SI on the Fly!
Join the Conversation
SI on the Fly! is a weekly podcast for SI practitioners and therapists who are interested in sensory integration as part of their work. These conversations between Advanced SI Practitioners come about organically from the ASIP community’s CPD events and workshops. We’ll be talking about resources, clinical issues, research evidence and more. ASIP (Association of Sensory Integration Practice) is a unique community for professionals who use an SI perspective in some or all aspects of their work.
Listen to these new concise podcasts wherever and whenever you want – be it driving in the car between appointments, walking the dog or cooking dinner in the evening - you can fit your CPD in on the fly!
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Season 4: Sensory Integration and Eating Difficulties
ARFID - A Parent's Point of View
Season 4: Episode #8
Kate Broughton talks to Marianne, the parent of a teenager with ARFID. Marianne describes the experiences of a family supporting a young person who can only eat two foods orally, and how that affects everyday family life. She reflects on which support and advice has been most helpful over the years.
Feeding and Premature Birth - a Parent's Perspective
Season 4: Episode #7
Kate Broughton talks to Amy D, who describes her experiences as a parent of a child who has had eating and feeding difficulties from birth. Amy shares the strategies from the professionals which have been useful and supportive, and the tips which have been most helpful to them as a family over the years.
SI on the Fly - Feeding and Premature Birth - a Parents Perspective.
Autism and Anxiety for Classroom Staff
Season 4: Episode #6
Emer Broderick and Lynn McCann talk about Autism and Anxiety and its the management by the Classroom staff. About providing services to being the bridge between schools, parents, and the child, so that everybody can work well together for the sake of the child, having in mind the sensory processing and its relation to anxiety.
SI on the Fly - Autism and Anxiety for Classroom Staff
More than Just Chewing and Swallowing!
Season 4: Episode #5
Kim Elter and Caroline Robinson get to the bottom of the complicated sequence of eating, starting with the environment of eating and what is going on at meal times.
Teenage Girls and Sensory-Based Eating Difficulties
Season 4: Episode #4
Kim Elter and Emer Broderick talk through the challenges of managing lunchtimes at school for teenage girls with sensory difficulties. They discuss the interplay between anxiety and eating difficulties, especially at an age where peers might notice and comment on difficulties. Both Emer and Kim share insights from their own caseloads, and give strategies and ideas for other therapists working in schools.
SI on the Fly - Teenage Girls and Sensory-Based Eating Difficulties
Sensory Supports For Mainstream School Classrooms
Season 4: Episode #3
Special Guest Kim Griffin from Griffin OT talks to Amy Stephens about her new book Success with Sensory Supports written for teachers and therapists working in mainstream schools.
SI on the Fly - Sensory Supports for Mainstream School Classrooms
Resources:
Assessing Sensory Needs for People Who Are Minimally Responsive
Season 4: Episode #2
Greg Kelly and Marta Figueiredo discuss Dr Taylor-Goh's new SI assessment tool, the Sensory Processing Observation Tool (SPOT-ABI) and consider the potential applications for a wide range of client groups where individuals are unable to take part in formal assessments.
SI on the Fly - Assessing Sensory Needs for People Who Are Minimally Responsive
ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) and Sensory Feeding Challenges
Season 4: Episode #1
Gina Evans and Amy Stephens start the conversation about sensory integration and eating difficulties which we will be following as a topic in ASIP through May and June. In this episode, they think about how the diagnosis of ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) relates to difficulties coping with foods due to sensory processing differences. They share some of the key strategies they use in their clinical practice to support families affected by sensory-based feeding difficulties.
SI on the Fly - ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) and Sensory Feeding Challenges
Season 3: Working with Non-speaking Clients
Top Tips for working with Non-Speaking Children
Season 3: Episode #9
Caroline Robinson and Kim Elter wrap up the ASIP topic cycle with their 5 Top Tips for working with Non-Speaking Children. Great ideas for SI practitioners and others working in mainstream schools and clinic settings.
