Mar 17, 2021
One of my favorite verses of scripture is 1 Peter
4:10, which says: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have
received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in
its various forms."
I really believe that we were all given a gift to use
to help, serve and bless others. I think serving, teaching and
nurturing children is one of the best gifts. It takes a special
person to be able to work in the life of a child, especially with
children who are neurodivergent or neurodiverse.
My guest today is Brittni Winslow, a dear friend of
mine who lives in Durham, N.C. She is an occupational therapist and
executive director of Emerge
Pediatric Therapy in North Carolina. She helps create
confident kids through customized therapy.
6:46 – Brittni 101
- Brittni is married and has three daughters. She is
an occupational therapist and always wanted to open her own
business.
8:17 – How is occupational therapy different from
physical therapy?
- Brittni works on functional skills for kids, such
as play, caring for themselves, sitting at the dinner table, etc.
Physical therapy is working on strengthening or
rehabilitating.
9:17 – What makes Emerge so different?
- Brittni wants Emerge to be different from other
occupational therapy providers. A big part of that is working with
the kids and educating the parents, teachers and community
partners.
- “We want to make sure everyone is on the same page
and everyone is educated on how to best work with this child,” said
Brittni.
- “I truly believe that no kid is intentionally
trying to be bad. There are some ways that their system might be
wired that makes it really hard for them,” said Brittni.
14:07 – Generational changes in helping children
- Brittni says she’ll often hear parents say, “I
dealt with this [issue] as a kid.”
- Kids are sometimes misjudged as being lazy,
disinterested or having behavioral problems. But really, there are
some underlying issues that could easily be addressed.
16:48 – Removing the stigma
- "It’s not that how these kids are wired is wrong.
It’s just a different wiring,” said Brittni.
- You need to uncover what will work best for
kids.
20:51 – Has Brittni’s job affected how she parents
her own kids?
- She’s always taking one hat off and putting another
hat on. She tries to use her tools to help her own
children.
- Even though Brittni has helped hundreds of kids, it
can be hard to help her own children. But, having kids has helped
her be a better OT and help other parents.
26:35 – How Covid has impacted her business
- Brittni has worked on compassion fatigue with her
therapists to make sure they are OK.
31:10 – Sensory night at the Durham Bulls
- They partnered with the Durham Bulls baseball team
and did a sensory night for kids. Some parents said it was the
first baseball game they ever took their child to.
36:20 – Get to know you
- Song she has to sing? Any song from the Trolls
soundtrack
- Who has influenced her the most? Her
grandfather
- Favorite meal? Angus Barn steak and salad
FEATURED
QUOTES
“We want to make sure everyone is on the same page
and everyone is educated on how to best work with this child.” –
Brittni
“I truly believe that no kid is intentionally trying
to be bad. There are some ways that their system might be wired
that makes it really hard for them.” – Brittni
"It’s not that how these kids are wired is wrong.
It’s just a different wiring.” – Brittni
https://www.emergepediatrictherapy.com/