Advancing a Deeper Understanding of Individual Profiles

Occupational Therapy: From Its Early 1900s Origins to Modern Science-Based Practice
Rosemary White, OTR/L

Rosemary's presentation will explore the origins of occupational therapy, highlighting its foundational use of activities to promote mental and physical health. She will connect these early principles to the profession's current focus on supporting children, families, and the transformative power of relationships in fostering development.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the focus of the origins of occupational therapy in the early 1900s. 
2. List the major changes in occupational therapy treatment focus during the late 1900s.
3. Explain how DIRFloortime® combines occupational therapy theory and practice to support interaction styles tailored to each child and caregiver.

Integrating Neuroscience and Relational Frameworks in Occupational Therapy in Service of a Deeper Understanding of Individual Profiles and Adaptive Capacity
Tracy Stackhouse, MA, OTR/L

The session will examine sensory modulation as it relates to regulatory capacity and functional emotional development to build a comprehensive understanding of regulation and its foundations. By challenging outdated sensory modulation models, the session will introduce a neuroscience-aligned perspective that emphasizes valence-based processing and the pivotal role of relationships and resourcing the nervous system in fostering adaptive responses.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Define adaptive capacity and its significance for occupational therapy intervention.
2. Explain how sensory, affective, and motor processing contribute to adaptive capacities across developmental domains, emphasizing relational support.
3. Explain the traditional sensory modulation models and updated, neuroscience-aligned frameworks that integrate valence-based processing and relational contexts to support regulatory and emotional capacities.

Sensory Responsivity, Genetics, Neural Networks and Emotional Regulation
Elysa Marco, MD
Discussion: Elysa Marco, MD & Rosemary White, OTR/L

Dr. Marco’s presentation will walk through the current state of understanding the genetic and neural mechanisms of sensory over-responsivity in neurodiverse children with a focus on emotional regulation.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. List 2 etiologies of neurodevelopmental disorders from sensory processing to autism.
2. Describe the structural and functional brain imaging findings that may occur in neurodiverse children.
3. Explain the brain-based, sensory-informed approach for supporting neurodiverse children.

Interoception – The 8th Sense: The Science of How We Each Uniquely Feel
Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L
Discussion: Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L with Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L

Interoception is one of the hottest topics in neuroscience and has shed light on the value of noticing and understanding our body signals. How connected are you to your inner self? How connected are your clients and their families to these internal signals? Research shows that interoceptive awareness is foundational to regulation, social emotional learning and mental health. Interoception science has encouraged us to shift to the body brain connection in contrast to a top down approach. This is key to supporting dynamic relationships and to providing affirming supports. Come take an inner selfie as we explore the lived experience and science of this important topic.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how interoception can be integrated with clients and/or their families.
2. Describe the impact that interoception has on regulation, social emotional learning and mental health.
3. Identify at least 2 evidence-based strategies for nurturing interoception.
   

Developing Healthy Self Esteem: A Parent’s Perspective
Georgina Ahrens, BAppSc with Maria Katsiaris and Helena Gueiros, PT with Eliana Piacentini

Gain valuable insights from parents as they share their experiences raising neurodivergent children, focusing on fostering self-esteem and self-advocacy tailored to each child's unique profile. Understand the vital role of creating a supportive environment and embracing collaborative approaches that empower children to advocate for themselves as they grow, prioritizing personal growth over conformity or attempts to "fix" behaviors.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Describe challenges and opportunities in supporting the development of a child with a unique sensory profile.
2. Explain the importance of understanding and validating a child’s perspective to foster their sense of self-worth, acceptance and build on self-advocacy.
3. Identify key strategies when working with educators to allow children to express their feelings, unique needs and strengths.
   

Thinking Together in Support of the Unique Profiles of Neurodivergent Individuals
Discussion: Kelly Mahler, OTD, OTR/L; Elysa Marco, MD and Tracy Stackhouse, MA, OTR/L with Kate Bailey, BSc OT, MSc OT

Join Kelly Mahler, Elysa Marco, and Tracy Stackhouse as they share insights from their research and clinical experience. Learn how they use DIR-informed approaches to help neurodivergent children build meaningful and fulfilling lives.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how an individual’s interoception can impact their relationships.
2. Explain how a brain-based, sensory-informed approach can support neurodiverse individuals.
3. List two ways individual profiles influence relationships in DIR-informed interdisciplinary work.
   

How Behavior Develops
Karen Adolph, PhD
Discussion: Karen Adolph, PhD with Monica Osgood, MA

Behavior is everything we do. It is the outcome of (and provides the input for) multimodal exploration, perception, cognition, motivation, emotion, and social interaction. With age and experience, infant behavior becomes more flexible, adaptive, and functional. How does behavior develop? In the course of everyday activity, infants acquire immense amounts of timedistributed, variable, error-filled practice for every type of foundational behavior researchers have measured. Practice is largely self-motivated, spontaneous, and frequently not goal directed. Formal models suggest that infants’ natural practice regimen—replete with variability and errors—is optimally suited for building a flexible behavioral system to respond adaptively to the constraints and opportunities of continually changing skills in an ever-changing world. I conclude with a proposal that open video sharing will speed progress toward understanding behavior and its development and improve clinical interventions and practice.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain why variability and errors are critical components of behavioral development.
2. Describe the importance of flexibility in behavior and how infants become more adaptive and creative with development.
3. Apply the course information to clinical populations by analyzing patient actions, interventions, and functional outcomes in terms of variability, errors, and flexibility.
4. Discuss the power of video to capture changes in behavior that are difficult to observe or to analyze in the moment.
   

A Deeper Exploration of the Individual Profile with the Population - Bring it Back to Relationships
Tracy Stackhouse, MA, OTR/L
Discussion: Tracy Stackhouse, MA, OTR/L with Kate Bailey, BSc OT, MSc OT

This session will explore how individual profiles are shaped by the integration of sensory, affective, and motor experiences, highlighting updates informed by current neuroscience. Participants will reflect on how these insights challenge traditional sensory integration models and consider ways to align clinical reasoning with the dynamic interplay of these systems and the central role of relationships in fostering growth and adaptation.

As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to:

1. Explain how sensory, affective, and motor experiences shape individual profiles, based on current neuroscience.
2. Describe changes to models of sensory integrative processing that have been updated by current neuroscience.
3. List two reasoning approaches aligned to the interplay of sensory, affective, and motor, and relational dynamics in clinical settings.
   

Interdisciplinary Insights: Perspectives on Lessons Learned - A Video Review
Barbara Baldassarre, OTR/L; Sarah Duvnjak-Zaknich, BSc (Speech Pathology), CPSP; Ira Glovinsky, PhD and Helena Gueiros, PT

Join an engaging interdisciplinary discussion where professionals share insights and reflections on key lessons learned from the conference presentations. This interactive session, featuring real-life video examples, delves into collaborative interdisciplinary strategies for supporting a child’s development and well-being. It highlights the latest neuroscience research, emerging trends in occupational therapy, and practical guidance for therapeutic approaches.

Bringing It All Together: Key Learnings from the Conference through a DIRFloortime® Lens
Ira Glovinsky, PhD; Sarah Duvnjak-Zaknich, BSc (Speech Pathology), CPSP; Monica Osgood, MA and Rosemary White, OTR/L

This dynamic session will unpack the important lessons from this conference and explore how they align with the principles of DIRFloortime®. Through reflection, shared insights and open dialogue, we’ll connect the conference themes to our work, fostering a unified approach and strengthening our commitment to building meaningful relationships, celebrating strengths, and nurturing agency in the children we support.