Thank you to everyone who joined our recent webinar with OT4me Clinical Director and Specialist Occupational Therapist, Louise Newton.

This session explored whether meltdowns, shutdowns and daily struggles are signs of defiance – or misunderstood sensory needs.

Louise covered:

• The four main functions of behaviour and how to identify them
• How self-regulation develops from infancy through to young adulthood
• The role of sensory processing, including vestibular, proprioception and interoception systems
• How sensory differences can be mistaken for ‘bad behaviour’
• Practical strategies – from movement breaks and deep pressure to calming corners, sensory ladders and environmental adaptations.