SI on the Fly - Top Tips for working with Non-Speaking Children
Trauma from Childhood to Adulthood
Season 3: Episode #8
Kim Elter and Karen Forrest are OTs and Advanced ASI Practitioners, working with individuals who have survived trauma. Kim's work typically supports babies and children, and Karen's work is with adults - and this is a fascinating opportunity to hear them share their experiences of how the impact of trauma on development pans out across the lifespan. They explore what would be needed to change the trajectory and how SI therapists can contribute.
SI and Speech Therapy - a Case Study
Season 3: Episode #7
Alison Dear, Speech and Language Therapist and Advanced SI Practitioner, shares a case study of a non-speaking young person. Alison describes how SI fits into her SLT role and relates to the SLT professional remit and goals.
Tips for Working with Non-speaking Adults
Season 3: Episode #6
Karen Forrest talks to Emer Broderick about some of the considerations for working in a person-centred way with adult clients who do not or cannot use speech to communicate.
SI on the Fly -Tips for Working with Non-speaking Adults.mp4
Special Interest Groups for Sensory Integration
Season 3: Episode #5
Kim Elter and Leanne Duggan talk about the Special Interest Groups (SIGs) which allow professionals with an interest in SI to build their knowledge and expertise by applying it to a specialist clinical area. There are SIGs for clinicians working in Mental Health, Autism, Mainstream Schools, Trauma and Attachment, Restrictive Environments and Learning Disabilities. Kim and Leanne talk about how the SIGs support their own learning and practice, and invite you to come along and find out more.
SI on the Fly - Special Interest Groups for Sensory Integration
Sensory Boxes and Weighted Blankets
Season 3: Episode #4
Leanne Duggan and Jemma Kent, OTs working with adults, discuss the two most requested pieces of sensory equipment in mental health settings: sensory boxes and weighted blankets. They talk about the circumstances in which both of these might be part of their interventions - but also why these approaches might be either ineffective or even unsafe. They discuss the current guidelines in relation to weighted modalities, and the need for training and oversight.
Tiny Tweaks for a Big Change: Implementing Whole School Strategies for Occupational Therapists
Season 3: Episode #3
Gina Evans talks to Rebecca Neill from Dynamic OT about the potential advantages of taking a universal level or whole-school approach rather than just offering strategies targeting one child in the group. They share their top tips for how to get started with a whole-school approach, and for how to get people on board with the change.
Goal Setting and Collaborative Working with Non-speaking Clients
Season 3: Episode #2
Kim Elter and Gina Evans reflect on how they work collaboratively with non-speaking clients, both when there is the opportunity to pull in expertise from the wider multidisciplinary team and when it is just you and the individual. They offer tips and strategies from their clinical practice.
SI on the Fly - Goal Setting and Collaborative Working with Non-speaking Clients
Introduction to Our Topic: Working with Non-speaking Clients
Season 3: Episode #1
Gina Evans and Kim Elter introduce the new ASIP topic, exploring how we support, collaborate, and offer meaningful assessment and intervention for individuals who do not use speech to communicate. Kim and Gina start to consider the wide range of clinical settings where this might be the case and share what they see in their clinical practices in this area. Kim considers some of the potential advantages to pace and engagement of not relying on spoken communication, and Gina identifies the aspects of ASI Fidelity that make SI practitioners well trained to support in this area.
SI on the Fly - Introduction to Our Topic: Working with Non-speaking Clients
Season 2: Sensory Integration and Polyvagal Theory
Sensory Integration, Polyvagal and Adult Clients
Season 2: Episode #10
Leanne Duggan and Karen Forrest wrap up our two-month focus on the interaction between polyvagal theory and sensory integration by reflecting on their own clinical practice with adults. They reflect on where polyvagal theory adds an additional and valuable lens for working with adults in mental health and forensic settings. Karen also describes how she also finds the Fear Defence Cascade lens fits alongside this when assessing and supporting adults with very complex presentations.
SI on the Fly - Sensory Integration, Polyvagal and Adult Clients
Using the Safe & Sound Protocol Approach With a Very Young Child: An SI Perspective
Season 2: Episode #4
Emer Broderick and Caroline Robinson talk about the overlap they see between the Safe & Sound Protocol and Sensory Integration - and how using both approaches in tandem can work. They reflect on the key component of regulation - the calm and alert state - which is core to both approaches, and how the parent-led administration of the Safe & Sound Protocol could be a valuable approach to explore further for SI Practitioners. They conclude that the SSP could be a useful additional tool to their SI toolbox.
