Sensory Integration Education

In September 2018, we welcomed Lelanie Brewer to the newly created, full-time, Head of Education Programmes role within SI Education. Lelanie is responsible for managing the planning, development and operationalisation of Sensory Integration Education’s postgraduate courses, which encompasses both the online and blended face-to-face courses. Lelanie took time out of her busy schedule to speak with us about her new role, what she intends to bring to the team and how her own SI journey is continuing within the field of research.

Lelanie commenced working in the Higher Education sector in 2014 after working clinically as an Occupational Therapist for over 13 years. She held the position of MSc Programme Leader and Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Northumbria University before joining Sensory Integration Education as Head of Education Programmes in September 2018. She is a HCPC registered Occupational Therapist and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Lelanie is passionate about further education and won a student-led teaching award for the best lecturer at Northumbria University in 2017. She is currently undertaking her PhD part-time at Newcastle University. Lelanie’s clinical background is in paediatrics and she is a SIE Advanced Practitioner in Sensory Integration. She has a special interest in the field of child development, sensory processing and childhood participation in everyday activities.  

SN: Tell us about what your new role as Head of Education Programmes with Sensory Integration Education will involve?

Lelanie: I am delighted to be in this role as I want to contribute to education in Sensory Integration and the Ayres 2020 vision. The job involves taking the operational lead on the delivery of all our face-to-face and online education modules. On a day-to-day basis this involves working alongside the wider education team, e.g content developers, lecturers, module e-mentors, markers and ongoing implementation of current and newly developed projects. My role involves ensuring that the training is clinically and academically robust. There is also close collaboration with Ulster University with regard to the enrolment of our students and accreditation of our modules. 

SN: What are you hoping to bring to this role?

Lelanie: I bring my diverse clinical and academic experience to this role. I believe that my professional background in the NHS, private practice and third level education sector provides me with insights into the inherent practice cultures, standards and restrictions of these workplaces. 

I am using these skills and experiences to contribute to our educational and clinical communities, and to build on SIE’s existing networks. These experiences help me effectively support colleagues and students to ensure that our courses meet the quality standards for master’s level education as set out by our partner, Ulster University. In my previous role, I also managed the Twitter feed for the Occupational Therapy programmes and used it to engage with students, share research, build an online community of practice and keep up to date with the professional body guidance. Following this, I have recently led a workshop for the SIE education team on the use of social media in clinical practice and look forward to helping colleagues develop their skills in this area.

SN: Can you share your own SI journey with us?  

Lelanie: My own SI journey started in 1999 as an undergraduate student at the University of the Free State in South Africa. My lecturer, Annemarie van Jaarsveld, lent me her copy of the book "The Out of Sync Child". I was hooked and wanted to learn more. In my final year of study I was assigned to Annemarie’s research group for my dissertation project and joined a few of my classmates in a project titled: ‘Sensory Integration and Institutionalised Toddlers’.

I completed SI modules 1, 2 and 3 whilst working as a paediatric Occupational Therapist at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation trust. During this time I also learned a lot from colleagues who are experts in the field. A couple of years later, whilst I was working as an independent Occupational Therapist, I completed module 4 and was awarded my Advanced Practitioner’s certificate in 2009. 

I then went on to use my masters credits from my Sensory Integration Modules towards an MSc at Brunel University in London. For my dissertation, I completed a systematic review on the effectiveness of weighted vests to improve attention to task in children with developmental disorders. I am currently researching the development of self-care in children with and without motor impairments for my PhD at Newcastle University.

SN: You are presenting at the upcoming AOTA and International Developmental Coordination Disorder conferences – what are you presenting on? 

Lelanie: For the AOTA conference, I am presenting two streams from my PhD work, focussed on the early development of self-care in 3-6 year old children with and without motor impairments. 

The first, a research protocol for studying the early development of self-care in young children with and without motor impairments; and the second, findings from a systematic review on factors influencing the early development of self-care in children and without motor impairments. I will also be presenting the findings of the systematic review at the 13th International Conference on Developmental Coordination Disorder in Finland in June, 2019. 

I chose this area of research for my PhD as interventions for selfcare difficulties form a key part of interventions offered for children with motor impairments, and little is known about the development of self-care in order to inform these therapy interventions.

SN: What is your opinion on the current state of SI practice and research 

Lelanie: The Ayres 2020 Vision is a great and much needed initiative although a considerable amount of work still needs to be completed to reach the target of 100 research papers evidencing the effectiveness of Ayres Sensory Integration Therapy. In order for us to be credible practitioners beyond the Sensory Integration World, a stronger evidence base is required to inform our practice. It is great to see current research like the SenITA study.

SN: As well as presenting at the AOTA and the DCD conferences, can you tell us more about other conferences you will be attending in this year and what your hopes are for them? 

Lelanie: I am really looking forward to attending two key SI conferences later this year and having the opportunity to meet up with international colleagues. I will be attending the ESIC conference in Thessaloniki and the ISIC conference in Hong Kong. I hope to see an increase in new research in Sensory Integration that will translate into research papers that will contribute to the Ayres 2020 Vision.