STAR Institute for Sensory Processing

10/16/2026

What if behaviors we often label as “just behavior” are actually signs of sensory distress?

In Episode 168 of the Uniquely Human Podcast, Barry and Dave are joined by Dr. Virginia Spielmann (Virginia Spielmann) to explore sensory health and its impact on our emotional and physical well-being.

Together, they discuss how sensory processing goes far beyond sensitivities to sounds, lights, or textures, and why understanding sensory experiences is essential to supporting neurodivergent individuals.

Dr. Spielmann also challenges common misconceptions about behavior, encouraging us to look beyond what we observe and consider the sensory experiences that may be contributing.

The conversation highlights an important reminder: sensory health is a human issue, not just a neurodivergent one, and our sensory differences are part of what makes us uniquely human.

🎧 Listen to Episode 168 of the Uniquely Human Podcast wherever you get your podcasts!

10/16/2026

⏰ LAST DAY to save $40 on our sensory summit, made just for caregivers!

You read the signals no one else notices. You advocate, adapt, and love fiercely, every single day. When the World Is Too Much (or Not Enough) was built to honor those strengths and give you practical sensory information, everyday tools, and a community that understands.

Join us on November 5, 12 & 19, live and virtual from 8:00am–1:30pm MT. Can’t make it live? Every registration includes 60 days of on-demand access, and more presentations are still to be announced.

💛 Early bird: $89 through tonight (regular price $129)
👉 Register now: https://bit.ly/star-vs-sensory-for-parents

Know a parent/caregiver who needs this? Share this post. Every parent deserves a place to feel understood.

10/05/2026

New OT grad? Experienced clinician ready to go deeper? There's a place for you at STAR Institute. 🧠✨
Join a team dedicated to advancing sensory integration and neurodevelopmental care. We provide neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed, client-led therapy, and we believe great care starts with supported clinicians.

As part of STAR, you'll get:
✅ Robust mentorship and supervision
✅ Ongoing training in sensory integration and developmental models
✅ A collaborative, interdisciplinary team
✅ Opportunities to work across the lifespan
✅ Chances to take part in education and research projects
✅ A culture that treats your professional life as an essential occupation

📩 Apply at [email protected] (subject line: OT). Include your resume and a cover letter.
🔗 Position information: https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/occupational-therapist-0

Bonus points if you speak Spanish or have training in Ayres Sensory Integration®, DIR/Floortime, SCERTS, TBRI, NMT, Circle of Security, or trauma-informed care. None of that is required, though. Curiosity is.

10/01/2026

🌟 October is Sensory Awareness Month! 🌟

Every one of us experiences the world through our senses: the hum of a classroom, the texture of a favorite sweater, the pull of movement, the calm of deep pressure, the signals our bodies send from the inside. Sensory health is part of everyone's health, at every stage of life.

Sensory differences aren't something to fix or hide. They're a natural part of human neurodiversity, and they come with real strengths: deep noticing, creativity, attunement to others, a rich connection to the world around us. When we understand how someone's sensory system works, we can build environments, relationships, and supports where they can truly thrive.

💛 This month, help Love Keep STAR Growing 💛

As a nonprofit, we rely on our community to make affirming, high-quality sensory support, education, and resources accessible to every person and family who needs them. Every gift, big or small, helps us reach more children, adults, families, and professionals across the lifespan.

Here's how you can be part of it:
💛 Donate to Love Keeps STAR Growing
💛 Share this post and invite your community to give
💛 Tell us what sensory health means to you using

🔗 Give today: givebutter.com/Nn0wk1
Thank you for helping build a world that honors every nervous system. 💫

By STAR Institute

09/30/2026

Caregivers, this one is for you. 💛 We're excited to welcome Lola Dada-Olley to When the World Is Too Much (or Not Enough), STAR's upcoming virtual summit for parents and caregivers!

Lola is an attorney, TEDx speaker, podcast host, and author of Unapologetically Whole: A Memoir About Autism, Caregiving, and Owning Your Story. She's also the mother of two autistic children and the sister of an autistic brother, and she brings more than 30 years of lived caregiving experience.

In her session, Unapologetically Whole: Belonging, Caregiving, and Reclaiming Yourself in a Neurodiverse World, Lola shares her story and practical reflection to help you:

✨ Notice the signs of caregiver strain and gently care for yourself
✨ Build belonging and community for your child and for you
✨ Redefine what success and thriving look like for your family
✨ Move from just getting through the day toward living fully and authentically

Because caring for your child starts with caring for the whole you. Come as you are, and bring a friend who might need this too.