SI on the Fly - Using the Safe & Sound Protocol Approach With a Very Young Child: An SI Perspective
How to Read a Research Paper Without Fear: Straightforward Strategies to Help You Read the Research
Season 2: Episode #9
Understanding Indirect Trauma in Our Clinical Practice
Season 2: Episode #8
Kim Elter and Gina Evans consider indirect and episodic trauma as a factor for SI practitioners to be aware of in interventions. While the phrase "trauma-informed care" is frequently used, there is perhaps a misperception that trauma refers only to major life crises. Gina and Kim talk about the potential to experience trauma in smaller, ongoing challenges: being in hospital, school difficulties, changes in the family - and consider how we can begin to uncover this in ways which do not project blame. They offer strategies for starting these valuable, but sometimes uncomfortable, conversations with individuals and families.
* Affiliate link
SI on the Fly - Understanding Indirect Trauma in Our Clinical Practice
Using Polyvagal and Sensory Integration 'Lenses' Together in Clinical Practice - Hands-On Strategies
Season 2: Episode #7
In this useful and practical conversation, Kim Elter and Gina Evans talk about how to add a Polyvagal overlayer to our SI practice when working with children and families. They talk about the benefits of recognising the challenges of tasks and environments as well as individual nervous systems, and how co-regulation and anchoring need to be built in before self-regulation and adaptation can even begin. They consider how the impact of sensory processing challenges on engagement affects families, siblings and others as well as the individual, and offer their top tips to get this going.
Occupational Performance Coaching: A Manual for Practitioners and Researchers*
* Affiliate link
Feeling Safe in Therapeutic Relationships: A Polyvagal Lens on Therapeutic Presence
Season 2: Episode #6
Dr Greg Kelly and Leanne Duggan discuss a recent research paper which looks at the idea of therapeutic presence and therapeutic use of self from a polyvagal perspective. They consider where this aligns to the ASI Fidelity model, and where areas of difference arise.
SI on the Fly - Feeling Safe in Therapeutic Relationships: A Polyvagal Lens on Therapeutic Presence
Sensory Processing, Medication and Mental Health
Season 2: Episode #5
Leanne Duggan talks to special guest Dr Patrick Kirwan, Consultant Psychiatrist. In this fascinating conversation, they talk about the interaction between medications which are often used as first-line treatments for mental illness, and which could either change or mask the person's sensory presentation. They also talk about the challenge of side effects of medicines - and how the timing of your sensory integration assessment could be crucial to your accurate clinical reasoning.
SI on the Fly - Sensory Processing, Medication and Mental Health
Using the Safe and Sound Protocol Approach Alongside Sensory Integration
Season 2: Episode 3
Caroline Robinson and Kim Elter talk about their personal experiences of the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) programme in their clinics. The SSP is a music-based auditory intervention which is claimed to support individuals to achieve and maintain a sense of safety and regulation, and as Caroline and Kim discuss, this means it can potentially be useful as an intervention option alongside SI. However, the design of the programme has elements which perhaps might be harder to accommodate in some settings, and so practitioners considering this approach will need to decide for themselves how to incorporate and balance using these two approaches together.
SI on the Fly - Using the Safe and Sound Protocol Approach Alongside Sensory Integration
Supporting Regulation for Older Adults with Sensory Integration Difficulties
Season 2: Episode #2
Si on the Fly - Supporting Regulation for Older Adults with Sensory Integration Difficulties
Sensory Integration and Polyvagal Theory
Season 2: Episode #1
As we start our new topic cycle, join Leanne Duggan and Jemma Kent to get an overview of the broad concepts of Polyvagal theory, and to start to think about how it might be helpful for your SI practice.
They reflect on how they have used Polyvagal theory in their own work with adults with SI difficulties, and describe how some individuals have found it a very valuable lens for understanding and feeling reassured about their own sensory processing differences. Leanne and Jemma also think about where Polyvagal theory diverges from SI theory, and start the conversation about how and when to apply each different theoretical lens to get the best outcomes for the individuals you support.
