Power up with Play: Applying Neuroscience to Build Resilience, Connection, and Confidence at Home and in School Verified listing

Play is more than fun — it’s the foundation of how children learn, connect, and grow.

In this half-day workshop, internationally recognised experts Professor Anita Bundy and Dr. Shelly Lane will show parents and teachers how play shapes the brain, why it’s essential for wellbeing, and how to nurture play and playfulness across home and school life.

Through real-life examples and practical problem-solving, you will learn to:

• Recognise the many ways play shows up in children, including those with diverse learning needs and neurodivergence.
• Tune into your children’s intrinsic motivations in play, and learn how to create environments and opportunities that meet them where they are — making play more meaningful and joyful.
• Support play and playful interactions that build trust, confidence, belonging, and resilience.
• Find simple, everyday opportunities to weave play into routines at home and in the classroom, making life feel calmer and more connected.

By the end of the workshop, you will walk away with fresh insight into why play matters, plus practical ideas to nurture play/playfulness for all children, whether at home, in classrooms, or in the wider community.

Meet Your Presenters:

Professor Anita Bundy

Professor Anita Bundy is a world leader in occupational therapy, known for her groundbreaking research in play, sensory integration, and child development. She developed the Test of Playfulness (ToP), a widely used assessment that has shaped research and practice internationally, and led the Sydney Playground Project, which demonstrated how everyday play opportunities foster resilience, independence, confidence, and social participation. A prolific author and co-editor of Sensory Integration: Theory and Practice, Professor Bundy has received occupational therapy’s highest honors, including the AOTA Award of Merit and the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship Award, recognising her outstanding contributions to the field. Her expertise lies in helping professionals understand the intrinsic value of play as an occupation, and how its neural and behavioural foundations make it essential for healthy development and wellbeing. Her work has transformed the way therapists, educators, and communities around the world view play — not as “just fun,” but as a powerful driver of learning, growth, and inclusion.

Dr Shelly J Lane

Dr. Shelly Lane is an internationally respected occupational therapist and neuroscientist whose career spans more than 45 years in pediatric practice, education, and research. As Academic Program Director at Colorado State University and Director of the Sensory Integration, Play & OT Research Lab, she has helped bridge the gap between neuroscience and practice for generations of therapists and educators. Her research has advanced understanding of how the brain supports play, participation, and sensory processing, with projects ranging from father–child playfulness, to autism interventions, to the physiological correlates of sensory modulation disorders. She has co-edited and authored seminal texts including Kids Can Be Kids and the 3rd edition of Sensory Integration: Theory and Practice, both with Professor Anita Bundy. Recipient of the AOTA Roster of Fellows Award, Dr. Lane is recognised worldwide for redefining play as not only a therapeutic medium but also a vital occupation in its own right. Her work highlights how playful engagement fosters resilience, attention, and connection, offering educators, clinicians, and families new ways to understand and support all children, including those who are neurodivergent.

About the Event

Registration from 8.30am
Event: 9am-1pm
Buy Tickets here https://www.tickettailor.com/events/prosperhealthcollective/1861821

Morning tea provided

About the Host:

This workshop is a collaboration between Prosper Health Collective and its training arm, Prosper Health Academy. Prosper Health Collective is a health practice founded by Dr Kellie Cassidy (Clincial Psychologist) in 2014. Prosper Health provide psychology, occupational therapy, speech pathology and psychiatry services to people across the lifespan. We have practices in Boorgaoon, Stirling and Canning Vale. Our core mission is to help people flourish and thrive in their lives. Prosper is dedicated to providing clients with quality, evidence-based interventions and invests heavily in ensuring that team members are trained in interventions such as this event.