Our Approach
Grounded Occupational Therapy provides holistic, child-centered support for neurodivergent tamariki and their whānau.
Principles that guide our practise at Grounded OT include use of the body-based senses as a foundation for both regulation and motor planning, and setting up the environment to invite the child to explore these processes in a safe, fun and engaging way.
Carefully attuning to the child as we track their energy and arousal throughout the sessions allows us to find their earliest point of integration, adapt in-the-moment, and follow their lead as they make adaptive responses to 'just right' challenges in the context of playful activity.
Our relational approach supports collaboration, intrinsic motivation and builds confidence. Children learn to trust and feel safe in their own bodies and explore pathways toward balance in their nervous system, building a foundation upon which all other learning, behaviour and day-to-day functions can unfold.
Continuing the legacy
Growing up in a household of teachers, one specialising in teaching neurodivergent learners in a way that was best suited to them, Julie was primed from an early age to see that kids do well when they can (as Ross Greene might say). Mentored by Emma Ratcliff and Robyn Ritchie, Julie was brought into the world of sensory processing and integration based therapy with a rich internship-like approach directly following her occupational therapy undergraduate degree, at what was then Helios Integrative Medical Centre (now Te Ara Sophia). Going on to work at the Champion Centre alongside Robyn Ritchie and Jan Murphy (a trained speech-language therapist) and under the directorship of both Jan and Dr Susan Foster-Cohen, Julie's paradigm of working curiously and kindly to understand the child before her, and in partnership with families, was further developed. During this time, Julie Wylie also became an esteemed colleague, and musical play became an interdisciplinary thread woven into Julie's OT practise. Currently, Julie spends a morning a week alongside Julie Wylie facilitating community musical play classes with preschoolers.
Would Occupational Therapy benefit my child?
Does your child need support with:
Tuning into body signals and navigating emotions?
Paying attention or following the steps of an instruction?
Finding a sense of ease in movement-based activity?
Understanding their sensory processing needs and preferences?
Taking part in activities at preschool, kindy or school?
Navigating transitions and daily routines?
Could you benefit from:
-
Support to understand your child's behaviour?
-
Greater understanding of why daily routines and activities can seem so hard?
-
Collaborating on ideas to support your child to be at ease in their body and their relationships and roles?
-
Support to advocate for your child's needs in kindy, preschool or school?