Okay but… what even is occupational therapy?! In this juicy and joyfully neurospicy episode, Anne and Sarabeth sit down with Jess Irvin-Spears (OT and founder of MoonBeam Therapies Clinic) to break it all down, complete with tangents and zero shame, as we embrace the chaotic magic of neurodivergent brains info-swapping!

We cover:

• The basics of OT (spoiler: it’s not just handwriting and fine motor!)
• Some OT technical concepts, like sensory seeking, sensory sensitivity, retained reflexes, etc
• The Pyramid of Learning and why we have to meet the bottom needs (hello regulation!) before we can ask our kids to “just focus”
• What we noticed at the MoonBeam Clinic during the play group therapy and what Jess saw behind the scenes in her therapist brain
• The chaos and beauty of setting up for our visit—ADHD-style

We wrap with some real-life mom banter, Jess shares gentle wisdom for parents navigating this stuff, and we end with a list of a whole bunch more that we definitely want to talk about next time. If you’ve ever wondered if OT could help your kid—or you just want to feel seen—this one’s for you.

MoonBeam Therapies Occupational Therapy

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Occupational therapy-

• Retained Primitive Reflexes
• Early Intervention/Early Identification
• Proprioceptive Sensory Input
• Sensory processing (sensory seeking, sensitivities, etc)

The Pyramid of Learning (Taylor and Trott, 1991)

Person First Language vs. Identity First (from autisticadvocacy.org)

Recorded in the Omniverus Studios at Liberty Plaza, we are produced by Tim Beeman for Such-N-Such Media.
Theme Music by Doug Davis.