SensorySeeds

SensorySeeds Here to share seeds of knowledge, activity ideas, and encouragement from a pediatric OT perspective.

The Puffy Snowman! ⛄️ We’ve been winter crafting this week out here in rainy Portland!-Mix shaving cream with glue (I ey...
09/12/2021

The Puffy Snowman! ⛄️

We’ve been winter crafting this week out here in rainy Portland!

-Mix shaving cream with glue (I eyeball this, but I’d recommend around 1 cup s.cream to 1 TBS glue)

-Draw 3 circles for your ⛄️

-Have child use hands or a craft stick to spread in the circles

-Provide a 🥕 , eyes, arms, buttons to see if they can build their snowman! (Find the picture where one of my kiddos got creative 🙃)

Happy December! ❄️

Happy 1️⃣st Birthday Sensory Seeds Pediatric Therapy! 🎉One year ago I move to Portland and started an in-home therapy bu...
26/10/2021

Happy 1️⃣st Birthday Sensory Seeds Pediatric Therapy! 🎉

One year ago I move to Portland and started an in-home therapy business, named after my little Instagram account.

The first month I had 2 clients, the second month I had 5 clients, and it’s slowly climbed to currently having a rotation of 13 clients per week, with a waitlist of children and families that I can’t wait to meet!

I often get asked why I decided to move to in-home therapy.

It’s because I wanted more time with parents, rather than a rushed 5-minute discussion at the end of the session. I wanted more time to talk, and to truly dissect what was causing their child’s dysregulation.

I wanted to hold space for parents for them to cry and celebrate. (There’s been a lot of both this year!)

I wanted to experience the child’s difficulties in the moment, and in their true environment.

I wanted to stand with parents and coach them through.

I wanted to walk in the front door and be a trusted advocate, and be able to stay past the 50-minute mark if more support was needed.

I wanted to help children and families find more ease in their daily routines.

So far, so good.

Excited for year 2 and the continued evolution of SSPT! Thanks for being a part of my journey 💕

Are you parent-pleasing? Or are you education-providing?As a recovering people-pleaser, I realize I often did exactly wh...
19/10/2021

Are you parent-pleasing?

Or are you education-providing?

As a recovering people-pleaser, I realize I often did exactly what was expected while a student or an employee. Being task-oriented and amenable, I put the puzzle pieces together to create a product, report, or assignment for what the professor or boss wanted. I rarely pushed buttons, suggested a different approach, or asked why. I just got it done.

This carried over into working with families in clinic settings. If a parent wanted their child to do X, I did everything I could to make that happen. However, this might have been teaching the child a staple skill, rather than building the foundational skills necessary. 

As I became a more skilled therapist, I learned that foundation-building and education-providing were much more important than “meeting the goal.” This can be difficult to implement, as it takes patience as a practitioner, and regular communication with caregivers.

A parent may want the child to tolerate or learn a certain task as soon as possible, and who can blame them? They want their child to succeed! But we may see the child isn’t ready, or needs to achieve smaller steps first. 

Check in to make sure you’re not forcing outcomes, but rather reviewing the path to growth. Provide this information to your families so they can see how important those small steps are to achieving the higher outcome. 💫

08/10/2021

✨ Magic Painting ✨

This activity has been so fun this week!

Use a white crayon to draw shapes, letters, numbers, sight words, or simple pictures.

I put symbols inside pumpkins, because its October of course. “Whats’s hiding in the 🎃?!” is a cute verbal cue to get started.

Use watercolors (or water mixed with food coloring) to paint and see what appears!

I first saw this on and modified it for all my clients and their interests.

Let’s see what magic paintings you create 💫

How often do you take OVER 1-2 days off for legit R&R? My answer used to be - rarely.This past week I have been back in ...
04/09/2021

How often do you take OVER 1-2 days off for legit R&R? My answer used to be - rarely.

This past week I have been back in New England visiting family. I told myself that if I moved across country (again), I would be in charge of my schedule so that I could build in time to go visit.

Furthermore, this has become a time for me to physically and mentally step away from work and my biz, not because I am “sick of it” but because I LOVE my job and clients, which leaves my brain ignited and full for months at a time.

During my past two trips east, I’ve taken a healthy disconnect from work for several days, then steadily notice how new space develops. Stepping out of the client bubble and the work-week repetition, I’m able to re-establish treatment ideas, ways to re-vamp OT sessions, and where I want to take Sensory Seeds.

It’s been a great reminder that without taking space and time to rest, there isn’t any room for expansion and growth.

I can’t wait to dive into the new September schedule and see my kiddos again this week!

P.S. A favorite way that I ground and restore is listening to killer songs on repeat. This week’s jam: I’m Your Wreck, Mt. Joy 🎵

🎉 Thirty-freakin-four 🎉and I’m so here for it.As many of us do on our birthdays, I started to reflect on my past year. T...
22/08/2021

🎉 Thirty-freakin-four 🎉

and I’m so here for it.

As many of us do on our birthdays, I started to reflect on my past year. The first experiences that came to mind were the hard, emotional, “ugh” instances.

But screw that.

This year I’m only reflecting on the experiences that brought me joy, forward-motion, and laughter.

So I share with you one of those moments yesterday - when I was able to FULLY enjoy a piece of chocolate cake after my sense of sweetness was disgustingly distorted for the past 6 months. (Thanks covid). But it’s coming back people 👏🏼

Chocolate is returning to my life, which is only one small reason that makes this birthday extra sweet.