📅 Day 1: Thursday, November 5 (live, 8:00am–1:30pm MT)
💻 Virtual, with 60-day on-demand replay and community access
🎟️ Early Bird: $89 through October 11 (save $40!)
🔗 Register: https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/when-world-too-much-or-not-enough

09/29/2026

What if regulation support started before the hard moments?

We're thrilled to welcome Dr. Amy Laurent and Dr. Jacquelyn Fede of Autism Level UP! to When the World Is Too Much (or Not Enough), STAR's virtual summit for parents and caregivers!

📅 Day 1: Thursday, November 5 (live, 8:00am–1:30pm MT)
💻 Virtual, with 60-day on-demand replay and community access
🎟️ Early Bird: $89 through October 11 (save $40!)
🔗 Register: https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/when-world-too-much-or-not-enough

Dr. Amy Laurent is a developmental psychologist, pediatric occupational therapist, and co-author of the SCERTS model. Dr. Jacquelyn Fede is a developmental psychologist, Autistic self-advocate, and program evaluator. Both use play, movement, and creativity to meet their own regulation needs, so they truly practice what they teach.

In All Day Long, All Day Strong: Moving Beyond Reactive Support for Regulation, they'll help you:

✨ Understand your child's energy levels and how they connect to engagement and dysregulation
✨ Spot what drains or boosts energy in different settings
✨ Build a regulation plan with proactive, preventive strategies, not just in-the-moment responses

An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure. Here's to fewer "all hands on deck" moments and more calm, connected days for your whole family.

09/25/2026

⏳ One night. Full magic. Zero pressure.
This Sunday is your chance — Low Sensory Night at Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns returns to Hudson Gardens.

✅ 7,000+ glowing pumpkins
✅ Lights lowered, fog reduced
✅ The pace is entirely yours

This is a once-a-season experience, and tickets won't last — grab yours before they're gone.
📍Hudson Gardens | Littleton, Colorado
🎟️ https://magicofthejackolanterns.com/denver/
🗓️ Sunday, September 27 | 7pm-9pm

09/24/2026

At STAR Institute, we believe sensory health is foundational to how people engage with the world. And we're looking for an Occupational Therapist who believes it too. 🌟

We're hiring a full-time OT in Centennial, CO, to serve children, adolescents, and/or adults, depending on your interests and experience. Our work is neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed, and client-led. It's grounded in the STAR Frame of Reference and draws on Ayres Sensory Integration® and DIR/Floortime.

Here, you'll do relationship-based work that centers the whole person and the whole family. You'll do it alongside a collaborative, interdisciplinary team that values curiosity, growth, and innovation.

💼 Full-time | Centennial, CO
💰 $60,000 – $100,000, based on experience
🎓 New grads through experienced clinicians welcome
🔗 More information: https://sensoryhealth.org/basic/occupational-therapist-0

To apply, send your resume and a cover letter about your philosophy on neurodiversity and sensory integration to [email protected]. Put "OT" in the subject line.

09/17/2026

Caregivers, we know this time of year has you figuring out how to make Halloween magical while navigating environments that aren't always built with your family in mind.

We're excited to share an event the whole family can enjoy. On Sunday, September 27, Low Sensory Night returns to Hudson Gardens — the full glowing trail of 7,000+ hand-carved pumpkins and larger-than-life displays, with the lights lowered, the fog reduced, and the pace entirely yours.

No rushing. No pressure. No explaining. Just a night made for your family to wander, wonder, and take in the magic together — however that looks for you. 🎃🧡

No rushing. No pressure. No explaining. Just a night made for your family to wander, wonder, and take in the magic together — however that looks for you. 🎃🧡

This is a once-a-season experience, and tickets won't last — grab yours before they're gone.
📍Hudson Gardens | Littleton, Colorado
🎟️ https://magicofthejackolanterns.com/denver/
🗓️ Sunday, September 27 | 7pm-9pm

09/12/2026

🎃✨ Every family experiences wonder differently — and on Sunday, September 27, the team behind Magic of the Jack O'Lanterns, in collaboration with the STAR Institute, brings back its Low Sensory Night: an evening designed with the neurodivergent community in mind, with lower lights, reduced fog, and a calmer soundscape, so you can take in 7,000+ hand-carved pumpkins and the Enchanted Hollow trail at your own pace, your own way.

Come as you are. Explore how you like. Magic looks different for everyone, and that's exactly the point. 🌙🎃

📍Colorado | Hudson Gardens
🎟️ https://magicofthejackolanterns.com/denver/
🗓️ Sunday, September 27 | 7pm-9pm