Sensoryscape Paeds OT

💜 Today is world prematurity day 💜

1 in 10 babies are born preterm worldwide.

The theme for this years prematurity day is : A parents embrace - signifying the importance and powerful effects that skin-to-skin contact has for the baby.

There are a lot of challenges that are associated with prematurity, which takes a whole integrated team to support the health, growth and development of these babies. Today we celebrated all that this day entails at Wilgehuewel Hospital with the NICU staff, parents and allied health care professionals.

Today we embrace all prem babies and those children who were born premature AND the parents of these premmies! We acknowledge you and are here to support you!

We are live - check out or webpage. Link in bio 😊

Time for a change.

We are relocating our wilgeheuwel practice to new premises down the road in Randpark Ridge, Jhb.

Watch this space for the reveal and what we have to offer.

We are very excited and look forward to opening on Monday 😊

Today is World Prematurity Day 🐣

We celebrate the lives of the littlies and appreciate all involved in their care!

Christmas holiday / Christmas pressie ideas

Meet the face behind this PPE. This is Jacqui- a friend, cat mom, crocheter and music lover.

Jacqui trained as an Occupational Therapist at WITS University. Since graduating she has been dedicated to further developing her skills in Ayres Sensory Integration, SOS Feeding Approach, DIR Floortime Approach, Therapeutic Listening and Interactive Metronome.

Jacqui has a particular interest in treating infants, toddlers and young children with developmental delays and sensory processing challenges. Her main focus is on helping and empowering children progress through play engagement and meaningful interactions. Jacqui sees each play interaction as an opportunity to help children learn, grow and find joy in their world.

“Think of playtime like an innovation lab where tomorrow’s civilization is being actively designed.” Jordan Shapiro

Meet the face behind this PPE. This is Amber Keating - dog mom, lover of all things rainbow colored and the most recent addition to the Sensoryscape team.

Amber studied at Stellenbosch University where she graduated in 2015 and went on to do community service in Dundee in KZN. Immediately after completing her Zuma year, Amber began her pediatric journey. Working at a school for physically disabled and visually impaired learners - her love for treating children with disorders such as cerebral palsy, truly blossomed. “I sometimes believe that these beautiful souls teach me more about life and living it, than I could ever teach them.”

Amber started at Sensoryscape in June last year and has since grown incredibly inquisitive and hungry to learn more about sensory integration and this approach to working with children with sensory processing disorder. “It is a privilege to work with this team of Occupational Therapists who are so knowledgeable and have taught me so much about Sensory Integration thus far”. One global pandemic halted her plans to begin the course this year...We will leave that for 2021.

Amber is often asked by her patients if she would like to come to their house for a ‘play date’. She credits this to the belief that she is an adult on the outside with a childlike heart and playful nature.
“There is nothing on this earth I would rather devote my life to, than making the lives of children that much better”.

Meet the face behind this PPE. This is Bianca Venter - a daugther of God, wife, friend and occupational therapist. She loves spending time outdoors with family and friends.

Bianca’s mission as an Occupational Therapist is to passionately journey with children and help them reach their optimal potential.

After qualifying and doing her community service year, Bianca embraced the profession with gratitude for the opportunity to work at SensoryScape and is motivated by the difference that she can make in children and their families’ lives.

Bianca has a special interest in working with babies, as well as toddlers with sensory integration difficulties and other developmental challenges.

She has completed her postgraduate training in Ayres Sensory Integration. Furthermore, she has completed the Prechtl’s qualitative assessment of general movements training as well as Test of Infants Motor Performance, which equips her to assess babies with a high risk for developing neurodevelopmental disorders.

Bianca believes that it is a privilege to be a part of so many children’s lives, to understand their world a little better and ultimately help them reach their full potential.

So in celebration of OTs this week....we going to introduce you to all our OTs and whose the face behind all the PPE....

This is Carryn Martin - a wife, mom to a toddler, occupational therapist and practice owner of SensoryScape.

