Therapy, Consulting and Coaching

Susie Wallace, MA, OTR/L; MEd, EdS

“Safety is the most basic task of all. Without a sense of safety, no growth can take place. Without safety, all energy goes to defense” Tory Hayden

The Sensory Safe consulting and coaching model is a sensory-friendly, naturalistic intervention. Through standardized assessment, clinical observation, and caretaker reports Sensory Safe develops a comprehensive picture of your child or teen's sensory functioning, preferences, and areas that could benefit from adaptation and support. Sensory Safe teams with your child, family, clinical mental health counselor, and other caretakers to create sensory interventions for home, school, and play to help life go more smoothly. We are good at finding answers to your questions, helping you find community resources, solving problems, working with your child to process their journey, and being a sounding board for your thoughts as you navigate family life. We offer ongoing consultation and coaching to help your child or teen stay more balanced and calm in a world with sometimes overwhelming sensory demands.

The sensory system constantly monitors the environment and keeps track of what is happening in the body. When a child can cope with incoming demands, the sensory system sends a message saying, "All is well!" The child or teen is emotionally regulated, and ready for play, connection, and learning. The child feels a sense of balance and safety in the environment. When a child or teen is unable to process or integrate incoming demands, the sensory system sends a message of sensory alarm saying, "All is not well! It is too loud, too scary, too bright, or too hard!" The brain and body transition to a state of defense and begin to get ready to "fight, flight, or freeze." During the stress response, the child or teen is dysregulated and no longer available to learn and grow.

What is sensory safety?

Who benefits from Sensory Safe Occupational Therapy?

We often see a special need for sensory support in children or teens who: have experienced separation from their family of origin through adoption or foster care, have a history of trauma or neglect, have special medical needs, have a diagnosis of developmental disability such as autism, or ADHD. Some children have none of these factors and just have sensory systems that are underactive or overactive. A child or teen's sensory difficulties can show up as behavioral issues, aggression, oppositional behavior, issues with feeding and restricted food choices, irritability, resistance to changes, social and emotional dysregulation, school refusal, and social isolation.

Services

Sensory Safe services are offered virtually or through home/site visits. Support is offered as a one-time evaluation as well as ongoing and as-needed sensory coaching and consulting.

Sensory Profile Assessment and Report

The Sensory Profile™ is a standardized assessment that helps caregivers and children understand a child’s sensory processing patterns in everyday situations and helps families see how sensory issues might be affecting daily performance. Caregivers complete the report online and then meet with Susie virtually to discuss the results and share their observations of the child's sensory functioning in daily life. Based on the assessment results, and information from caregivers Susie will send a report with suggestions for sensory support and accommodations to enhance the child's ability to stay balanced and regulated.

Home Visits & Environmental Assessment

A home or site visit is a casual and observational way for Susie to see the child and family in their natural habitat! It is a "getting to know you" way to see family interactions, the child's behavior, and preferences. If you prefer, we can meet at a park or other place your child or teen likes to hang out and Susie can observe the child as they go about the business of play. For those who prefer a virtual visit, caretakers can send video clips of the child interacting and playing or we can schedule an online visit where Susie can meet with the child and caregiver and observe the child's play style and personality and make personalized suggestions for sensory interventions in the environment.

Custom Sensory Plans for School and other settings

The Sensory Profile™assessment link can also be emailed to teachers and other caregivers. This helps to give a full picture of the child's sensory style and behavior in the world. Susie is happy to coordinate with your clinical mental health counselor, school personnel, an IEP team, or other caretakers to provide sensory support ideas and accommodations regarding areas of sensory need. Communication with all of the caretakers in the child's life is the best practice to help with problem-solving and sensory adaptations to improve the child's ability to manage their emotions and behavior.

Sensory Safe Plan

There will always be times when a child's ability to cope is overwhelmed by the demands of the environment. During these times, it is very important to be ready with a sensory safe plan to provide the child with the support and comfort they need to come back to a state of behavioral and emotional regulation. Together we will create a plan that will be ready to provide nurture and safety at the time when it is most needed.

Parent Support/Coaching

Virtual support and coaching is great because we can connect easily and quickly to talk about issues and questions quickly and without the child being part of the conversation. Sensory safety is a work-in-progress and it is very advantageous to have periodic touchpoints to provide caregivers with ongoing/as-needed virtual coaching to see what is working and what areas could use attention.

Custom Sensory Spaces for the Home

Let Susie help you set up a sensory space big or small in your home! Having a place to hide, swing, squish, cuddle, or relax is a great addition to any home and is a fun and safe space to enhance your child or teen's ability to regulate their emotions and behavior.

Ability to talk and converse with others

Willingness to participate in activities

Ability to maintain regulation even when things don't go their way

Ability to transition from one activity to another

Ability to deal with change in plans

Curiosity

Can express their thoughts and feelings

Interacts constructively with age-mates and adults

Noisy classroom

Angry voices

Hungry/thirsty

rapid transitions

overwhelming smells or tastes

criticism

loss and grief

learning disability

I am safe.

unfamiliar envioronmental stimuli

bright lights

systemic racism

Trauma triggers/PTSD

I must run, fight, or hide.

Irritability

Low frustration tolerance

Covering the ears or ears

Hiding behind a hat or hoodie

Aggressive behavior

Difficulty sleeping

Oppositional behavior

Criticizing others

Self-harm

Isolation

Inability to make choices

Loss of conversational ability

Avoiding situations

Running away from situations

Acting out on the environment

lots of verbal stimulation/questions

About Susie Wallace

As a mom to four kids ages 15-35 and a pediatric occupational therapist for 38 years, I have worked in many therapeutic settings with children of all ages and diagnoses. I have been part of the disability world as a therapist, community advocate, and as a parent of a child with disabilities. As a foster/adoptive mom, I have seen that therapy is a way of life and that brains are built minute by minute by loving caregivers. But the most important thing I have learned is that a baseline of sensory safety is the bedrock foundation for children's ability to learn and grow!

I am a licensed occupational therapist with a master's degree in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University. I also have a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling/Educational Specialist from Clemson University. I have completed multiple trainings including the National Training Initiative in Adoption Competency, Collaborative and Proactive Solutions, Multi-modal Attachment Therapy (M-MAT), Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA), and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). I graduated from the accredited Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) through the Center for Adoption Support and Education in Maryland in 2024.