Looking to work with me? Here’s how:
Book a free discovery call by contacting me directly or by using my online self-booking tool. This call is about 15 minutes long and helps you decide if I am the right fit for your family.
Select a package (3 weeks, 2 months, or 4 months). If you are unsure what to choose, we can chat during our discovery call about what may be most appropriate for your needs.
Pay fees by credit card, e-transfer, or paypal.
Complete an intake form online.
Select a date for our initial intake session of 60-90 minutes. Follow-up is provided by secure messaging and through follow-up sessions of 45 minutes. Can’t find a time that works? Email me: I have other blocks of time saved for current clients that may be available.
Families who reach out to me frequently say:
I am worried we are developing bad sleep habits.
My baby used to sleep well but things are really rough with sleep right now.
My baby has never slept well and I keep waiting for it to get better. It hasn’t.
Our family physician says he’s healthy and happy, but I still feel uncertain about how to support my baby’s development.
My paediatrician suggested cry-it-out but I don’t feel that’s right for us.
I’m not sure what activities or play my baby needs to grow and development.
I thought his sleep problems were because of reflux (or his prematurity, or tongue tie, or….). Even though that’s now resolved, sleep still hasn’t improved.
We’re preparing for a major change (a move, a new sibling, returning to work, significant illness) and are not sure how to make the transition as smooth as possible.
All of these concerns are explored by looking through an attachment lens, understanding infant development, and addressing underlying causes.
We all want to give babies what they need to grow and thrive. And it starts with you:
Your attachment-based approach to parenting, regardless of what is causing the interruption (to sleep or to your family life), sets the stage for parenting through the challenges with grace.
Our ability to explore what you have control over will empower you to make changes that are within grasp in order to achieve the goals that you have. Our ability to pull back the curtain on what else may be contributing to sleep problems means we work to clear the path towards healthy sleep development.
To understand more about my approaches to family sleep challenges, infant development, and environmental health look like, read on:
Below I cover:
Baby sleep and nighttime parenting
Infant and child development
Environmental health and its potential impact on sleep and wellness
Occupational therapy (how my professional background supports my role in helping your family)
Baby Sleep & Nighttime Parenting
Parenting doesn't stop when the sun Sets...
As parents, we often look forward to the period in the evening when the kids are finally in bed. The house may be quieter, but our parenting values (and the needs of our kids) haven't gone away: they are simply 'resting'.
How we parent our children through the night can make a big difference in how everyone in the family gets their sleep needs met.
Making decisions about getting better quality sleep can be a challenge: sleep deprivation makes choosing what to eat for breakfast hard enough! A little support can go a long way for helping guide decisions around night time parenting, and night time environment.
As an Occupational Therapist, I have helped parents understand the biological basis for infant sleep. Together we choose changes to routines, the sleep environment, and expectations that can help everyone rest a little easier. This isn't 'Sleep Training'; it's Sleep Education.
You may be interested in a consultation if:
You feel that you or your child are not getting the sleep you, or they, need to be healthy;
You’re thinking of making a night-time change (night-weaning, transition from bed sharing to toddler bed, a newborn on the way!) and you want gentle connected ways of making this change.
Your views on how to approach infant sleep and night time parenting have changed, and you need support in making practical, evidence-based changes to reflect this.
Getting good quality sleep feels good. A consultation may help get you there.
Infant and Child Development
THE WORLD HAS CHANGED. BABIES HAVE NOT.
Babies' basic needs have not changed very much throughout time, despite how much of the world around them has. They still require nurturing, attachment to a few caring adults, and an environment that supports their physical, intellectual, and emotional development. Finding ways to support this development is important, particularly when the world around us is changing at a pace that is often hard to keep up.
You may find a consultation helpful if:
You are curious about understanding infant and child development better;
You have concerns or questions about your child's development;
You want to change your child's physical, social, or emotional environment to better support your child's development.
BABIES GROW. AND SO DO PARENTS.
Becoming a parent, and growing into one's role as a parent, is exciting and daunting. Parents who wish to raise their children in a thoughtful and deliberate way may find it helpful to reflect on their parenting goals, the way they themselves were raised, and the vision they have for their family over time.
You may find a consultation helpful if:
You envision practicing gentle attachment-based parenting and want to develop more skill;
You want to simplify or 'tidy up' your family routines or environment;
You have had family or personal challenges and want to re-prioritize demands, or shift your focus towards family, your children, and parenting while still maintaining your other passions.
