When I first learned about the field of occupational therapy, I had a very superficial understanding of what it entailed. In the school systems, it seemed like referrals often focused on fine-motor skills related to school, like pencil grip. 

When I learned about sensory processing, I discovered that it’s so much more than that; and I realized how important it is for other members of both school and clinical teams to understand how each discipline can support each other. 

That’s why I was so excited to talk with Maude Le Roux in episode 148 of the De Facto Leaders podcast.

Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, SIPT, RCTC, DIR® Expert Trainer, is an international trainer on a wide variety of topics and also the director of her own online academy. She opened A Total Approach with her husband in September 2001. Maude is SIPT certified and specializes in Sensory Integration as it applies to functional activities of daily living, including improving the ability of any child to partake in their learning environment. Maude has presented workshops in multiple international locations, as well as in the US nationwide. She has developed the Developmental Pathways Model (DPM) in reaching clients with different profiles with a wide array of diagnoses. She is well known for her work in Sensory Processing, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Reading and Learning Disorders, as well as Attachment Disorders. 

She serves on the board for ATTACh, an international organization involved in attachment and trauma informed care. She is currently mobilizing an international group of Occupational Therapists to organize the influence of trauma informed care in the occupational therapy field. Maude has published two books; “The Listening Journey for Children”, and “Our Greatest Allies” is available through www.amazon.com. 

In this conversation, we discuss:

✅How can we bridge the gap between what’s “educationally relevant” and a child’s developmental level?

✅Collaboration between private therapists and school teams: Why do relationships turn adversarial, and what’s possible when we form partnerships?

✅Tips for helping parents understand the boundaries between “school recommendations” and “home recommendations.”

✅Sensory integration, discrimination, and modulation: How our nervous system supports motor, cognitive, and language development

✅Differential diagnosis: Is it a sensory issue, a behavior issue, or an attention issue? 

✅Praxis, posture, and motor planning: How do these factors impact our ability to engage in goal-directed behavior during sitting, reading, writing, or other daily tasks? 

You can email Maude at maude@maudeleroux.com.

You can learn more about Maude’s clinic, “A Total Approach”, at: https://atotalapproach.com/

Learn more about her professional training for clinicians at: https://www.maudeleroux.com/

You can purchase her books here:
Our Greatest Allies: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Greatest-Allies-Relationship-Intervention/dp/0988328836

The Listening Journey for Children: https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Journey-Children-Francoise-Nicoloff/dp/0987053604 

In this episode, I mention the School of Clinical Leadership, my program for related service providers that helps them put programming in place that supports executive functioning. You can learn how to become a member here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership

We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL. 

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