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Sarah Deane

Occupational Therapist

Sarah is the founder and owner of The Kids’ Place. She is a NZ registered Occupational Therapist with over 20 years experience. Sarah has spent much of her career working in Paediatrics with children with neurological conditions, brain injuries, developmental delays, and learning difficulties. As a mother of four adult sons, Sarah understands the challenges of parenting in the modern world. Sarah uses play based therapy and intervention methods to support children who may have learning difficulties, developmental delays, neuro-motor immaturity, gross motor, fine motor, sensory, and emotional difficulties .

Sarah is dedicated to assisting each child to discover their own unique potential, to be understood by the people in their lives, and in the process assist them to develop a healthy self esteem and confidence to enjoy their place in this world.

Sarah has completed post-graduate courses in her areas of interest including:

  • Accreditation to use DIR®Floortime™: a play-based approach used with children focusing on developmental levels, individual differences and relationships.
  • A Certificate in Neuro-Developmental Delay conferred by the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP), Chester, UK.
  • A Certificate in Bilateral Integration from the Movement and Learning Centre, Scotland, UK.
  • Accreditation as a provider of the Johansen Individualised Auditory Stimulation programme, supporting children with auditory processing difficulties.
  • Sensory Integration Therapy courses including the Wilbarger Sensory Defensiveness Treatment Approach and  Traffic Jam in my Brain ( Sensory Tools, Australia ).