as their ability to co-regulate with the young person and colleagues .
We ran weekly or bi-weekly sessions to promote repetition and practice , as recommended by Ayres ( 1979 ) and Perry ( 2009 ), and staff were trained in small groups – called ‘ pods ’ – so they could then support one another in understanding and using the programme while working together .
Strategies explored in the sessions were about nurture and self-care , regulating foods and sensory motor activities . Individuals were supported to develop their own enriched environment activities as part of their day-to-day lives .
Follow up sessions highlighted how staff have continued to use these strategies to support their own regulation needs .
The young people are now more actively engaging in the programme with support from key staff members . Elements of the programme are being used with the young people , as appropriate to their physiological , survival , sensory and attachment needs .
There has been a whole home approach to the programme involving the care , kitchen and education team , recognising the importance of it being truly integrated and weaved into the fabric of day-to-day life to support the young people there .
Impact and feedback
Feedback from those who had completed training in the programme identified a range of changes . Trained staff reported a greater awareness of their own self-regulation needs , while it also enabled them to be more aware of the impact of these sensory processing patterns on the young people in their care .
They were more aware of what they could do to shift their own arousal responses because of this enhanced understanding . This increasingly took the form of co-regulating with others in their ‘ pod ’.
They reported increased awareness of how to support the young person to regulate through different tools and strategies . This made sessions with service users more meaningful . It enabled them to reflect on what the different presenting problems were for the young person , considering them through a trauma-informed lens .
Feedback also indicated greater awareness of the valuable and unique contribution of occupational therapy in understanding young people ’ s needs .
One staff member commented : ‘ I was able to respond differently when a young person was struggling ’. Another fed back : ‘ Coming to the group made it easier to take on the challenge of being shift leader .’
This is a developing area of research and practice and the next step is the children ’ s home undertaking a research project with the occupational therapy team at the University of Plymouth and the author of the programme Éadaoin Bhreahthnach , to explore the impact of the intervention in the home .
Training of staff in the intervention will also continue , to embed it within the day-to-day working of the home .
Ayres AJ ( 1979 ) Sensory integration and the child . Los Angeles : Western Psychological Services .
Baginsky M ( 2013 ) Retaining experienced social workers in children ' s services : The challenge facing local authorities in England . London : NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit , The Policy Institute , King ' s College London .
Health and Safety Executive ( 2014 ) Work-related stress , depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain , 2022 . Available at www . hse . gov . uk / statistics / causdis / stress . pdf [ accessed 3 May 2023 ].
Perry BD ( 2009 ) Examining child maltreatment through a neurodevelopmental lens : Clinical applications of the neurosequential model of therapeutics , Journal of Loss and Trauma , 14 ( 4 ): 240 – 255 . DOI : https :// doi . org / 10.1080 / 15325020903004350 .
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health ( 2019 ) Healthcare standards for children and young people in secure settings . Available at https :// bit . ly / 3AQQU0q [ accessed 3 May 2023 ].
West C ( 2020 ) ‘ Just Right State Protocol : Secure Children ' s Home ’, The 32nd Annual ATTACh Conference , Minneapolis .
Words CHRIS WEST , Sensory Connections , and KEVIN STEEDE , Lecturer in Occupational Therapy , University of Plymouth .
44 OTnews May 2023