Her focus in working with children has included various training qualifications. She has her Masters in Occupational Therapy where her research focused on stress management for mothers who have children with sensory over-responsiveness. Carryn has a passion for sensory integration, which led her to complete her Sensory Integration training in 2010. In 2018, she completed her training in the SOS Feeding Approach®, which has assisted in the more holistic and effective way of treating children with feeding difficulties.

She has a particular interest in treating toddlers with sensory and planning challenges, as well as children with feeding difficulties.

Following her passion for sensory integration, Carryn has developed online Tubs n Tots messy play classes for toddlers .

Ayres believed that the young brain is naturally malleable and capable of change. Carryn believes that playing an integral part in this process of change in a child’s life is very special, and truly a privilege.

It’s OT week and we are celebrating all our OTs at Sensoryscape and all that encompasses OT.

We have 4 OTs that work at Sensoryscape, all with varying passions ranging from treating babies all the way up to adolescents, with a variety of conditions and diagnoses.

Check us out on https://www.earlybirdtherapy.co.za/paediatric-occupational-therapy to see more of what we all about 💛💛

As promised, we made the flower potions in celebration for spring. The weather is just so beautiful at the moment, which made this activity even more inviting.

We started off the activity by venturing in the garden and our street in search for the perfect flowers.

We then settled at the table and started to make the flower potion. We actually changed the name of the flower mix during the activity to flower soup. My daughter doesn’t know what a potion is, so we decided to make a flower soup and flower sauce. Lots of mixing of the colours and flowers were done.

Tools needed:
- Bottles to mix the flower potion, soup or flower sauce in
- Jug of water
- Large bowl
- Spoon, pipette, syringe and anything else you wish to add as tools to help create the mixtures
- Bowls or jugs of different coloured water (coloured using liquid food colouring)
- And then of course flowers from your garden

Show us your flower potions or flower soups. Perfect tactile activity for spring ❤️🌻

Such a privilege to be a part of an amazing Centre and team ❤️

Rooms available for rent at Early Bird Therapy Centre

Throwback Thursday

Behind the scenes sneak peak of Tubs n Tots classes.

Take a look at our website to see what we have to offer!

Enjoy the benefits of messy play for your child.

Motivational Monday

In order for us to regulate our child and meet their needs, we need to have the capacity within ourselves to provide that to them. If we have an empty cup, then we don’t have the capacity to do this. We therefore need to make sure we are self regulating ourselves first so that we can optimally attend to the needs of our child. It’s the same analogy as the oxygen mask in the plane - always put the oxygen mask on yourself before your child.

During these challenging times we are needing to self regulate more than usual, but it’s even more challenging to do so....so parents are drained and exhausted and our children are becoming more needy or emotional or behavioral as a result.

With all the juggling that parents are having to do, let’s try and focus on self regulating ourselves in small doses as parents....it doesn’t have to be a whole day off (although that would be fabulous)....it can just be a small thing each day, that entails something for you. Find a space which can allow you this time - be it in the garden, going for a walk, or your bath....how can you use this space or time to regulate?

Although we can’t visit friends or family, try find other ways to connect with your friends or family members...social connectedness is important and can also assist with self regulation.

The important thing is not feeling guilty for doing something for you.....because you can’t pour from an empty cup.

What is it that you do to self regulate?

Congratulations to our very own therapist - for completing her SI. Officially sensory integration trained ☺️💃🏻

Well done, all the hard work paid off. We proud of you! ❤️

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Tactile Tuesday’s

When it comes to messy play activities, we generally have 2 categories - dry and wet.
Dry messy play activities would include - rice, flour, oats, cereal, sand...
Wet messy play would include - water, bubbles, jelly, gloop, paints, chocolate mud...

Some children love both of these categories, some neither of them and some only one. Which category or categories does your child fall into?

Our goal with the messy play classes is to help your child become more tolerant and willing to explore both these 2 categories.

Motivational Monday
I have to keep reminding myself that what we are all going through is just a chapter in our lives, not a whole story. Let’s make this week better than last week.

“Be strong because things will get better....It might be stormy now but it can’t rain forever”

It can’t rain forever....we will see our rainbow 🌈

Even though it’s winter, we can still do messy play. Put your child outside in the sun with their messy play items. Not only is the sun good for us, engaging in some free tactile play is just as beneficial.

