Project Play

Project Play Experienced occupational therapist offering home-based and school services. Contact us for more information.

Sharing something I've been working on for a while.I'm speaking at the Supporting Neurodivergent Brains Summit in May, a...
20/04/2026

Sharing something I've been working on for a while.

I'm speaking at the Supporting Neurodivergent Brains Summit in May, a free three-day event for therapists, educators, and anyone working with neurodivergent children.

My talk is called Felt Safety: What Makes Co-Regulation Possible. I've poured months into it and I'm proud of where it's landed.

I'm also on a panel with other neurodivergent therapists talking about clinician wellbeing, which is something I think about a lot and don't see talked about enough.

Free to register, May 4 to 6.

Save your spot here:
https://nikkismit--thewellbalancedot.thrivecart.com/snb-2026/

(Affiliate note: I earn a small commission on All Access Pass upgrades.)

I used to believe that if I just found the right tools, or was a little less sensitive, I would eventually arrive at a p...
09/04/2026

I used to believe that if I just found the right tools, or was a little less sensitive, I would eventually arrive at a place where I felt calm most of the time.

As a neurodivergent occupational therapist with over 15 years of clinical experience, I have spent a long time unlearning that.

Understanding what the science actually says about nervous system regulation changed everything for me. Not because it fixed anything. Because it finally made sense of it.
That is what I wanted to create with Waves of Regulation.

It is a 22-page sensory-informed, neurodiversity-affirming guide to understanding your nervous system responses and your sensory needs. No pathologising, no rigid frameworks, no promise of calm. Just a kinder, more honest way of understanding how you are wired.

It was made for neurodivergent adults, parents of neurodivergent children, and therapists, coaches and educators who want to understand their own nervous system first so they can show up better for the people they support.

It launched today and the early bird price of $19 is available for the next few days using code EARLYBIRD at checkout.

Get it here: https://nikkismittherapy.thrivecart.com/waves-of-regulation/

Most of us were never taught to listen to our bodies. We were taught to push through them.So a sensory scan isn't a rela...
24/03/2026

Most of us were never taught to listen to our bodies. We were taught to push through them.

So a sensory scan isn't a relaxation technique. It's something more fundamental: bringing conscious attention to what your nervous system is already picking up. What you can hear, what's touching your skin, where the tension is sitting, what the environment is asking of you. Just noticing what's actually there.

For a lot of people, that noticing is genuinely difficult. Not because something is wrong with them, but because many of us spent years learning to override what our bodies were telling us, or were never taught that internal experience was worth attending to at all.

Building interoceptive awareness is a real skill, and a scan like this is one small piece of that. It develops through experience, relationship, repetition, and often with support. It isn't something you think your way into.

What shifts when you practise this is that you start to catch things a little earlier. Not always. But sometimes there's more information, more choice. Sometimes a small adjustment becomes visible that wasn't a minute before.

What I find most interesting is what happens relationally. When you build this awareness in yourself, you start to read environments differently. You notice what a room might be asking of a child's nervous system before they can tell you. That changes how you respond.

This is something I teach across ages: children, teenagers, adults, and practitioners. The language changes. The questions shift. But the principle holds.

If this resonated, save it to come back to or share it with someone who might need it. Take what fits. Leave what doesn't.

The best support for regulation is always personalised. This post is for educational purposes and isn't a substitute for the deeper work.

When I ask a teacher these questions, I'm collecting information. But I'm also doing something else.The right question c...
23/03/2026

When I ask a teacher these questions, I'm collecting information. But I'm also doing something else.

The right question can shift how someone sees.

The child who falls apart after lunch starts to look less unpredictable. The one who seems fine all day starts to look less fine and showing some exhaustion. The moment everyone noticed stops being where the story starts.

And just as importantly, I'm looking for what lights them up. What they gravitate toward. What makes their brain work beautifully. Not because we can use that as a carrot, but because strengths and interests give us just as many clues as the hard moments. And because part of our job as adults in children's lives is helping them build a relationship with their own brain, not just survive it.

That shift in perspective is sometimes the most useful thing I can offer.

I also think about my own nervous system in those moments, particularly when I'm working alongside a teacher or another professional. How present I am. How regulated I am. Because that shapes everything about what becomes possible between us.

These questions are for therapists piecing together what a child's day actually feels like. For parents trying to explain what they see at home. For teachers who want to understand a child they can't quite read yet.

And for the adults reading this who wish someone had asked these questions about them when they were young. This one's for you too.

Sensory patterns aren't problems to solve. They're a nervous system telling you something.

If you work with children this might be a good one to save 🫶🏼 I'm always curious what resonates, and whether there's anything you'd add to this list.

Every child's nervous system is unique. These questions are a starting point, not a complete picture.

I gave a talk at a school this week for Neurodiversity Week.I could talk about what I presented, but what has stayed wit...
17/03/2026

I gave a talk at a school this week for Neurodiversity Week.

I could talk about what I presented, but what has stayed with me most is what happened afterwards. The conversations.

Educators sharing about students they’re trying to support, moments that suddenly made more sense, things they hadn’t quite had language for before. There was a lot of care in the room, and also a lot that they’re holding.

