wiredON Development Interviews

We spend a lot of time teaching children how to move. We guide, position, cue, correct and encourage. But what if there was a faster more effective way to help children recognize and reproduce the most effective movements for themselves? In this WiredOn interview, neuroscientist Dr Jo Shattuck and engineer and movement coach Kyle Burrell introduce us to kinesthetic dissonance, the gap between where we think our body is and where it actually is. They've developed KAT (Kinesthetic Awareness Training), a wearable device that uses precisely timed vibration and auditory feedback to help people develop awareness and control of their movement, without relying on verbal coaching or hands-on correction. We explore: Why compensation isn't necessarily a bad thing, and what it tells us about how the brain solves movement problems.Why developing a repertoire of movement options may matter more than perfecting one movement pattern.How simple, neutral sensory feedback can support motor exploration without overwhelming the learner.The difference between achieving a movement and being able to reproduce it without feedback.Why changing sensory inputs can completely change movement behaviour.How to use feedback without creating dependency on it.The concept of 'Leave and Retrieve' in motor learning For paediatric physiotherapists and OTs working with children with cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities, this conversation raises some fascinating questions about head control, postural stability, gait, compensations and how we facilitate genuine motor learning. Perhaps the question isn't simply, "How do we help this child achieve the movement?" But, "How do we help their brain learn to find it?"

Casey Gonnella was 11 years old when he started Transcutaneous Spinal Neuromodulation (TSN). Fast forward a few years and he now a published co-author on an academic publication discussing his case study in the Journal of Neurophysiology, along with the grandfather of Spinal Neuromodulation, the late Dr Reggie Edgerton, Dr Susan Hastings and his mother, Jennifer Gonnella. In this conversation, Mindy Silva from WiredOn Development sits down with Dr Susan Hastings, Jen, and Casey to discuss their research paper, Neuromodulatory Strategies Overcome Multiple Inevitable Impairments of Cerebral Palsy, J. Neurophysiol. 2026, 136, 445–458, They address skepticism about Casey’s diagnosis and detail his pre- versus post-TSN changes, including major gains in tactile sensation, easier movement, and new visual, auditory, cognitive, swallowing, and facial-expression awareness. The discussion emphasizes that the paper’s key clinical contribution is proprioceptive derived intervention (PDI): training midline, alignment, head/neck control, weight shifts, and eyes-open/eyes-closed strategies to uncouple vision from movement, often using unstable surfaces. They also cover FES and TheraTogs, hands-on versus hands-off guidance, risks of reinforcing wrong patterns, individualized dosing, and the need for experienced clinicians who have evidence of long-term outcomes from children they'v worked with. 00:00 Welcome and Paper Intro 00:49 Honoring Reggie Edgerton 01:39 How the Paper Came Together 02:50 Did Casey Really Have CP 05:46 Life Before and After TSN 08:04 Early Choices and Surgery Pressure 11:02 PDI Explained and Midline 20:49 Hands On vs Hands Off 23:24 TheraTogs Reality Check 29:24 Eyes Closed Motor Learning 31:54 FES Before TSN and Weight Shifts 34:19 Pictures in the Brain 39:16 Barefoot Proprioception Tips 40:50 Ball Sitting Midline Test 42:19 Parenting Through TSN 45:22 Alignment Cues Tongue Trick 46:55 Vision Changes and CVI 52:10 Session Flow and Breaks 55:10 One Week Withdrawal Crash 01:04:11 Dialing Stim Too High 01:07:34 Slow Skill Ownership 01:10:21 Facial Expression Practice 01:11:16 Facial Expression Practice 01:13:21 Hidden Emotions in CP 01:15:50 TSN Changes Awareness 01:18:08 What the Paper Missed 01:22:55 Biggest TSN Improvements 01:24:21 Alignment and PDI Debates 01:29:14 How to Start Safely 01:35:45 Casey’s Future Path 01:38:04 Research Still Evolving 01:41:37 Wrap Up and Resources

This conversation with sleep specialist Sue McCabe will completely shift how you think about sleep. We talk about why sleep isn't just a nighttime problem, it's a 24-hour concern woven through every aspect of your therapy outcomes. Sue introduces her C-word framework: Comfort (finding what's "just right, right now"), Complexity, Culture, Collaboration, Community, Capacity, Connections, Communication, and Clocks. We explore the types of questions that surface the real issues underlying sleep issues before throwing behavioral strategies at families. The difference between a circadian rhythm disorder and insomnia, why knowing that a child is spending 6 hours running around the park helps you solve a sleep issue and how warm feet are essential for sleep onset (yes, your mom was right). We explore difficulties with sleep in a variety of diagnoses (CP, autism, ADHD, vision impairment, trauma history). Sue introduces the frameworks, the questions, the resources, and the lens to address sleep into your clinical sessions with confidence.

Michael Workman (PT, Bamboo Brace designer, and neurodevelopmental geek with 30 years of floor-time wisdom) joined me for a fascinating deep dive into the hidden power of such a seemingly simple wearable device for such a seemingly simple joint. If you're a therapists who sees the elbows as gateways to whole-body potential, you're going to love what Michael has to say! And if you're a therapist whose mostly thought about the elbow as just a hinge that needs to be stablized between two complex joints, you’re going to be fascinated by how much you can get out of working on the dynamic control of this joint.  Of course we get into a lot of detail about the Bamboo brace itself and even touch on what it takes to bring a therapy product to market, but the real gold in this interview is the deep dive into dynamic bracing, dynamic thinking and dynamic interventions - everything works better when it’s moving. We jump between joints and synergies. We revive the open chain and it’s importance in not only upper limb function, but the development of motor control that must come before the development of strength - and of course we get into the practicalities of using the brace - which kids benefit, when and where. There’s so much to take away from this interview! Enjoy. 

