Recognise a differently regulated nervous system
Move beyond attention or willpower as the explanation. Consider how arousal regulation influences engagement, inhibition, emotional regulation and participation across the child's day.
Available on demandPurchase the ADHD replay to watch Kerry’s recorded masterclass at your own pace.
Case-based reasoningFollow Isla throughout the session *composite teaching case used throughout the SenseUp Series
Workbook includedWorkbook with slides to support your learning.
Certificate included for PD/EU pointsWatch the replay, complete the feedback form and your certificate is sent straight to your inbox.
Why ADHD needs a nervous system lens
When movement, seeking and emotional intensity are read only as behaviour, the clinical story gets missed.
ADHD is one of the most misunderstood presentations in paediatric OT. This masterclass looks beneath inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity to the sensory-attention interface: arousal regulation, sensory processing, emotional regulation, self-concept and occupational participation.
The child is seeking input, while the environment is trying to stop the movement.
Movement, touch, novelty and sensory seeking can be the nervous system's attempt to reach a more functional level of arousal. Before suppressing a behaviour, ask what regulation need it may already be meeting.
Transitions trigger intense responses that are being read as defiance.
A shift from one activity, place or demand to another can place a significant regulation load on the child. Looking at autonomic state, sensory load and predictability changes the clinical question.
The child can focus deeply on a preferred activity, then struggle to access a desk task.
That variability is clinically meaningful. ADHD is not simply a lack of attention or effort. Arousal, motivation, sensory input and environmental fit all influence whether engagement is accessible in that moment.
Repeated correction is beginning to shape how the child sees themselves.
A trauma-informed lens asks what chronic misattunement, shame and repeated messages of being 'too much' may be doing to nervous system safety, self-concept and participation.
What you will learn
Understand the sensory-attention interface beneath ADHD presentations
Build an integrated clinical picture across autonomic state, sensory processing, trauma-informed reasoning and occupational participation, then use that picture to guide intervention and family communication.
Read sensory seeking and movement as regulation
Consider how proprioceptive, vestibular, tactile and interoceptive processing may interact with arousal. Ask what the seeking is solving before deciding whether or how to change it.
Use state first, strategy second
Identify autonomic state indicators and the conditions that support engagement before selecting sensory, environmental or relational strategies. Intervention begins with the nervous system, not the behaviour.
Protect self-concept while supporting participation
Apply a trauma-informed, strengths-based occupational lens that reduces blame, supports autonomy and helps families understand the child's regulation needs without framing the child as the problem.
Evidence base
What is the evidence base for The SenseUp Approach™?
The SenseUp Approach draws on three bodies of peer-reviewed research as its evidence base.
Ayres Sensory Integration®
First, and primary, is the Ayres Sensory Integration® literature, which is a substantial evidence base including randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, and longitudinal studies spanning from Ayres' original work in the 1970s through to recent systematic reviews (Acuña et al., 2025; Schaaf et al., 2018).
Polyvagal theory, trauma and sensory processing
Second, The SenseUp Approach draws on Polyvagal Theory as a clinical lens, alongside research examining the relationship between trauma and sensory processing (Porges, 2022; Machingura et al., 2024).
Occupational science and occupation-centred practice
Third is occupational science and the WFOT's definition of occupational therapy, which grounds all four levels of the SenseUp Model 360™ in the evidence for occupation-centred practice.
The SenseUp Model™
In keeping with the three-pillar model of evidence-based practice, The SenseUp Approach also recognises practitioner expertise and client and family values as equally important pillars alongside research evidence.
The SenseUp Model™ integrates current research across neuroscience, sensory processing (all eight sensory systems), trauma-informed care, and occupational participation into one systematic approach for challenges. This isn't about choosing between therapy approaches or sensory strategies - it's about seeing how nervous system safety can create a foundation for engagement, regulation and participation.
When you understand how these pieces connect, clinical reasoning becomes clearer and intervention planning honours what the child's body actually needs.