Sensory Motor Gyms – Supporting Sensory Integration and Child Development

Our Sensory Motor Gyms provide a rich, engaging environment where children can explore, develop, and thrive through play-based therapy. Each gym is equipped with specialist resources designed to support sensory integration principles, targeting key areas of neurological development such as the vestibular, proprioceptive, and tactile systems.

What makes our gyms unique is their focus on evidence-based practice and personalised intervention. Through structured, play-based activities, we help children’s nervous systems process sensory input in an organised and meaningful way. Over time, this approach improves motor planning, balance, attention, emotional regulation, and overall confidence.

Our Child Development Centres feature dedicated sensory motor gym facilities to meet the complex sensory needs of the children we support. These skills are foundational for physical, cognitive, and social development, influencing how children interact with and navigate the world around them.

What Makes Us Different

• Special Interest in Sensory Integration: Our Child Development Centres provide bespoke sensory motor gym facilities to meet the sensory needs of the children we support. 
• Goal Focused Therapy For Children: At Sensational Kids, we provide individualised, goal-focused therapy, working one-on-one with each child until their developmental goals are achieved. Our personalised approach ensures measurable progress and meaningful outcomes for every family.
• Proven Outcomes: A recent independently evaluated outcome measurement project over two years, demonstrated that children attending therapy services at Sensational Kids achieve outcomes above and beyond what is considered to be clinically meaningful change.  

• Our Clinical Team Our clinical team is supported and trained by experts in sensory integration, ensuring that children with sensory needs are receiving evidence-based sensory therapy to Ayres Sensory Integration® international standards. 

• Affordability and Accessibility: Supported by fundraising and grants we provide high-quality therapy services at significantly reduced costs, ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent children from receiving the help they need. 

• Social Enterprise Model: Sensational Kids operates a sustainable, non-profit model, with a unique approach of reinvesting revenue from our shop and services back into the provision of therapy, making it more affordable. There are no shareholders who profit. All revenues are ploughed into our therapy supports for children 

• Holistic Approach: We offer a range of supports under one roof, from occupational and speech therapy to educational and developmental resources for children with a variety of additional needs. 
• Trauma-Informed Care: At Sensational Kids, our therapists are trauma-trained and trauma-informed, meaning we understand how past experiences can impact communication, learning, and emotional regulation. We create a safe, supportive environment where children feel secure and respected, and we tailor therapy approaches to meet each child’s unique needs. By integrating trauma-informed practices into our speech and language therapy, we help children build trust, confidence, and the skills they need to thrive—while empowering families with strategies that promote healing and progress.

• Family-Centred Care: Our focus extends beyond the child to include empowering and educating families, ensuring they have the tools and support necessary to foster development at home. 
• Nationwide Impact: Sensational Kids has a growing national presence, with Child Development Centres in Kildare, Cork, Mayo, and Monaghan, serving children and families throughout Ireland. 
• Years of Experience: Sensational Kids has been dedicated to transforming the lives of children with additional needs since 2007.

Our Services – Expert Therapy and Assessments for Children

At Sensational Kids, we specialise in assessment, diagnosis, and evidence-based therapy supports for a wide range of developmental and neurological challenges so that every child has the opportunity to be the best version of themselves that is possible for them. Our services support children and adolescents who might be experiencing challenges with:

• Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD)
• Developmental Delays
• Autism
• Fragile X Syndrome
• Down Syndrome
• Genetic Disorders
• ADHD and Attention/Focus Differences
• Cerebral Palsy
• Dyspraxia and Motor Planning Difficulties (DCD)
• Vestibular and Balance Disorders
• Auditory Processing Disorders
• Language Delays
• Emotional and Behavioural Challenges

Our multidisciplinary team includes Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Play Therapists, and Chartered Educational Psychologists, working collaboratively to create individualised plans tailored to each child’s needs.

Who Is Occupational Therapy For?

