Therapeutic Support for Neurodivergent Children & Young People
Flexible, body-based therapeutic support for mainstream, specialist & alternative education settings across Kent.
I work with children and young people experiencing anxiety, overwhelm, sensory or emotional dysregulation and SEMH needs, including neurodivergent pupils, those awaiting assessment, and young people who may find approaches relying heavily on verbal communication difficult to access.
My approach is trauma-informed, neurodivergence-aware and adapted around the child or young person in front of me.
When conventional approaches don’t always fit
Schools are supporting increasing numbers of pupils whose emotional, sensory and regulation needs can affect their ability to engage with learning, relationships and everyday life.
Some pupils can explain what is happening for them. Others communicate distress through behaviour, withdrawal, shutdown, avoidance or overwhelm — or simply struggle to put their experiences into words.
Yoga therapy offers a unique way in.
Using movement, breath, sensory and body awareness, mindfulness, creativity and practical regulation tools, I work with young people to develop greater awareness of their own patterns and explore strategies that feel accessible and useful to them.
This is not a yoga class. It is individualised therapeutic work adapted around the pupil.
Who I can support
Support may be appropriate for pupils experiencing:
ASD, ADHD or other forms of neurodivergence
Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs
Emotional or sensory dysregulation
Anxiety, overwhelm or heightened stress
Difficulty recognising or communicating feelings and needs
School-related stress or difficulty managing everyday demands
Withdrawal, shutdown or difficulties engaging
Significant family change or other challenging circumstances
Difficulty accessing interventions that rely heavily on talking
A diagnosis isn't required.
Support can be based on the pupil's presenting needs while they are awaiting assessment or where school and family are beginning to explore whether neurodivergence may be relevant.
Flexible provision for your setting
1:1 Therapeutic Support
Individual sessions for pupils who may benefit from consistent, personalised therapeutic input.
Paired & Small-Group Work
Carefully considered sessions supporting areas such as body awareness, emotional regulation and developing practical tools.
Regular Sessional Provision
I can work within a school for a regular morning, afternoon or agreed block, allowing support to become part of the school's wider pastoral or therapeutic provision.
Short Pilot Blocks
A defined block of sessions can provide an opportunity to explore how the approach works within your setting before considering longer-term provision.
Supporting Regulation, Not Compliance
My aim isn't to make a pupil quieter, more compliant or better able to tolerate an environment that is overwhelming them.
Therapeutic work focuses on helping the young person develop greater awareness of their own body signals, patterns and needs — and discover practical strategies that genuinely support them.
Regulation is not about removing emotion. It's about increasing understanding, agency and choice.
Working alongside your existing support
My work is designed to complement rather than replace existing therapeutic, SEND and pastoral provision.
Where appropriate and with relevant consent, I can work collaboratively with SENCOs, pastoral teams, therapists and other professionals around the child, helping to create consistency between therapeutic sessions and the environments the young person moves through every day.
The approach can be adapted to the needs, existing provision and priorities of each setting.
Why a body-based approach?
Emotional and sensory experiences aren't only cognitive — they are experienced through the body.
A young person may notice a racing heart, muscle tension, restlessness, changes in breathing, a need to move, shut down or escape long before they can explain what they're feeling.
Body-based therapeutic work helps young people begin to recognise these signals and explore what they might be communicating.
For children who struggle to identify or verbalise internal experiences, this can provide another route into therapeutic work.
Let’s discuss what might work in your setting
Every school and every young person is different.
If you're exploring additional therapeutic support for pupils with SEND, SEMH or regulation needs, or would like to discuss how body-based, neurodivergence-aware provision could fit alongside your existing support, I'd be happy to have an initial conversation.
Schools · Specialist Settings · Alternative Provision · Professional Referrals
About Tara
I'm a Level 6 Yoga Therapist with additional training in Child & Adolescent Yoga Therapy.
My work with children and young people is trauma-informed and neurodivergence-aware, with a particular interest in supporting young people experiencing overwhelm, sensory and emotional dysregulation, and those who find conventional talking-based approaches difficult to access.
I hold Safeguarding Children Level 2& 3 training and an Enhanced DBS certificate.
Alongside my private practice, I am co-founder of SHIFTwithin CIC, developing and delivering trauma-informed programmes and resources for children, families and the professionals who support them across Kent.
