#176 - Everything You Need to Know About Neuroplasticity with Dr. Karen Pryor

Our brain is an amazing thing and much of how it works is still being discovered. 

Today’s guest teaches us how using neuroplasticity, we can rewire processing for completely separate senses to overcome difficulty in sensory processing. 

Dr. Karen Pryor, author of Ten Fingers Ten Toes Twenty Things Everyone Needs to Know: Neuroplasticity for Children, talks to us about why she wrote this book, and how she uses neuroplasticity to overcome challenges. Karen is both a doctor of physical therapy and naturopathy and has qualifications in hypnotherapy - fields that she has fused to create the dynamic approach to therapy that she shares with us in this episode. 

Join us to learn why it's important to ask parents the right questions, and how to activate kids' spatial awareness. Discover the mechanism underlying neuroplasticity, and why pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth grounds us. Dive into subconscious processing and find out how to phrase instructions that bypass it. From why she hums but never sings, to practical examples of how she would treat specific patients, you don’t want to miss this fascinating episode that gives us a brief glimpse into the techniques and tips used by Dr. Karen Pryor! 

Key Points From This Episode:

• How studying hypnotherapy helped Karen understand the subconscious.
• Hacking the nervous system: what neuroplasticity means.
• Techniques on how you can include neuroplasticity treatment in your sessions.
• How to ask the right questions for your patients.
• Why retained reflexes affect a kid’s aptitude in kindergarten.
• How OTs can use neuroplasticity in their own treatment.
• Finding yourself and your patient in three-dimensional space. 
• Why the tongue is so good at organizing the system.
• Why consistency is key and how to make repetitive tasks feel like fun and not work.
• What makes Dr. Pryor so passionate about her work.

Be sure to check out the show notes on our blog at  Harkla.Co/Podcast.

Brought To You By Harkla

This podcast is brought to you by Harkla.  Our mission at Harkla is to help those with special needs live happy and healthy lives. We accomplish this through high-quality sensory products, child development courses, & The Harkla Sensory Club.

Podcast listeners get 10% off their first order at Harkla with the discount code "sensory". Head to Harkla.co/sensory to start shopping now.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Ten Fingers Ten Toes Twenty Things Everyone Needs to Know: Neuroplasticity for Children
Dr. Karen Pryor
Dr. Karen Pryor Email
Dr. Karen Pryor on Twitter
Harkla
All Things Sensory on Instagram
All Things Sensory on Facebook