected. Our role is to create environments where those differences can thrive.

OT has always been a profession that sees the whole person, values neurodiversity and designs support that fits the individual, not the other way round. 🌱

09/12/2025

✨ Team Christmas Lunch at OT4me ✨

Today we took some time out to celebrate Christmas and an incredible year of making a difference. We enjoyed a lovely team lunch, played plenty of silly games, and exchanged Secret Santa gifts — all sourced from local charity shops, which made it even more meaningful.

We feel genuinely blessed to work with such a dedicated, compassionate, and joyful team. OT4me wouldn’t be what it is without the heart each person brings.

And to our wonderful clients — we are so grateful for you. Thank you for trusting us, inspiring us, and allowing us to be part of your journey.

Here’s to another year of changing lives together. 💫🎄💛

09/12/2025

✨ Team Christmas Lunch at OT4me ✨

Today we took some time out to celebrate Christmas and an incredible year of making a difference. We enjoyed a lovely team lunch, played plenty of silly games, and exchanged Secret Santa gifts — all sourced from local charity shops, which made it even more meaningful.

We feel genuinely blessed to work with such a dedicated, compassionate, and joyful team. OT4me wouldn’t be what it is without the heart each person brings.

And to our wonderful clients — we are so grateful for you. Thank you for trusting us, inspiring us, and allowing us to be part of your journey.

Here’s to another year of changing lives together. 💫🎄💛

OT4me

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm