Our family-centred approach
The Pace approach
The Pace approach
Our therapy services follow the Pace Approach, looking at nine aspects of your child’s development. Here’s what you can expect:
We are experts in a range of specialist therapy approaches. We can offer:
Early intervention
Early intervention provides support and the right opportunities as early as possible, when your baby or toddler’s brain is growing quickly and has lots of potential for learning.
We work together with you on small, achievable steps supporting your baby or toddler to learn naturally and strengthen developing brain pathways at a time when neuroplasticity is high.
We do this by choosing activities to support their next steps involving routine, play, interactions and practice.
By experiencing success and building confidence we create a strong foundation for later development for your whole family.
Find out about our free sessions and costs
Sensory attachment integration
Sensory Attachment Integration Therapy is a holistic approach that addresses the complex interplay between sensory processing, attachment and emotional wellbeing.
There is a close connection between a child’s sensory processing and their relationships. When children feel safe, understood and supported, they are better able to regulate their bodies and engage with the world around them.
For children who have differences in their sensory processing and emotional regulation it can be harder to feel safe in their body, to trust others and to manage every day experiences.
Sensory attachment integration Therapy focuses on co-regulation, attunement and play, supporting the child within the context of safe and supportive relationships.
Therapists work closely with caregivers, helping them to understand their child’s cues and build confidence in supporting regulation at home.
Through shared playful experiences and carefully supporting sensory input, children are helped to develop a stronger sense of safety, connection and body awareness. Over time this support improvements in regulation, engagement and relationships.
It is a valuable therapy option for children who have been affected by early adverse experiences.
GLP and SDR
Depending on how your child is learning language they may be a GLP (Gestalt Language Processor) or an ALD (Analytic Language Development).
GLP is learning phrases and sentences first. These are called gestalts and some examples are: let’s go, wait for me, my turn.
ALD is learning single words and putting them together to form phrases and longer sentences. Some examples are: car, dog, Mum.
Our GLP trained Speech and Language Therapist will identify where your child is in their development and then uses evidence based strategies to help them move forward.
Our speech and language therapy focuses on:
Understanding and responding to your child’s current way of communicating
- Supporting connection, play, and enjoyment in communication
- Modelling new language that is meaningful and emotionally relevant
- Supporting you and your child’s nursery or school to use approaches that reflect how your child learns best
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
Augmentative and Alternative Communication covers a range of strategies and tools which help children communicate.
These may be simple letter or picture boards, or very sophisticated computer-based systems.
AAC will help your child communicate as effectively as possible, in as many situations as possible. At Pace, we carry out careful assessments to find out what suits your child best and they may use one or more forms of AAC.
BMT (Bimanual therapy)
Bimanual therapy is a structured, evidence-based approach used with children who have unilateral motor difficulties (such as hemiplegia or other neurodevelopmental conditions affecting one side of the body) to improve the use of both hands together in functional, everyday tasks.
It focuses on practising meaningful, goal-directed, two-handed activities that encourage the child to use their affected hand as an active “helper hand,” rather than relying solely on their stronger hand.
Therapy sessions are play-based, child led and carefully graded to provide the right level of challenge.
Children practise tasks such as holding, stabilising, reaching, gripping, opening containers, or manipulating toys – always in a way that supports motor learning, problem solving, and active participation.
The aim is to strengthen the quality, frequency, and confidence of bimanual use in daily life.
CIMT (Constraint Induced Movement Therapy)
Pace uses the Baby Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) protocol, taken from the Karolinska Institute Manual.
Baby CIMT is a further modification of modified CIMT.
Research shows that activation and stimulation of the non dominant hand significantly affects neural activity in the sensory and motor cortex.
In young children there are ongoing structural changes in the corticospinal system directed to hand function and these observed changes are activity dependent.
Baby CIMT is a child centred model.
Baby massage
Baby massage is a gentle nurturing way for parents and carers to connect with their baby through touch. It provides a calm and enjoyable opportunity to spend focused time together while supporting your baby’s early development.
Within our Early Intervention programme, baby massage is used as a supportive tool to help strengthen the parent-baby relationship whilst encouraging early developmental skills in a calm responsive and enjoyable way.
Our IAIM certified massage therapist leads the sessions, and is able to adapt things to ensure that each baby’s individual needs, comfort and stage of development are supported.
Regular massage can help babies feel safe, relaxed and comforted. Through repeated positive touch babies begin to develop a sense of security and trust which support their attachment.
Sensory feeding
For children with severely restricted food intake (not picky eating). This is likely to be associated with a diagnosis of autism or sensory processing difficulties, and children are often limited to only 10-20 foods that they will eat.
The clinic provides assessment and intervention for children with sensory-based or developmental feeding challenges using the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding. The SOS Approach to Feeding is a research-based, family-centred program that uses a step-by-step method to build a child’s comfort level with food.
It is designed to increase a child’s tolerance of various foods by gradually introducing them through play. The approach moves through a hierarchy of steps, beginning with tolerating the sight of food, and progressing through touching, smelling, tasting, and eventually eating.
Children with Autism and sensory processing and developmental difficulties can often find eating a challenging and distressing task. As with any developmental activity (walking, talking, earning to ride a bike), children learn to eat best through purposeful play.
This low-pressure, systematic desensitisation process helps reduce anxiety around food and supports children in developing positive associations with eating. By teaching children how to explore and evaluate new foods – talking about their appearance, texture, smell, and taste – we help reduce fear of the unknown (food neophobia) and encourage curiosity.