Season 1: Overwhelm, Demand Avoidance and a Possible PDA Diagnosis
BONUS PODCAST: Aerial Yoga for Proprioceptive and Vestibular Integration
Season 1: Episode #10
Lelanie Brewer and Amy Stephens talk about aerial yoga and the opportunities it offers for SI-based work.
SI on the Fly -BONUS PODCAST Aerial Yoga for Proprioceptive and Vestibular Integration
SI Practitioners Supporting Parents of Young People With PDA
Season 1: Episode #9
Kimberly Elter and Caroline Robinson talk about the impact of PDA on the wider family. They consider the stress that parents can experience in the tension between creating the security of a familiar routine and the novelty and flexibility which can help children with PDA to take part. They reflect that SI Practitioners can inadvertently add more stress to the situation by suggesting endless strategies, and they also consider where the responsibility sits for SI Practitioners to support the parents' well-being as well.
SI on the Fly - SI Practitioners Supporting Parents of Young People With PDA
A Mainstream School PDA Case Study
Season 1: Episode #8
Caroline Robinson and Kimberly Elter talk through a case study: a 12-year-old boy with a PDA diagnosis who is not currently able to take part in formal education. They think about where the challenges are for a therapist stepping into a new therapeutic relationship with individuals and families at points of extreme stress.
Supporting Learners With PDA in Transitions at School
Season 1: Episode #7
In this longer-length edition of SI on the Fly!, Emer Broderick and Gina Evans from the ASIP Community start to think about the challenges for SI practitioners supporting children with PDA who are in school settings. They reflect on their own experiences, particularly around supporting children in transitions, and they explore where the roles and responsibilities of the SI Practitioner sit in relation to school rules and school culture.
SI on the Fly - Supporting Learners With PDA in Transitions at School
Why Some Strategies Which Help Autistic Learners Don't Help Learners With Pathological Demand Avoidance
Season 1: Episode #6
Karen Forrest and Amy Stephens reflect on their understanding of the difference between demand avoidance and PDA, and how the advice of Laura Kerbey from n-est.org sharpened this up. They consider why some of the more usual strategies that help autistic students in the mainstream classroom don't work for PDA children, and think about how SI approaches might be helpful.
Resources
Neurodivergent Education Support and Training (nest)
Resources for SI Practitioners Working in Schools
Season 1: Episode #5
Kate Broughton and Amy Stephens review the Building Bridges resource and think about how it might be useful for SI Practitioners working in special and mainstream school settings.
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SI on the Fly - Resources for SI Practitioners Working in Schools
History of the PDA Diagnostic Label
Season 1: Episode #4
Kimberly Elter and Caroline Robinson explore how the term PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) emerged, and how this relates to their more general feelings about the usefulness and limitations of diagnostic labels. They think about how the DSM5 framing of PDA under the wider autism umbrella does not necessarily fit with their clinical experiences, and what this means for intervention and support.
SI on the Fly - History of the PDA Diagnostic Label
Demand Avoidance from a Neuroaffirmative Perspective
Season 1: Episode #3
Kimberly Elter and Amy Stephens start to think about how the concept of a "PDA" diagnosis potentially sits in tension with a neurodiverse perspective about the value in individual variation in brains and nervous systems. We expand this to think about where this framing relates to our wider SI practice.
School Distress and Sensory Processing: A Research Paper Discussion
Season 1: Episode #2
Greg Kelly and Leanne Duggan from the ASIP discuss this recent research paper about school refusal, and think about where it relates to sensory integration difficulties across the lifespan:
SI on the Fly - School Distress and Sensory Processing A Research Paper Discussion (6).mp4
Sensory Integration and Demand Avoidance: Ideas to Inspire SI professionals' CPD
Season 1: Episode #1
Leanne Duggan and Kimberly Elter from the ASIP Sensory Integration community of practice introduce our new study focus. For the months of November and December, we'll be thinking about how sensory processing differences link with Overwhelm, Demand Avoidance and a possible "PDA" diagnosis.
SI on the Fly - Sensory Integration and Demand Avoidance: Ideas to Inspire SI professionals' CPD