Little Hearts Occupational Therapy

We support and celebrate the Autism community - yesterday, today and every day to come.

This is not about sunburn.

It's about trying to desensitise our kids to distressing sensory input.

We don't desensitise.
We educate.
We accommodate.

Yes?

Em 🌈

Let’s chat, NDIS. About the kids we work with - the babies, children, and teens with disabilities. Let’s chat about how life changing physiotherapy and allied health can be. Let’s chat about early intervention, how it supports brain development through neuroplasticity, and why timing truly matters. Let’s chat about the harm caused by waitlists, delayed diagnoses, and delayed therapy. Let’s chat about equipment — walkers, seating, trikes. About the difference these make in a child’s ability to move, communicate, and connect. When access is delayed, independence and participation suffer. Let’s chat about how allied health supports not just therapy goals, but general health, inclusion, and quality of life. Let’s chat about the rising strain on hospitals due to a lack of community supports. About the cost of preventable complications, and how we help reduce this. Let’s chat about continuity. Trust and progress are built over time, and families are the ones who suffer when services become unsustainable. Let’s chat about small providers and rural therapists. The ones most affected by outdated pricing and under-recognised work, who already absorb so much: unpaid calls, skipping lunch to finish reports, and never billing the full time taken to write the level of detail that NDIS requests. Let’s chat about the families too. The parents and carers who juggle appointments, paperwork, advocacy, and hope. We see them, and we walk alongside them. Let’s chat about the therapists who pour their hearts into their work. Who spend weekends searching for the perfect toy/tool, invest thousands in specialist training, and who give more than they ever charge for. We’re not just clinicians. We’re teammates. We walk the journey with our families — from first roll or steps, to jumping with joy. We celebrate the tiny wins that mean everything. Let’s chat about how without fair funding, best practice will be lost and families will wait even longer for care. Let’s chat about inflation and market value. About the remuneration packages for the NDIA executive team versus therapists. Let’s chat, NDIS. About the review. About what’s fair. About keeping quality therapy accessible.

If a child feels the deepest depths of sadness they've ever felt, and expresses it by becoming silent, laying their head down on their desk, and silent tears rolling down their face -- adults will probably offer them comfort. Maybe tissues, maybe hugs, maybe a quiet listening ear.

If a child feels the deepest depths of sadness they've ever felt, and expresses it by clenching their fists, screaming at the sky, and running out of the room -- adults will probably offer them anger, "consequences", perhaps a behavior chart not to do it again. Perhaps intentional ignoring them in their sadness, so that they learn not to do it again. Perhaps a new, designated adult to follow them around and make sure they stay in rooms.

Both children were desperately sad. One of them was heard. The difference was the adults.

[Image description:
A quote that reads, “All kids have times when they struggle to handle expectations. How they express that they’re struggling has an outsized impact on how adults respond.” —Dr. Ross Greene
End description.]

Shout out to the teachers who have moved away from neuronormative expectations at school 🙌

Em 🌈