Nobody becomes a pediatric therapists to make children’s lives miserable, or worse, create pain and life limiting boney deformities and yet, there’s a very real possibility that somewhere along your career path, that’s exactly what your suggestions or recommendations might have done. Now this is a confronting thought , but one that needs some airtime, with a little self-reflection and no judgement - certainly not from me, because I’m right there with you. I think it was Maya Angelou who said ‘do the best with the knowledge you have, but when you know better, do better’ which is a lovely quote to live by. With that in mind, this conversation with Sharon Sutherland and Jenn McKee is a not to be missed deep dive into what they call a human first approach to seating and wheelchair mobility, but what I’ll call a holy smokes - our solutions may have been part of the problem here people. Sharon and Jenn share how they support seating and wheelchair mobility with a beautiful human first approach. We discuss real clinical cases and dig into all the tricky bits we constantly run up against as therapists, managing head support and keeping feet on footplates, complex bodies, silent pain, navigating team disagreements and technology shortfalls, getting family buy-in, dynamic systems and pommels. There were so many essential topics we covered that this interview extends waaay over the usual hour. I was going to split it into two parts, but I’ve decided to try out a longer form interview. Please let me know if you like the longer interview - and if, like me, you had a couple of slap the head moments!! There's a ton of additional links and resources for you to grab at https://www.wiredondevelopment.com related to this conversation Enjoy!

This was such a fun interview for me to do but be warned, once you’ve listened to Jane and Susie explaining the benefits and mechanism of equine assisted therapy, you are going to want to go find yourself a stable with a few horses and get trained in hippotherapy if you’re not already. . I was genuinely blown away by how the the horse can be used to impact motor learning, and how as therapists we can integrate the whole sensory motor experience into our therapeutic goals. This interview will take you on a fascinating journey into hippotherapy - enjoy the ride.

From philosophy student and activist to pioneer in early childhood intervention approaches for therapists, Karen Kangas takes us on a journey of developing clinical excellence. She is an occupational therapists with over 50 years of experience, specializing in pediatrics, seating, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). She has particular knowledge and expertise in working with children with significant disabilities, particularly those with dystonia and dystonic cerebral palsy. Karen beautifully bridges the gap between ‘old school’ hands on approaches and a more contemporary hands-off focus on participation and real-life activities and engagement. We cover seating and positioning, standing, walking and appropriate equipment use, developing clinical skills, the magic of the barrier vest and understanding movement patterns. You'll find links to everything we discussed at https://www.wiredondevelopment.com Enjoy!

James Sultzer is an academic neurorehabilitation engineer and a father to a child with a significant brain injury. This conversation is a raw look at the real state of the evidene in pediatric neurodisability from the someone who is living through the reality of how it supports families to make incredibly difficult decisions as they seek out the best care for their kids. We move from discussing the value of goal setting and home programs all the way to trying to uncover the fraud and the pseudoscience that parents are navigating everyday. This is a profoundly important conversation that is a must listen for everyone working with families who have children with disabilities. I know you'll get a lot out of it. Enjoy! For resources mentioned jump to https://www.wiredondevelopment.com

When it comes to understanding how the work that we try to do every day in the clinic actually works, this interview with Dr Susan Barry may be one of the most eye-opening interviews I have done so far - excuse the pun. Dr Barry is a a Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences, Professor Emeritus of Neuroscience and Behavior and (as she calls herself) a recovered Strabismic. Her story of fixing her gaze which started at age 48 gives us unmatched insight how neuroplasticity can be harnessed in every day therapy to drive recovery. WE cover so many topics that are near and dear to my beating therapy heart, and from the value of clinical wisdom and the cautionary tales of over interpreting published research to the importance of not being distracted by the obvious problems you see, but rather understanding the reason behind why you are seeing them. There’s so many nuggets to take away from this interview, you are going to love it - enjoy!

This interview with the OccuPLAYtional Therapist, Kelsie Olds, is an absolute treat. We cover the realities, practicalities and benefits of child-led therapy, the integration of play in therapeutic practices, push-in vs pull out services, balancing the conflicts that arise from staying true to your core values as a therapist with meeting your service requirements and so much more For links and resources, visit https://www.wiredondevelopment.com 04:45 A uniquely rich learning environment 13:32 Regcognising and addressing underlying difficultes 22:46 Finding the best learning opportunities 27:44 Whose actually my client? 31:26 The magic of a trust and values based approach 37:34 Navigating School Systems and Advocating for Child-Led Therapy >> 39:13 Be Informed >> 41:20 Value the team >> 42:21 Keeping the child at the center 44:38 Push in vs Pull out 50:53 Gaining Respect and Buy-In from Teachers 52:58 Understanding motor skill levels through play vs standardized testing 59:32 Stop asking questions 01:04:27 Everybody is unique and we are all the same 01:08:54 Neurodiverse Conversations and Activism 01:11:06 Interoception