LEAPlets: an interview with Sarah Lloyd from the BUSS Model

Helping little ones thrive: Sarah Lloyd on LEAPlets and the BUSS model

Sometimes the smallest steps make the biggest difference. LEAPlets® grew out of Sarah Lloyd’s work with children in foster care and adoption, when she saw how many were struggling at school because their early experiences hadn’t given them the movement, nurture, and connection they needed. Based on the BUSS® (Building Underdeveloped Sensorimotor Systems) Model, the sessions are full of songs, play, and gentle activities that help children feel more settled in their bodies and emotions. In our chat with Sarah, she shares how LEAPlets® began, what happens in a session, and the meaningful changes she’s seen in families along the way.

What was the original vision behind LEAPlets®, and why was it important to you to create something like this for families?

LEAPlets® is a group for pre-school children and their foster or adoptive parents.  It started when I was working in the Therapeutic Social Work Team in Leeds, working with children in foster care, and we were getting lots of referrals for 4 and 5 year old children who weren’t managing school. When I met these children and their foster carers it was clear that their bodies didn’t have a good enough foundation of bodily regulation that would have allowed them to manage school. So I approached the Virtual School and suggested I develop a groupwork programme for children where there’s been disruption at the beginning of their life that might have interfered with the kind of movement, nurture and experiences of being touched, held and carried that a baby’s body needs to build bodily regulation. That was the birth of LEAPlets.

It is based on the BUSS (Building Underdeveloped Sensorimotor Systems) Model, which understands that where there’s been disruption at the earliest part of a child’s life, this affects them on a bodily as well as an emotional level. We often hear people talking about a child being dysregulated, and by this they usually mean that they’re struggling to manage their feelings in that moment. Underpinning good emotional regulation is a foundation of bodily regulation. But disruption is different to disorder, and while these children may have difficulties with moving and being overwhelmed by the world around them, it is possible to go back and fill in the gaps in their touch, nurture and movement experiences so that they don’t have to use so much energy managing their bodies and things can get easier for them. This means that they’re in a better place to play, make friends and relate, and learn.

Following the success of the Leeds LEAPlets® groups, I developed a manualised version of the group to train professionals around the country to run these – and currently we have between 15 and 25 groups running at any one time across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Can you walk us through what a typical LEAPlets® session looks like – what can a child or family expect?

The child’s experience of the group is that they’re with their parents or carers, singing songs and action rhymes; crawling, climbing and playing on gym equipment; playing blowing and sucking or finding games; and reading stories. All of these are designed to support parents and carers to become more attuned to, and gain a greater understanding of, their child’s foundation sensorimotor systems. The group is designed to offer ideas and experience of games and activities that can be continued outside the group to fill in gaps in the nurture, movement and touch experiences of their child, building both bodily regulation and parent–child relationships

What age group is LEAPlets® aimed at, and what kinds of needs or circumstances is it best suited to support?

LEAPlets® is intended to be an early intervention group, so ideally children are rising 3 when they come to the group. The upper age limit is 6. It’s suitable for families who are able to commit to come to each session (including the pre group session where we talk a lot about what we’ll be doing), and also have the capacity to be able to continue with some of the games and activities at home.

Can you share a story or example where a child or family really flourished after joining LEAPlets®?

So many! What’s really great is that parents and carers coming to the group have often not thought much about bodily regulation and so once they start to recognise it, and start doing some of the activities at home as well as in the group, the start to see not only changes in how their child moves around, they see big shifts in emotional regulation, how their child plays and interacts and this then has a big impact on relationships.

How do you see the change in children over time – what are the common outcomes that come from engaging with the programme?

I’ll leave it to our parents and carers to give some of their thoughts!

One carer commented that “balance, core strength, concentration, even her speech has improved.” Another spoke of her child having “more self control on anger, realising when she is tired or thirsty. Not as many battles.” One carer said that her child was “happier, now knows when she is thirsty & hungry. She sleeps a lot better.” Another said their child is “able to sit longer, follow simple instructions and can now take turns.”

LEAPlets groups in Stoke-on-Trent

Here in Stoke-on-Trent, Gateway Psychology is delighted to offer LEAPlets® groups for children and their carers. These sessions are a space to play, connect, and gently build the skills and foundations that make life and learning a little easier. If you think LEAPlets could be a good fit for your family, we’d love for you to join us – have a look at our upcoming events to find out when the next group starts.