How CLASI transformed Dani's practice

CLASI Training Case Study

Occupational Therapist Private Practice, Sydney

This case study is based on an interview with Dani, an occupational therapist working in a paediatric sensory integration-focused clinic in Sydney.

“CLASI has given me a whole new lens to see kids through.”

Dani works with children and young people ranging from around 3.5 years old through to the end of school. Her caseload is largely made up of neurodiverse children, including many with autism and ADHD, and a wide range of sensory processing challenges with tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive, visual and auditory systems, along with children with praxis challenges.

What she sees most often is not a neat or uniform presentation, but complexity. Children may have sensitivities in one area, challenges in another, and a very different functional profile again in everyday life. As she puts it, “No two days are the same and it’s amazing.” She also noted that no two children present alike, with each child showing a different mix of sensory needs and challenges.

Before completing her CLASI training, Dani had already been working in paediatrics for several years and had support from experienced supervisors with knowledge of ASI. Even so, she felt her own understanding had limits. She described her confidence at the time as around four or five out of ten. Looking back, she realised that while she had enough knowledge to manage the basics, it was still relatively surface level. “It was enough to get me through the basics, but it wasn’t enough to give my kids, my clients, what they needed.”

Moving from surface-level information to a clearer clinical picture

One of the biggest challenges before CLASI was assessments. Dani felt that many of the tools available to her were useful in part, but not comprehensive enough for the children she was working with. She could gather information about gross motor skills, fine motor skills, or sensory concerns at a screening level, but those assessments did not fully explain what was happening in the child’s central nervous system or provide enough depth to guide intervention clearly.

As a result, she often found herself using sessions to do more of the investigative work. “I was able to get really surface level information and then I had to do the digging in sessions,” she said. Rather than beginning treatment with a strong sense of the underlying issues, she was often piecing things together as she went.

That challenge became even more pronounced with children who had already received therapy but were still struggling functionally. She reflected on one older client with dyspraxia and significant sensory challenges, where the therapy focus had been community access skills. However, without properly addressing the child’s nervous system and underlying needs, progress was limited. Looking back, she realised that the real starting point was not the outward skill itself, but the foundations beneath it. “We couldn’t get very far because we hadn’t addressed his central nervous system.”

Why CLASI stood out

What drew Dani to CLASI was the sense that it offered something deeper than many other professional development courses. From what she had read about ASI before training, it felt to her like an essential direction for paediatric OT. Something grounded in how children function at a foundational level, rather than only in what can be observed on the surface.

“It just feels like it is the way of the future for paediatric OTs,” she said. “Every single person has a central nervous system and some kids need more help than others.” What really drew her in was that the course focused on “the underlying challenges, not just the surface level challenges that we see.”

That depth was a key differentiator. In her experience, many courses tend to focus either on background theory or on a tool in isolation. CLASI felt different because it brought everything together in one place - the theory, the assessment process, the clinical reasoning, and the application. “I haven’t done another course that has been this comprehensive,” she said. “Usually PD courses are either like the background or the assessment tool, but this was just everything together.”

She also spoke positively about the presenters and the learning format, particularly the in-person components. While she acknowledged that the first module was a lot to take in, she said the hands-on elements were what really helped consolidate the learning. “That’s what really solidified it for me,” she said. “It’s one thing to read about the test. It’s one thing to practise the test. But it’s another thing to practise the test with some of the people who have the expertise.”

For Dani, that kind of support built confidence. It meant she was not simply attempting to translate theory into practice on her own, but learning directly from people who could help refine both the big-picture reasoning and the smaller technical details. “It just makes you feel more confident when you leave.”

A shift in thinking, reasoning and intervention

The most significant impact of CLASI on Dani’s practice has been the way it changed how she thinks. She described it as unlocking a wider range of thoughts around a child. Before the training, her clinical reasoning felt narrower. Afterwards, she had more tools, more structure, and more certainty about how to interpret what she was seeing. “I feel like it unlocked a box to have a wider range of thoughts and reasoning around a child.”

She also described the shift as moving from a top-down approach to a bottom-up one. Previously, if a child presented with weak fine motor skills, she would likely begin by targeting fine motor skills directly. Now, she is more likely to first consider what is happening at the sensory level. For example, in the tactile or proprioceptive systems, before moving into higher-level functional skills like pencil grasp or handwriting.

That change has not only affected intervention, but assessment and treatment planning as well. Dani used the analogy of a jigsaw puzzle to explain it: “The assessment tools make the border… but the CLASI assessment helps fill in the gaps of that border so that you’ve got a more solid border.” In other words, it adds information that helps explain how the child performed on other measures, and how their central nervous system may be contributing to their overall presentation.

Rather than simply observing what a child finds difficult, she now feels better equipped to understand why. “It’s not just, ‘Oh, I think this is what’s going on.’ It’s, ‘Well, this looks like it’s the vestibular system, for example. So if that’s what’s going on, then we need to target these areas to help with this area.'"

She also noted that the patterns and frameworks taught through the training gave her a more practical starting point. While not every child fits neatly into a single pattern, she found those frameworks helpful in guiding her early clinical thinking and giving her a clearer sense of where to begin.

What that has meant for children, families and Dani’s career

For Dani, the value of the training is not theoretical — it is visible in practice. She shared the example of a seven-year-old child who was working hard at school but had begun to be seen as a “troublemaker” by her teacher. Through a sensory integration lens, Dani identified that the child needed more vestibular input during the day to remain regulated.

She worked with the school, helped the teacher understand what was happening, and recommended safe, structured opportunities for vestibular input across the day. After that, the child was no longer getting into trouble in the same way. The teacher’s perspective shifted as well, once the child’s behaviour was understood in the context of regulation rather than wilfulness.

She also reflected on the value of having more standardised data when working with complex children and families. In one case, she re-administered an assessment a year after intervention and saw a client’s tactile system move from almost significantly below average into the above average range. For Dani, that kind of result matters because it provides tangible evidence of change. “Sometimes you feel like you’re not doing anything. You don’t know why you’re doing it. And then you look at the raw data and you’re like, wait, I was making a change. I did help them.”

She connected that improvement to meaningful functional outcomes as well. In this client’s case, increased confidence and participation showed up in everyday life, including joining extracurricular activities like cadets and engaging more positively and frequently with peers.

The training has also changed the way Dani communicates with parents and caregivers. It has given her more clarity and language to explain a complex area in a way families can more easily understand and support. “It helps you understand it more clearly yourself, which makes it easier to explain in simple terms so families can understand what their child needs and can get on board with their support.”

Professionally, CLASI has also shaped where she sees her career heading. She described this as the kind of OT work she wants to do for decades. It has influenced her areas of focus within the clinic, contributed to more sensory-complex referrals coming her way, and strengthened her confidence in working with each of the sensory systems. “I feel much more confident now than I did before in targeting those areas.”

For other paediatric OTs considering the training, Dani’s message is clear. It may look overwhelming at first, and it is a lot of learning, but that is because it is comprehensive. In her view, that depth is what makes it powerful. “It is a lot to take in, but once you have those tools, it changes the way you think and the way you practise.” For Dani, that shift has not just built confidence — it has given her a stronger foundation for supporting children in a more informed, targeted and meaningful way.