I often hear therapists say, "I know this child can do it... they did it last week."

And they're right. The child probably can. But that doesn't necessarily mean they can access that skill today.

One of the biggest shifts in my own clinical practice came when I stopped looking at behaviour as the problem and started seeing it as information. Instead of asking, "How do I stop this behaviour?" I began asking, "What is this child's nervous system telling me?"

Suddenly, everything made more sense.

The child who refused handwriting after lunch wasn't being oppositional, they were simply running out of regulation capacity. The child who became silly during group work wasn't trying to be disruptive, they were struggling to manage the increasing demands around them.

As occupational therapists, we know participation depends on far more than skill. It depends on whether the child has enough regulation capacity to access that skill in that moment.

That is why timing matters.

The best intervention delivered at the wrong time can still fail, while a simple adjustment offered at exactly the right moment can completely change the outcome. When we begin looking beneath behaviour, our clinical reasoning becomes more compassionate, more occupation-focused and, ultimately, more effective.

Because regulation isn't just another thing we treat.

It's the foundation that allows everything else to happen.

Here are some free ideas for you to download: https://www.theregulationhourglass.com.au/download-your-free-4-benefits-of-sensory-play-1

Until next time :)

Beryl