Sensory Contributions to Sleep
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The masterclass that goes beyond bedtime routines and sleep hygiene - helping paediatric OTs understand sleep through the nervous system, sensory processing, and occupational participation.
Join OTs from across Australia and internationally who are building a stronger clinical framework for paediatric sleep.
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Presented byĀ Kerry Evetts M.OT, Occupational Therapist and Founder of SenseUp Training.
Live via Zoom ā¢ Tuesday 21 July 2026 ā¢ 6:30pm AEST ā¢ 60 minĀ LIVE + 30min Q&AĀ
The 3 Part Occupation Masterclass Series: Sensory Contributions to:
Mealtime / FeedingĀ
Replay Coming SoonToileting
Replay Coming SoonĀ Sleep
LIVE 21 July 2026. 18.30 AESTNote: the 3 parts can be watched on their own or as a 3-Part series.
Sensory Contribution to Sleep will be live in:
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Ā šĀ 60-minute Masterclass plus Bonus live Q&AĀ Ā
š½ļøĀ 30-day recording replay access in your portalĀ
šĀ Workbook with key slides and reflection prompts
š Bonus Ready-to-Use Parent/Practice Resource for LIVE Attendees
š Ā Certificate of Attendance for 1.5Ā PD / CPD / CEĀ hoursĀ Ā
š”ļøSecure checkoutĀ Ā - Kajabi, Apple and Google Pay
SenseUp Pro Members and 2026 TSAC Lite students may be eligible for member discounts - please check your emails for the special checkout link.
Have you ever sat with a family where sleep was the main concern - and left the session knowing you had not quite found the full picture?Ā
The child is exhausted. The family is at breaking point. They have tried every routine, every chart, every piece of advice from every professional who came before you. And nothing is sticking. You can see sensory processing differences. You can see the regulation challenges. But no single explanation captures what you are actually looking at. And then bedtime comes again.Ā
That gap - between what you can see and what you can name - is exactly where this masterclass meets you. Because sleep is often where a child's complexity becomes most visible. It is where everything that has been held together during the day finally shows up. Families come to you about sleep. But within minutes you are hearing about school refusal, after-school meltdowns, a marriage under strain, a sibling who cannot sleep because their brother is up every night.Ā
Sleep does not sit neatly in one category. It cuts across everything that matters to the family. And a clinical reasoning framework that only reaches as far as routine and environment is not enough for the children on our caseloads.Ā In a recent survey of paediatric OTs, 83% reported clinical uncertainty in sensory assessments. That is not a reflection of skill. It is a reflection of a gap in the frameworks most of us were trained with. This masterclass is designed to close that gap - for sleep specifically, and for the way you think about every complex child you see.
This is for you if...
āĀ You are seeing sleep concerns where routines, charts, and standard advice are not giving you the full picture.
āĀ You can sense there is a sensory or nervous system story underneath the bedtime behaviour, but you need a clearer way to name it and explain it.
āĀ You want a clinical framework that holds the child, the family, the environment, and participation together - not four separate assessments.
āĀ You want language that helps families feel understood, not blamed.
āĀ You are working with autistic children, children with ADHD or sensory processing differences, or children who have experienced trauma - and sleep is consistently one of the hardest conversations.
What this masterclass covers
A neuroscience-informed, occupation-centred framework grounded in the SenseUp Model for understanding, assessing, and addressing paediatric sleep difficulties.
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The nervous system story
Why sleep onset requires felt safety - and why a child in sympathetic activation at 8pm cannot simply switch off. Using Polyvagal Theory as a clinical compass for the bedtime window.
The sensory sleep map
How all eight sensory systems shape sleep preparation, onset, and maintenance. Including interoception - the system most consistently missed and arguably the most important for sleep onset.
The trauma-informed lens
How to consider safety, vigilance, and co-regulation in your sleep assessment without stepping outside OT scope. This is not about becoming a trauma therapist. It is about understanding what the nervous system has learned to do in order to protect itself - and what that means at bedtime.
The participation cost
How sleep difficulty affects school, family wellbeing, and the co-occupations of bedtime - the stories, the connection, the quiet moment in the dark that a family deserves. Sleep is not just hours logged. It is participation.
Case-Based Learning
One child. The whole picture
Throughout this masterclass, Kerry works through a clinical case that will feel familiar. A child whose sleep difficulties touch sensory processing, autonomic regulation, family dynamics, and participation - all at once.
As you follow the case, bring a child from your own caseload to mind. Not the straightforward ones. One where something about the sleep picture still does not quite sit right. That is where the learning happens.
Registration for the MasterclassWhy this matters clinically
The children on paediatric OT caseloads are often the children for whom sleep is hardest.
