Supporting Infant and Child Sleep

Online 1 day course

Online 1 day course Thursday 16th October 

About the Course: 

The Supporting Infant and Child Sleep: A family-centred framework for occupational therapists course offers an overview of current child and family sleep research, an exploration of relevant theory and current debates from a broad range of relevant multi-disciplinary fields, a deep-dive into sleep as an occupational category that incorporates sleep preparation and sleep participation activities, and a guiding framework for occupation-focused, family-centred sleep evaluation, intervention and outcome measurement.

Occupational therapists who participate in this course will have an opportunity to learn through provided case studies, group activities, and discussion and to develop their clinical reasoning skills specific to the application of current research and best practice principles in the field of supporting paediatric sleep.

Key Learning Outcomes: 

• Learn about the nature, purpose, and meaning of sleep.
• Gain a broad understanding of the impact of sleep on children’s health, wellbeing, and development.
• Identify the theory and assumptions underpinning current dominant approaches to infant and child sleep.
• Explore sleep as a distinct domain of occupational therapy practice.
• Develop the clinical reasoning skills to select and apply appropriate approaches to sleep evaluation and intervention according to their specific setting and individual families’ needs.
• Gain an understanding of the complexity of the family sleep environment incorporating the physical, relational, and socio-cultural contexts.
• Access an occupation-focused framework to support clinical reasoning and guide family-centred sleep evaluation, interventions, and outcome measurement.

About the facilitator: 

Patricia Flynn is a CORU-registered occupational therapist with over 20 years of international experience across a broad range of disability and infant, child, adolescent and youth mental health services. In addition to her years working in Ireland and Namibia, Patricia lived and worked in Belgium for seven years, where she also served as a COTEC representative for two years. Now living in Sligo, Ireland she currently works as an independent family sleep specialist, consultant ante- and post-natal occupational therapist, and volunteer coordinator for EiSMART.co.uk.  She has worked as an occasional lecturer for Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin and has developed and delivered teacher training on behalf of the Irish National Council for Special Education (NCSE).  In 2024, she completed a research master’s on the topic of Parent-Infant Sleep at Trinity College Dublin and has presented at conferences, national healthcare forums, and by invitation to professional and parent groups. Her work has been published in the influential international journal SLEEP®. Drawing on her research outcomes, clinical experience, current evidence and international best practice guidelines, she developed Integrated Family Sleep®, a family-centred, occupation-focused approach to supporting sleep. She offers a range of training and learning options to support occupational therapists to implement sleep interventions that lead to meaningful outcomes for children and their families. See Patricia’s LinkedIn profile for more information: www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-flynn-ot

Please note bookings after October 1st will not receive the hard copy of the course materials in advance, but will receive an electronic copy

Application and Payment information:

• Payment in full is taken at the time of application.
• Payment of the fee does not guarantee you a place at this event.
• Full payment must be received prior to the closing date in order to secure your place.
• If the event is oversubscribed you will be provided with a full refund.
• Successful applicants will be notified that they have a place at the event following the closing date.
• Places are limited and members are advised to apply early to secure a place.
• Please note: notifications will be sent to the email address entered on this application form. Please make sure to enter correctly the email address you wish to use for communication about this event.
• Please read our CPD events cancellation/refund policy. See AOTI T&Cs