Occupational Therapy (OT) supports children and adolescents with additional needs, helping them reach their full potential through targeted therapeutic intervention. Our goal is to develop specific skills and underlying developmental components – such as sensory processing, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognitive abilities, and social interaction—to ensure children achieve maximum functional independence in everyday activities.

OT Helps Children Thrive In:

• At Home: Eating, dressing, toileting
• At Preschool: Drawing, cutting, coloring, playing
• At School: Handwriting, maintaining posture at the desk, focus and concentration, task organization
• In Social Situations: Building confidence and social skills

At Sensational Kids, our occupational therapy services in Kildare, Clonakilty (West Cork), Clones (Monaghan), and Claremorris (Mayo) are designed to support families across Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht, including Dublin, Cork, Galway, Mayo, Monaghan and surrounding areas.

Who We Support at Sensational Kids

We provide therapy and developmental support for children and adolescents, including those with developmental delays and a wide range of neurotypes including:

• Autistic individuals
• ADD / ADHD
• Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia)
• Down Syndrome 
• Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Fragile X Syndrome
• Intellectual Disability
• Sensory Processing Difficulties
• Pre-verbal and non-verbal children

Our team of specialists offers speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, psychology services, and play therapy across our centres in Kildare, Clonakilty (West Cork), Clones (Monaghan), and Claremorris (Mayo). We support families from Dublin, Cork, Galway, Sligo, Monaghan and surrounding areas, making expert care accessible throughout Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht.

Our Models of Practice

At Sensational Kids, our therapy team uses a range of evidence-based models to provide the best possible support for children and adolescents. These include:

• Ayres Sensory Integration®
• Trauma-Informed Approach
• Neuroaffirmative Practice
• Perceptual Motor & Sensory Motor Approaches
• CO-OP Approach – A child-centred, performance-based, problem-solving method that enables skill acquisition through strategy use and guided discovery
• DIR Floortime
• SOS Feeding Approach
• CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
• Person-Centred and Trauma-Informed Practice

These models demonstrate the depth and range of expertise within our paediatric occupational therapy services.

What Skill Areas Can Be Addressed Through Occupational Therapy?

Fine Motor Skills

Includes: Strengthening, endurance, dexterity, pre-writing skills, handwriting, dressing (buttons, zips, shoelaces), feeding skills.
How a Child May Present: Poor pencil grasp, difficulty opening snacks, threading beads, cutting, writing letters and numbers, managing buttons/zips, tying shoelaces, using utensils.

Gross Motor Development

Includes: Postural control, core stability, balance, ball skills, eye-hand coordination, transitional movements.
How a Child May Present: Difficulty climbing, jumping, running, hopping, poor endurance, struggles with sitting upright, tires easily during sports or play.

Activities of Daily Living

Includes: Dressing, feeding, toileting, bathing, grooming, sleeping routines.
How a Child May Present: Needs more support than expected for age in dressing, bathing, brushing teeth, or toileting.

Cognitive Skills & Executive Function

Includes: Memory, sequential processing, impulse control, focus, task organisation, time management.
How a Child May Present: Difficulty following instructions, planning tasks, staying focused, controlling behaviour, completing tasks on time.

Social Engagement

Includes: Sharing, waiting, turn-taking, peer interaction.
How a Child May Present: Struggles with playing games, waiting, sharing toys, initiating play, coping with winning/losing.

Visual Perceptual Skills

Includes: Visual discrimination, visual motor integration, spatial relationships.
How a Child May Present: Difficulty with puzzles, block building, copying from board, organising information on a page, inconsistent letter sizing.

Sensory Processing

Includes: Sensory regulation, motor planning, bilateral coordination.
How a Child May Present: Meltdowns, distractibility, over-reactivity, poor coordination, difficulty learning new movement skills.

Mental Health

Includes: Stress management, coping strategies, emotional expression, trauma processing, self-esteem.
How a Child May Present: Sudden behavioural changes, sleep or diet changes, withdrawal, school refusal, mood swings, anxiety, difficulty concentrating.