Podcast
Ideas at Play: An Occupational Therapy (OT) Podcast
Hosted by Michele Alaniz & Lacy Wright · EN
Welcome to Ideas at Play, the go-to podcast for busy pediatric occupational therapy professionals! Whether you're in school-based settings, early intervention, or outpatient practice, we bring you evidence-based strategies, practical tips, and engaging discussions to support your OT practice with children, teens, and young adults.
Each episode features:
- A deep dive into recent pediatric OT research and how to apply it.
- "Nailed It or Failed It," where we share what’s working—and what isn’t—in our pediatric OT practice.
- Real-world examples and listener questions about all things pediatric occupational therapy.
- Shout outs to People, Places, and Products that fill our occupational therapy hearts
Join the hosts, Michele Alaniz, OTD, OTR/L, BCP and Lacy Wright, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, as we explore innovative OT ideas, share professional insights, and help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in pediatric occupational therapy. Subscribe now and unlock actionable strategies to help the children you serve thrive!
Stay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!
✏️ Sign up for our newsletter https://forms.gle/2aceiDDHBq6LR5TV6.
📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com
👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Keywords: occupational therapy, OT, pediatric occupational therapy, evidence based practice, peds OT
41episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep. 72 What New OTs Really Want in a Job (Encore)
2w ago00:39:30Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailWhat do early career occupational therapists really prioritize when choosing their first OT job? Spoiler alert: salary ranks 9th out of 16 factors. In this episode, we break down a fascinating Canadian study that surveyed early career occupational therapists about what actually matters in their job search—and the findings might surprise you. We reveal the top intrinsic and extrinsic factors driving OT employment decisions, why 60% of new grad occupational therapists have jobs lined up before graduation, and how OT priorities shift between your first job and your second (or third!) job. Occupational therapy students will learn what to look for in job searches, OT employers will discover how to attract top talent, and experienced therapists can reflect on whether their current position aligns with what truly matters to them.We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.Lui S, Boniface J, Boniface G, Drynan D. Employment Decisions of Newly Graduated Occupational Therapists. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 2024;92(2):76-84. doi:10.1177/00084174241274742💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 71 Aquatic Therapy: Using the Pool for More Than Swim Lessons (Encore)
3w ago00:38:33Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailWhen you think of therapy in the swimming pool, swim lessons probably come to mind. However, occupational therapy practitioners use water for so many life skills! This week, Michele dives into research from Spain that reveals how aquatic therapy can be beneficial for autistic children in OT settings. The results? Better school performance, improved social competence, and happier kids overall. Plus, Michele shares her own terrifying pool story of a little girl who loved staying under the water for a long time and the treatment strategy to ensure her safety.We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the article too.Güeita-Rodríguez, J., Ogonowska-Slodownik, A., Morgulec-Adamowicz, N., Martín-Prades, M. L., Cuenca-Zaldívar, J. N., & Palacios-Ceña, D. (2021). Effects of aquatic therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder on social competence and quality of life: A mixed methods study. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(6), 3126. Effects of Aquatic Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder on Social Competence and Quality of Life: A Mixed Methods Study💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 70 Listener Questions: Pediatric OT in the Real World (Round 2)
4w ago00:37:01Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailEpisode 70 calls for something special! We tackle your real-world pediatric OT questions, from the buzzwords worth knowing to the advice that actually sticks. Thank you for being the heart of this podcast. Here's to 70 more! If you liked this episode, check out our first round of listener questions in episode #50.💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 69 Comparing Motor Interventions for Autism
Jun 1000:35:12Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailMotor skill difficulties show up in nearly 9 out of 10 autistic kids, which means this question comes up in almost every caseload: what motor-based intervention actually works? This week we dig into a 2025 study that compares three different approaches head to head, and the findings remind us why skilled therapy is irreplaceable. And Michele talks about her session that ended with a Ziploc bag of very questionable slime. We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too. Arabi, S. M., & Kakhki, A. S. (2025). Comparing the effects of fine, gross, and fine-gross motor exercises on the motor competence of 6–12 year-old autistic children: A quasi-experimental study with a follow-up test. Acta Psychologica, 254, 104842. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825001556💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep 68 CIMT Summer Camp
Jun 300:31:20Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailEver wondered how to actually do constraint-induced movement therapy? This week, we discuss a 2025 randomized trial out of Texas Women's University that ran a pirate-themed CIMT summer camp for kids with unilateral cerebral palsy — 60 hours, 10 days, and a treasure chest at the end. Arrrrr! We cover who qualifies, what a full day at camp looks like, and whether adding virtual reality (drones! robotic exoskeletons! Wii!) actually moves the needle. Plus, the TWU protocol is free, online, and basically ready to use tomorrow.We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.Roberts, H., Clegg, N. J., Wang, W., Chapa, S., Arellano, B., Trahan, M., Reyes, F., Delgado, M. R., Ram, S., & Shierk, A. (2025). Constraint Therapy with and Without Virtual Reality for Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Randomized Trial. Children, 12(3), 283. https://doi.org/10.3390/children12030283 💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 67 Polyvagal Theory and Listening Programs
