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
44episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Summer of Discovery: Building & Trialing a Sensory Activity Schedule
2w ago00:39:05Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or Voicemail “Sensory” is everywhere in pediatric OT, but how do you actually know if and when to try a sensory activity schedule? How do you set one up? When do you know if it is working — or if you're just guessing and hoping? This week, Michele walks through her real system for building a sensory activity schedule from the ground up, from figuring out what a kid actually needs, to adapting it to classrooms or homes, to knowing exactly when to call it a win (or cut your losses).Use this link to request the research cheat sheet for sensory activity schedules.Stay 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 →Summer of Discovery: Building a Fieldwork Program
3w ago00:44:02Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailEp. 74 Michele and Lacy continue their Summer of Discovery series. This time, Lacy shares what she's learned from supervising more than 50 fieldwork students, from building a program to knowing exactly when to loop in the academic fieldwork coordinator (a lesson she learned the hard way, twice). Lacy walks through how she structures orientation, communication, and supervision to turn nervous students into confident new therapists — and shares the one rule she gives every student on their first day.*Student name "Dylan" in the Failed It segment is a pseudonym. Stay 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 →Summer of Discovery: Little Spot of Feelings
4w ago00:45:50Tap to summarizeSend us a Text or VoicemailEp. 73. This summer, Michele and Lacy are switching things up with a six-episode series sharing programs or topics they genuinely love. The research articles may not always be front and center, but the same clinical reasoning is. First up, Michele shares the social-emotional program that's changed how she runs her social connection group where elementary-aged kids turn big feelings into something they can actually name, talk about, and work through together. We share our own thoughts in this episode and encourage you to check out the program too. A Little SPOT Series – Diane AlberStay 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. 72 What New OTs Really Want in a Job (Encore)
Jul 100:39:42Tap 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:10.1177/00084174241274742Stay 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)
Jun 2400:38:46Tap 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 StudyStay 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)
Jun 1700:37:13Tap 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.Stay 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 1000:35:24Tap 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/S0001691825001556Stay 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 300:31:33Tap 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 Stay 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 2700:47:17Tap 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 Stay 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 2000:45:51Tap 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 Stay 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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