Hi there, I’m Beryl Smith

And I believe that when adults understand a child’s nervous system, everything about support begins to change.

For more than 35 years, I’ve worked as a paediatric Occupational Therapist alongside children, families, teachers, and therapists. Across hospitals, schools, community services, and private practice, I’ve seen the same pattern again and again:

Children are often expected to cope, behave, and learn before their nervous systems are ready.

When this happens, frustration grows: for the child, for the adults supporting them, and for the systems around them.

But when we understand how regulation actually develops, and how to respond to children in ways that match their nervous system capacity, something powerful happens.

• Support becomes clearer.
• Relationships strengthen.
• Children are given the conditions they need to participate, learn, and grow.

Through my work at Sensory SMART OT, I’ve spent decades translating complex clinical knowledge into practical strategies that families, educators, and therapists can use in everyday life.

Over time, this work led me to develop The Regulation Hourglass™, a framework that helps adults recognise where a child is in their regulation capacity and how to support them in ways that are developmentally and neurologically aligned.

Today, the courses and resources shared here extend that work, making decades of clinical insight accessible to the people who support children every day.

Because when adults understand regulation, children no longer have to struggle alone.