Welcome!
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.
This is a space to explore the depths and intricacies of sensory processing in autism and ADHD, the experiences that so often sit quietly underneath behaviour.
We all have a sensory system that works, almost magically, without most of us ever having to think about it. Like our breath, it simply happens.
For many neurodivergent children and adults, that experience can be very different. Sensations can be so intense that they take up almost all of a person’s attention, leaving little room to notice or reach towards anything beyond them. It isn’t that a child is “locked in their own world.” It’s that their capacity to reach outside their sensory experience is deeply affected.
Noise, touch, a sense of where the body is in space: the body may be constantly searching for relief, and many young children don’t yet know how to find it. What others then see can look challenging, unsociable or confusing. Without anyone meaning it to, a distance can grow between a child and the people who care for them.
Often what a child is feeling goes unspoken, not yet understood even by the child themselves. Those around them are doing their very best, yet well-meant support can sometimes add to the overwhelm. Then the urge to run or hide can grow stronger: from others, from the environment, even from their own bodies.
Here, we gently look at what lies underneath. Sensory processing and behaviour are deeply connected. A child’s responses to their surroundings are part of an ongoing conversation between their body and the world around them. That conversation is deeply personal, often complex, and can ask a great deal of a child.
Sensory processing is still widely misunderstood. Many autistic people experience and communicate with their environment through all of their senses, in ways that are profound and intense, yet remain largely unseen and unfelt by those around them.
Until we understand what that experience means for each individual child, we cannot truly know what they need from us or from their environment. By understanding their experience first, we can help them feel more comfortable, secure and available to explore, engage and learn, at home, in the classroom and in the wider world.
As an Early Years professional for more than three decades and an autism specialist for over two decades, I support families and professionals to look beyond behaviour, understand individual sensory needs and find practical, compassionate ways to support each child.
NEW SECOND EDITION — OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK, HARDBACK AND KINDLE
Learning the Language of Autism Through the Senses
Behaviour is communication — and the senses are part of the conversation.
What if, instead of asking "How can we change this behaviour?", we asked "What is this person communicating?"
This book explores all eight sensory systems, including interoception, and how they shape the way an autistic person eats, sleeps, moves, plays, learns and connects. It is written for parents, carers and professionals who want to look beyond behaviour.
Buy on Amazon: Paperback, £14.99 · Hardback, £17.99 · Kindle, £4.99
Sensory Peace · Beyond Coping · Supported to Thrive
About me
I'm Belle Berroyer. My son, a non-speaking autistic young man with complex sensory needs, has taught me more than any course could. More about me
Work with me
I offer 1-to-1 sensory and autism support for families worldwide, plus workshops and talks for schools, colleges and care settings. Together we explore the sensory experiences beneath behaviour and find practical ways to help. Workshops · Fees ·
Mostly our aim is to remove the stereotypes, fears and myths about what autism is, and to advocate acceptance of each person's uniqueness. Many support groups set up by autistic communities are full of wisdom and truth about what being autistic feels like, and non-speaking autistic people are a large part of that.
Watch my practical videos on YouTube: youtube.com/@belleberroyer3054