This clinic supports children who:
- Demonstrate a sensory aversion or avoidance of food textures, tastes, or smells
- Have a food range of less than 20 foods, especially if foods are being dropped over time with no new foods replacing those lost
- Have difficulty transitioning to new foods or textures
- Have not weaned off baby foods by 16 months of age
- Display stress, gagging, or refusal behaviours related to feeding
- Present with no significant medical swallowing concerns (i.e. no diagnosed dysphagia)
- Children may also have a co-occuring diagnosis (such as Autism) or sensory-based feeding diagnosis such as ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) or PFD (Paediatric Feeding Disorder)
The clinic does not provide intervention for children with medical swallowing disorders, tube feeding requirements or complex nutritional management needs.
Sessions are child-led, play-based, and designed to build comfort, confidence, and oral skill development through graded exposure to food experiences.
Referral Pathways
Referrals may come from:
- Existing Pace families – identified by their treating therapist as likely to benefit from feeding intervention.
- New families – referred directly to the feeding clinic by parents, external professionals, or community therapists.
- Families who have received SOS support at Pace previously – where further feeding intervention is recommended as part of ongoing therapy.
All referrals are triaged by the SOS-trained OT to confirm suitability, ensuring no contraindications for participation.
Dysphagia
Dysphagia or swallowing difficulties is a condition where an individual cannot safely pass food or drink from the mouth to the stomach. It can occur for different reasons, and different stages of the swallowing process.
Speech and Language Therapists play a crucial role in assessing and managing dysphagia. They can provide support and advice to make eating and drinking safer and easier.
Babies, children and young people may experience a range of feeding difficulties.
Our Speech and Language Therapists assess and determine whether there is a safety element as part of the difficulty and the best steps to keeping safe whilst they are eating and drinking.
Parent coaching
Our therapy approach includes parent coaching, a recognised evidence informed practice used in early intervention and family centred care.
Parent coaching focuses on working in partnership with parents and carers to build their confidence knowledge and problem solving skills so they can support their child’s development within everyday routines and activities.
Rather than therapy only happening during sessions, or parents feeling pressure to provide ‘therapy sessions’ at home, therapists support parents to reflect on their child’s strengths and needs, explore practical strategies together, adapting routines and ensuring adaptions fit the family’s priorities, values and beliefs.
Research shows that when parents are supported in this way, children have more frequent opportunities to practise skills in natural environments which can strengthen development outcomes whilst also supporting parent confidence and wellbeing.
Circle of security
Circle of Security is a research based reflective parenting course, helping you to create healthy childhood attachments and understand your child’s emotional needs.
The course supports parents to better understand their child’s behaviour, recognise emotional needs, and respond in ways that help children feel safe, supported, and confident to explore the world around them.
This course is led by our registered Circle of Security parenting facilitator and can be run in small groups or 1:1.
Courses are supportive and non judgemental and provide a space to reflect and share.
Video examples, discussion and guided reflection are used to help parents think about everyday parenting experiences.
Goal setting
Goal setting is a central part of our therapy approach and reflects best practise in family centred provision. We listen and support families to identify goals that are meaningful and relevant to their everyday lives, focusing on activities and participation that matter most to them.
This ensures that therapy is personalised, functional and focused on outcomes that are important for your child and family.
To support this process we use recognised outcome measures including the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) and Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS).
Once families have identified their priority areas, they are asked to rate on a scale from 0 to 10 how well the activity is currently being performed (or how confident they feel) and how satisfied they are with this level of performance.
GAS is then used to define different possible levels of progress for the individualised goals, including the current baseline and the expected level of achievement following intervention.
Sensory integration
We have eight sensory systems in our body that help us to understand and process the world and our experiences. Sensory Integration is the way our brain takes in the sensory information, and organises it into meaningful information so that we can respond appropriately.
Not everyone processes sensory information in the same way. For some children the brain may receive too much or too little information from some of their sensory systems. For example when the brain reacts too strongly, sensations can feel overwhelming or uncomfortable, noise, certain textures or movements.
Or, the brain may not react or respond enough to sensory information, therefore a child needs more information to aid them to feel regulated; they may appear to have low energy, seem floppy and slow to respond, be unaware of dirty hands/face, or have difficulty controlling the force they use during activities. This can impact on a child’s behaviour, movement, regulation and ability to learn.
Sensory integration therapy is a specialised approach delivered by Occupational Therapists. It focuses on helping children to process and respond to sensory input. This may look like movement based activities, e.g. swinging, pushing heavy loads, different tactile experiences, balance and coordination activities and integrated play designed to stimulate multiple senses.
By understanding each child’s individual sensory profile, we can help create environments and experiences that support success, participation and wellbeing.
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR)
Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) is a surgical procedure used for children with cerebral palsy when their muscles are stiff with spasticity. It involves cutting some of the sensory nerves in the spinal cord that contribute to increased muscle tone.
Physiotherapy both prior to and following surgery is essential to help children build strength, develop and increase their range of movement and balance.
Following surgery, with the reduction in spasticity, as well as needing to increase their strength, children benefit from sessions to develop their functional mobility, activities and independence.
We have worked closely with families before and after SDR surgery to support children with working towards their individual goals. Getting into good routines and finding exercises that are fun and engaging for your child are key.
We provide therapy in personalised blocks, designed around your child’s goals and needs.
Our expert therapists gather around your child to develop all these areas.
Practitioners team up to share expertise and collaborate for the best outcomes. We encourage open communication, among our team and with you. Pace therapists may also liaise with education professionals and healthcare practitioners.