Because educators are being asked to do so much right now. To be inclusive, to support regulation, to meet academic expectations, often all at once, and often without the kind of support that would make that feel sustainable. And still, they are showing up, trying to understand and do right by the students in front of them.

What felt most meaningful to me wasn’t just sharing information, but noticing a shift in how people were thinking. Moving from managing behaviour to becoming curious about what might be underneath it. From “what should I do?” to “what might this student need from me right now?”

Those shifts matter. They change how support is offered and, over time, shape classrooms and relationships in meaningful ways.

I think that’s the part that stays with me. The ripple effect of these spaces. When even one adult feels a little more resourced, it doesn’t just impact one moment. It reaches the students they support, and the families around them too.

And sometimes those shifts don’t stay in individual moments. They start to shape how people think about systems — how support is structured and what environments make possible.

Something else that’s been sitting with me is how much we ask educators to support regulation in young people, without always creating space for them to understand their own.

That matters, because how we show up in relationship is shaped by how resourced we are ourselves.

I often find myself thinking about the teachers who were curious about me when I was younger. The ones who didn’t rush to change me, but made space to understand me. That stayed with me. It gave me a sense of being okay as I was, and from there, space to grow.

And I think that’s what this work makes possible.

This post was written on a walk this morning.Voice notes, half-formed thoughts, a few pauses to look at trees, and the s...
14/03/2026

This post was written on a walk this morning.

Voice notes, half-formed thoughts, a few pauses to look at trees, and the slightly chaotic process that happens when my brain starts connecting ideas.

Which feels appropriate, because the post itself is about something I’ve been slowly learning for years: working with my brain instead of constantly trying to correct it.

For a long time I tried to force myself into systems that looked productive but didn’t actually work for me. Sitting still for long stretches trying to sustain focus on demand. Waiting for perfect conditions. Doing everything myself.

None of that was sustainable.

What has helped more is understanding the rhythms of my thinking. Moving while I process ideas. Using tools for areas that take disproportionate energy. Creating pockets where curiosity can unfold, and other pockets where tasks get finished.

Protecting moments where nothing much is happening has also become important. Walks, quiet movement, or space to write or draw without needing it to become anything.

Interestingly, these moments often align with what neuroscience describes as the brain’s default mode network — a network involved in integrating experiences, connecting ideas and generating insight.

For some people, attention also follows patterns described as monotropism, where focus moves deeply into particular threads of interest. Those deep dives can be incredibly generative, but they also need structures around them so everyday life still works.

Learning this has been an ongoing process. It hasn’t been effortless. But slowly, understanding my wiring has created more flexibility.

And I see similar patterns across the lifespan in my work. Often the difficulty isn’t the brain itself. It’s the mismatch between how a brain works and the environments around it.

If this resonates, it might be something to come back to later. Sometimes we understand our minds a little differently each time we revisit these ideas.

And sometimes the best place to start noticing how your mind works…
is on a walk.

We often expect ourselves (or our children) to reach for regulation tools right at the point things feel like they’re fa...
09/03/2026

We often expect ourselves (or our children) to reach for regulation tools right at the point things feel like they’re falling apart.

But by that stage the nervous system is already working very hard.

As arousal rises, the brain shifts resources toward survival. Executive functioning drops. Behavioural flexibility decreases. Working memory becomes harder to access too.

Which makes a lot of sense when you think about it. The very skills we rely on to pause, think clearly, or try a strategy are simply less available in those moments.

This is one of the reasons proactive nervous system support matters. Not because dysregulation won’t happen. It will. Being human means moving through different nervous system states. And many of us don’t notice those shifts until things already feel big.

But when supportive practices are woven into everyday rhythms, we often have more capacity overall. It becomes easier to notice earlier cues, shift things sooner, or recover more quickly afterwards.

Sometimes that looks like very small moments during the day. Stepping outside for a minute. Moving your body. Changing the sensory environment. Slowing your breathing. Pausing long enough to notice what your body might need.

And of course there will still be moments when things feel overwhelming. In those moments support, co-regulation, and reducing demands often matter most. When regulation tools are familiar, we can sometimes reach for them there too.

Small supports, repeated often, can make a big difference over time.

If you’d like more everyday ideas for building those supports gently into daily life, my Rooted in Regulation guide goes into this in more depth.

Comment ROOTED and I’ll send you the details.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how growth often happens right at the edge of our capacity, and how stepping into ...
06/03/2026

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how growth often happens right at the edge of our capacity, and how stepping into that space can require a certain kind of bravery.

It’s not about pushing through or forcing change. It’s about the space where challenge meets enough safety and support for something new to emerge.
It’s something I see every day in my work with both children and adults, and something I’ve had to learn personally too.

I recently had the chance to reflect more on this in an interview with where I shared a bit about my journey into this work, how my thinking around nervous systems and wellbeing has evolved, and why I believe risk and support often need to exist together.

Thank you to for the thoughtful conversation.

If you’d like to read the full interview, I’m happy to share it.

Comment ARTICLE and I’ll send you the link.

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