If You’re Living in a Damp Home
YOUR ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
As an Occupational Therapist, I look at environment through a unique lens. Thoroughly addressing all aspects of your environment is key to supporting your baby’s health and development, as well as your whole family’s health and well-being.
When we talk about environment we are often actually talking about ecology: how we interact with each other and our physical environment. This means exploring our relationship with each other and with the world around us.
A HEALTHY HOME ENVIRONMENT IS:
EMOTIONAL
PHYSICAL
BIOLOGICAL
I explore environment in three key ways:
1. The 'emotional’ environment: Attachment theory, responsive parenting, and positive discipline are key. Providing an environment that helps a baby’s nervous system calm itself (free play, time for rest, and a nurturing, relaxed bedtime ritual) is also crucial.
2. The ‘physical’ environment: The way we live (the toys, the noise, lighting, and how our home and our lives are organized) can contribute positively to our babies’ development and sleep. Simplicity is key.
3. The biological environment: A home is not simply four walls and a roof: it is a complex biological environment. Understanding factors such as air quality, dampness, and mould, and addressing them with evidence based strategies makes a healthier environment for the whole family. Knowledge is key.
The most poorly understood of these three is the biological environment. This is why I am so passionate to be an advocate and source of evidence-based information and support to families with concerns about the health implications of damp environments.
ONE CANNOT SUPPORT CHILD DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT ALSO ADDRESSING THE ENVIRONMENT
Families have reached out to me when:
They have an acute water issue, feel overwhelmed, and are not sure where to start and what to do;
They know they have dampness or mould and are unsure of next steps for properly addressing the issue while protecting their family’s health;
They see sleep, behaviour, or health issues with their child or themselves and they are open to exploring dampness and mould as contributing factors.
Families report a sense of relief that my approach is to empower decision-making through calm, evidence-based approaches, one decision at a time. I act, in many ways, as a bridge between understanding your home and understanding your health. Although decisions may need to be made quickly, they can still be made with a sense of confidence and calm. My role is to facilitate this sense of confidence and calm through validation, information, and decision-making steps.
My approach extends to supporting you as a parent, and all the roles this encompasses. You are more than your home. You are a family, and you deserve support that is non-judgmental, reassuring, and solution-focused.
Offerings:
For families who are concerned about water damage and mould, and the impact on their family’s health, I provide 30 minute consults. The goal is to provide:
evidence-based information regarding the health effects of dampness and mould;
steps and guidance to resolve concerns regarding water damage and mould;
support in managing home remediation and managing health issues;
resources and referrals;
reassurance, and a calm, systematic, evidence-based way to support decision making during acute events (when mould is discovered, when leaks occur) and long-term exposures.
Some families have worked with me to get them started on the process. Others work with me over a longer period to address ongoing concerns about environment and health. Thirty minute consults allow opportunities to work with me during an acute event. Packages are available for ongoing support.
WHY WOULD AN O.T. BE INTERESTED IN MOULD?
It’s personal! In addition to continuing education, I have personal experience with health issues related to dampness and mould. I have acquired knowledge about proper remediation. I have experienced illness and seen the effects of mould on sleep in my children. I have learned about approaches to healing. I have worked with other professionals and mentors to develop a way of supporting families through the challenge of dealing with dampness and poor health.
When we first moved to Niagara, we discovered there was much more than puffers required to address health symptoms that arose. Although there are more health professionals like me who are aware of the broad range of symptoms that can come from exposure to damp buildings, people often report that their concerns are dismissed by physicians, and are told it is all in their head.
My personal experience, combined with my O.T. approach of exploring the environment, means I am deeply passionate about supporting families through what can be a stressful and confusing process.
Whether this is a small issue that is easily resolved, or a deeper issue that benefits from an inter-disciplinary approach, I am proud to support families in an area of health that is poorly understood by most health professionals.
HOW CAN MOULD IMPACT MY HEALTH?
Research and empirical evidence suggest that, in addition to asthma, damp environments can cause a wide variety of symptoms including:
sleep issues
fatigue
joint pain
anxiety
brain fog
rapid weight gain or loss
food sensitivities
skin issues
chemical sensitivity
For further information on the impact of damp buildings on health, the following resources may be helpful:
www.iseai.org (International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness)
www.graceunderwater.ca (my site focused on increasing awareness of and disseminating information about mould illness and recovery)
Hope, J. (2013) A Review of the Mechanism of Injury and Treatment Approaches for Illness Resulting form Exposure to Water-Damaged Buildings, Mold, and Mycotoxins https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3654247/
Offerings
Appointments, workshops, and drop-ins…