I’ve wiped out 90% of my anxiety. The other day I was sitting on the couch, and thought “oh my god, I haven’t felt highl...
24/07/2021

I’ve wiped out 90% of my anxiety.

The other day I was sitting on the couch, and thought “oh my god, I haven’t felt highly anxious in months.”

Yes, I still get nervous jitters and butterflies, but that simmering anxiety that lived with me for so long, the heavy anxiety that wants to rule the roost, has dissipated.

So I asked myself Why? What has shifted?

And I realized this.

I am living in a place that feeds my soul.

I have identified specific values to root into, and make decisions and boundaries based on these.

I am regularly seeing people who make me laugh, take me on adventures, and fill my cup.

I invested in therapy in 2018, 2019, and 2020 (which could be a book and 23 other posts).

I did reiki and ayahuasca in 2020, and released major energetic knots that were blocking my ability to expand.

I get on my mat first thing every morning, spending at least 20 minutes to find my breath and security.

I don’t drink coffee anymore.

I feel connected with my mother, father, and brother, even though living 3,000 miles away.

I have one day each week for me. To find space, to explore, to catch up on life, to do whatever I need to do.

I created a work schedule that’s balanced, while treating children that light me up.

— It isn’t easy to walk through the muck of life to get to this place, but it’s possible. I realize that the investment and work I’ve done over the past 4 years have been building blocks to get me to this point.

So I ask you - what is 1 thing that’s stirring up high anxiety for you? Comment below, or take time and think on this. Now, what’s 1 thing you want to do to help release that?

Entrepreneurship: seeing a massive mountain and wondering how you’ll get to the top. When I started my business 7 months...
18/06/2021

Entrepreneurship: seeing a massive mountain and wondering how you’ll get to the top.

When I started my business 7 months ago, I wasn’t sure how it would evolve, but I knew I had to start laying a foundation and taking one step forward each week.

As clients steadily came in, I have shifted my policies, strengthened my intake process, and practiced setting boundaries to keep a schedule I desire.

I have taken slow and gentle steps, at my pace, to create a sustainable practice, while working with children and families that light me up.

I have had people reach out asking when I was opening doors to a clinic, if I would rent space, or if I was going to add employees. But I have practiced staying in the lane of where I want my business to be currently - which is a sole owner, offering in-home therapy, in charge of my schedule, and rooting into my values.

What I’ve learned over this time, is that there isn’t a “top” to the mountain. It’s a steady hike around the mountain. Choosing to hike a trail that will burn for a bit but take you to the next level. OR choosing a flat trail to step back and enjoy the process of what you’ve created.

Today I am celebrating 6 new referrals that have come my way in the past two weeks. I am settling into this momentum and feeling gratitude for this profession and how we can evolve it into something we desire.

14/06/2021

Preparing some activities for the week and decided to try Bubble Slime recipe!! 🎉

It’s SO great! It took a few tries to figure out how to position the straw to get a bubble going, but then it worked like a charm!

Texture and resistance get an A+ too!

Thanks !! 🤗

1/2 cup glue
1/2 cup shaving cream
2 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP contact solution
Food coloring

Freedom. One of the first reasons I desired to start my own business was to have freedom. Freedom to have a healthy amou...
11/05/2021

Freedom.

One of the first reasons I desired to start my own business was to have freedom.

Freedom to have a healthy amount of clients that I could fully invest my energy into.

Freedom to structure a schedule where I feel balanced and productive.

Freedom to have Fridays off.

Freedom to occasionally shift my schedule for my personal plans or changes in my client’s plans.

Freedom to take two weeks off to re-set, rest, and reconnect when I feel called to do so.

✨I read the other day that “entrepreneurial freedom is about so much more than escaping the same old, same old of the working day — It’s about being the master of your own destiny and reaping the rewards of your own endeavors.”✨

How do you feel called to add more “freedom” into your professional routine?

“I could have done better”Raise your hand if you’ve ended a therapy session with a client and had this thought 🙋🏻‍♀️ Thi...
04/05/2021

“I could have done better”

Raise your hand if you’ve ended a therapy session with a client and had this thought 🙋🏻‍♀️

This is normal.

You are human and having “the perfect treatment session” each time isn’t realistic.

However!

Use this as an opportunity to asses what didn’t work.
Check in with yourself on why you weren’t in the best state of mind.
Reflect on where resistance was felt within the session.

Then remember 2 good things that DID occur within the session, even if minor.

Give yourself grace and come back with more insight next session 💪🏽

22/04/2021

✨what are you celebrating today?!✨

During sessions with my gal-pal and coach .petruzzo, she often starts with this question.

What are you celebrating today?

We often get so caught up being in go-mode, getting through the day, checking items off our list, that we don’t stop to acknowledge the good we’ve done.

Or our small accomplishments.
Or the subtle improvements we’ve made in ourselves.

Today I am celebrating... 💫

That I feel really good in my own skin.

I have been in Oregon 6 months and have a sustainable in-home OT biz.

I have friends that encourage ME to play, outside of “playing” for my job.

I get to eat yummy leftovers for lunch today.

I went on a jog this week.

So tell me, what are YOU celebrating today? ⚡️⬇️

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