50-80%
of autistic children experience significant sleep difficulties
25-50%
of children with ADHD experience sleep onset delay, restlessness or disrupted sleep
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sensory systems considered through the SenseUp sleep assessment map
Research shows that 50-80% of autistic children experience significant sleep difficulties. That is not a small subgroup - that is the majority. For children with ADHD, the figure is 25-50%, often driven by sleep onset delay related to circadian dysregulation. For children with sensory processing differences, the bedtime environment becomes a minefield of triggers at exactly the moment the nervous system needs to downregulate. For children who have experienced trauma, sleep is inherently difficult - because it requires surrendering vigilance. And for a child whose survival has depended on staying alert, that is an enormous neurobiological ask.Ā Generic sleep hygiene advice is almost never enough for these children. They need a clinician who can see the whole picture. That is the OT.
The SenseUp framework for Sleep
One integrated clinical picture that connects state, sensory processing, trauma-informed safety and occupational participation.
Polyvagal Theory
Autonomic state as your clinical compass in the bedtime window. Before any strategy, the question is: what state is this child's nervous system in when bedtime begins?
Sensory Integration
How tactile, auditory, visual, proprioceptive, vestibular, interoceptive, olfactory, and gustatory systems each contribute to sleep preparation, onset, and maintenance.
Trauma-informed lens
Sleep as a vulnerable state requiring felt safety - not simply compliance. Understanding what the nervous system has learned, and what it needs, to let go.
Occupational participation
Connecting every assessment finding and every strategy back to what sleep is costing this child and this family. The OT difference is that we do not stop at the sleep - we follow it all the way to function.
By the end of this masterclass, you will be able to...
Ā Ā āĀ Ā Explain why sleep is an occupation and why that framing changes OT assessment and intervention.
Ā āĀ Ā Identify autonomic state indicators in the bedtime window using Polyvagal Theory as a clinical compass.
Ā āĀ Ā Recognise sensory contributions to sleep onset and maintenance across eight sensory systems.
Ā āĀ Ā Apply a trauma-informed lens to sleep assessment without overstepping into psychology.
Ā āĀ Ā Reason through a complex clinical case using the SenseUp Model pillars simultaneously.
Ā āĀ Communicate sleep recommendations to families using neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based language.
The thinking you build in this session travels into every sleep case from here.
Register for the live masterclass and start building a clearer clinical picture for children on your caseload.
Register now AU $97Ā The SenseUp Modelā¢
integrates current research across neuroscience, sensory processing (all seven systems), trauma-informed care, and occupational participation into one systematic approach for challenges. This isn't about choosing between therapy approaches or sensory strategies - it's about seeing how nervous system safety creates the foundation for everything else.
When you understand how these pieces connect, clinical reasoning becomes clearer and intervention planning honours what the child's body actually needs.Ā
The SenseUp Approach
builds the same integrated clinical reasoning framework across every complex paediatric presentation on your caseload. The same pillars. The same Occupational Anchor. Applied to autism, ADHD, DCD, anxiety, mealtimes, toileting, and beyond.
Masterclass Registration
Reserve your Sensory Contributions to Sleep LIVE Masterclass Seat
AU$ 97
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COMMITMENT TO QUALITY
Every masterclass is designed with the same rigour and evidence-based approach that has earned our programmes over 250+ written reviews and a 98% satisfaction rating.
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PD RECOGNITION
Dependant on your countries PD requirements.Ā You can download your Certificate of Attendance as proof of Personal Development Points earned.
Meet Kerry Evetts
Bringing OTs back to the science so families get the expert support they deserve.
Bringing OTs back to the science so families get the expert support they deserve. I have been an occupational therapist for over 27 years. I have sat across from hundreds of families who were exhausted, confused, and - if I am honest - let down by a system that kept handing them information without clear understanding. Sleep was one of the conversations I kept having where I knew the standard advice was not going to be enough. I knew there was something more. Something about the nervous system. About sensory processing. About what safety actually means for a child at 9pm when the house goes quiet.
It took years of clinical practice, research, and piecing frameworks together to build a way of thinking that actually held the whole child.
That is what this masterclass is. Not a lecture. Not a sleep hygiene handout with a fancier name. A way of thinking that I genuinely believe will change how you sit with families when sleep is the conversation.
BOccTher | MOT | 27+ years paediatric OT | Founder, SenseUp Training
Questions You Might Have
I've done sensory training before. How is this different?
How do I access the recording after the masterclass?
What if I can't attend live?
Is this suitable for new graduates or experienced OTs?
Does the Portal and Recording Access Expire?
I am having technical issues with login or the portal
How do I get my Certificate of Attendance
I am a current 2026 TSAC Lite / Certification student or Pro Member. Is there a discount?
Sharing 28+ Years of Clinical Experience. Evidence-based Research. Practical.Ā Immediately applicable. Start using what you learn the very next day!
If this session makes the pieces click...
The SenseUp Approach Course builds the same integrated clinical reasoning framework across every complex paediatric presentation on your caseload. The same three pillars. The same Occupational Anchor. Applied to autism, ADHD, DCD, anxiety, mealtimes, toileting, and beyond.
This is for you if you want more than strategy lists.
This is for you if you want clearer clinical reasoning across complex cases.
This is for you if you want to connect sensory processing, regulation, trauma-informed practice and participation.
Your SenseUp Journey
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