May 2700:47:04Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailWe're covering two topics that kept coming up in your emails and are linked in the literature — polyvagal theory and listening programs. Michele walks us through the principles of polyvagal theory, the recent scientific debate around it, and what a systematic review of sound-based interventions found. The polyvagal conversation is complicated and debated in neuroscience, but when it comes to the listening programs themselves, the research points somewhere surprisingly simple. Get the OT Evidence Checklist here to evaluate the evidence for and "red flags" against an intervention method/practice.We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too. Vincent, V., Skaczkowski, G., Hughes-Barton, D., & Gunn, K. M. (2025). Effectiveness of sound-based interventions for improving functional outcomes in children: A systematic review of the evidence. Occupational Therapy International, 2025, Article 1693722. https://doi.org/10.1155/oti/1693722 💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 66 Ayres SI vs. ABA
May 2000:45:39Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailThe study we've been waiting for is finally here. An NIH-funded, head-to-head RCT pits Ayres Sensory Integration against ABA for autistic children with sensory differences — and we have thoughts. We're breaking down what makes these two approaches fundamentally different (hello key ingredients and mechanism of action), what the evidence actually says, and what to tell families who are confused about the difference. Buckle up. We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.Schaaf, R. C., Ridgway, E. M., Jones, E. A., Dumont, R. L., Foxe, J., Conly, T., Sancimino, C., Yi, M., Mailloux, Z., Hunt, J. M., Kirschner, L., Leiby, B. E., & Molholm, S. (2025). A comparative trial of occupational therapy using Ayres Sensory Integration and Applied Behavior Analysis interventions for autistic children. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70099 💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 65 Early Intervention: The GAME Approach
May 1300:41:27Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailCan a home program alone replace clinic-based therapy? This week, we put it to the test with a randomized controlled study on the GAME intervention (Goal, Activity, Motor, Enrichment) for toddlers with developmental delays. We discuss the steps of the GAME intervention, supportive parent coaching, and how you can implement this in your own caseload tomorrow. Plus, Michele shares about a rough consult, Lacy tries something new with student groups, and there's a tiny dragon too! We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original articles too.Gündoğmuş, E., Bumin, G., & Yalçın, S. S. (2024). Effect of Early Intervention on Developmental Domains and Parent-Child Interaction Among Children With Developmental Delay: A Randomized Controlled Study. The American journal of occupational therapy: official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association, 78(6), 7806205110. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2024.050706 💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 64 Handwriting Research Tour (yes, skip the pencil grips)
May 600:46:24Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailIf you've ever debated pencil grips or the perfect grasp pattern in an IEP meeting, this episode is for you. We take a tour of the handwriting literature — pulling from OT, education, ergonomics, and hand therapy — to find out what actually moves the needle in handwriting intervention. Learn with us as we dig into why force matters more than grip position, what the research says about weighted and adapted pencils, and why grasp patterns are way less important than we were trained to believe. Plus, we land on the nine key ingredients that the literature says actually make a difference — rooted in motor learning theory and ready to use in your next session. **Get the additional handwriting resources at this linkWe share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original articles too.Schneider, M. K., Myers, C. T., Morgan-Daniel, J., & Shechtman, O. (2023). A scoping review of grasp and handwriting performance in school-age children. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 43(4), 430–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/01942638.2022.2151392 💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
Transcribe →Ep. 63 Preparing Autistic Teens for Adulthood
Apr 2900:40:47Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailIf you work with older kids, you know the feeling — suddenly your caseload has a teenager and the stakes feel higher, the clock feels shorter, and the parents feel more anxious than ever. Good news: the research has some clear direction on what actually moves the needle for autistic teens heading into adulthood. Spoiler — it might not be what you think. This week, we dig into the MAPSS program and come away with practical tools you can use in any setting.We share our own thoughts in the Research Review and encourage you to read the original article too.Kirby, A. V., Feldman, K. J. C., Himle, M. B., Diener, M. L., Wright, C. A., & Hoffman, J. M. (2021). Pilot test of the Maximizing Adolescent Post-Secondary Success (MAPSS) intervention: Supporting parents of autistic youth. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75(3), 7503180070. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.045815 💡Want to hear more about Ideas at Work or get on our waitlist? Send us an email to IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.comStay informed, stay curious, and stay playful!✏️ Sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.📧 Email us a question or comment at IdeasAtPlayPodcast@gmail.com👉 Find us on Instagram @ideas.at.play
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