Ideas at Play: An Occupational Therapy (OT) Podcast
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!
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📧 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
Ideas at Play: An Occupational Therapy (OT) Podcast
Ep. 67 Polyvagal Theory and Listening Programs
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We'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.com
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