Pantry items put in small bowls + Some kitchen utensils + a bowl of bubble water = enjoyable entertainment for your child and lots of developmental opportunities.

Check out for what we have to offer - guided classes by an occupational therapist on how to engage in messy play and maximize your child’s development, whilst having fun too.

We know messy play is important and get told to do messy play with our kids....but why is it really important?

Check out my new blog post explaining importance of messy play at - https://tubsntots.com/messy-play/why-is-messy-play-is-important/

Tubs n Tots is now officially LIVE - check out our website - www.tubsntots.com

Join us for some online messy play classes to engage your toddler. The classes are guided by an OT and geared not only to stimulate your child on a sensory level but also to assist in their development 💙

🌞 HAPPY YOUTH DAY 🌞

Today let’s celebrate and embrace our youth - the leaders and minds of tomorrow!

Some very important insights on how to cope with all the balls that parents are having to juggle during this Covid-19 pandemic

Educational psychologist discusses the juggling act of parenting during Covid-19 | Fourways Review LONEHILL – Dr Cheryl Wright discusses how to nurture parental well-being during these uncertain times.

Have something exciting coming soon to you which involves messy play.

I have not only seen the benefits of messy play in therapy but also at home with my daughter (Brogyn), especially during these times. I very often feel overwhelmed by all the various things that need to be done in the day, including her schoolwork. And messy play is always the activity that I automatically revert to, especially if I don’t have time to do any schoolwork with her for the day (or even few days cause of so many other commitments). By providing Brogyn with the opportunity to engage in messy play I know that I am working on other developmental areas and addressing a very important aspect of her development. This then puts me at ease knowing that I have done something for her and her development.

That’s why I am passionate about messy play and want to share this with you 💜

Has been a busy past week organizing and cleaning, putting protocols together, getting all PPE organized....but we are now ready to see our little kiddies again. Have missed one-on-one therapy so much!

Although we have opened our doors for one-on-one therapy, we still offering teletherapy and online consultations.

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I find such comfort in these words, especially during these uncertain times that we are going through.

Beautifully written article that reminds us of what is important during this time. Helps shift our focus onto what our children really need 🙏🏼

https://medium.com/.berg.ot/you-are-already-everything-your-child-needs-70e6ffd469e4

And the exploration in the autumn leaves continue whilst on our walk this morning. Talk about a full sensory experience ☺️.

Played all sorts of games with the autumn leaves yesterday. We explored all the different colours and shapes of the leaves, as well as the sound that the leaves make when we crunch them in our hands. Messy play is a multi-sensory experience in that it involves all the senses. Take advantage of all the autumn leaves during this time - such a wonderful learning experience and opportunity for our little ones.

This is my blessing and who I get to celebrate Mother’s Day with today ❤️

Happy Mother’s Day to all the special moms out there! This time is particularly trying for us moms, but today we celebrate you and thank you for all that you have done! You doing amazingly and are so loved ❤️

Messy play is so important for our children’s development as it stimulates them on a multi-sensory level (in involving all the senses). We’ve been doing lots of messy play in our household. Watch this space - something exciting coming soon for you and your little one!

Happy Freedom Day! 🇿🇦

“It always seems impossible until it is done.” – Nelson Mandela

This quote from Madiba is ringing true to where we are all now. It reminds us that we mustn’t feel discouraged even though lives are marked by illness, tragedy, misfortune and pain. These experiences will only make us stronger and teach us to remain faithful to our values and ethics. Let’s remember what Mandela fought for and what he overcame. 🇿🇦

I miss what we do best - treating all of our kiddies at our practice and igniting change! Hope that we can be in our therapy space soon!



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Let’s save and look after our Earth together, and teach our children how to appreciate and look after our planet.
Happy Earth Day!

“Keep the pressure low and the pleasure high”

Be New at This: Supporting your child’s online therapy appointments. As the world adjusts to the new (albeit temporary) version of normal, one thing that continually crashes against my consciousness is the…