Hi! I’m Sheila Farnell.

I am a Pediatric Occupational Therapist with over 25 years of experience working with children in a variety of settings including in their homes, schools, daycares, rehabilitation centers, and with acute pediatric needs in the hospitals and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU).  I have worked in a number of places across Canada including Saskatchewan, Labrador, and Nunavut. 

Assisting and empowering children, their families, and their communities to help develop their full potential in overall developmental motor and sensory milestones is a passion of mine. I have had the honour and privilege of working with the Inuit, Innu, and other Indigenous peoples in their communities.

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I enjoy mentoring and sharing my knowledge in the areas of Occupational Therapy related to children development and skills achievement. I have also participated in a pilot project during one school year in the schools of 5 communities in the Kivalliq Health Region of Nunavut, advocating for the effectiveness of Occupational Therapy services for school age children in order to help them establish Occupational Therapy services as an integral part of their school's teams. I was also part of a promising pilot project here in Regina looking to establish the considerable effectiveness of occupational therapy care for pre-school aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

I am a creative, neuro-diversity affirming, strengths-based professional with extensive training and experience in working with pre-school, school, and adolescent aged children to develop their self-regulation strategies and needs-management skills for any sensory processing needs, difficulties with the fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and any of the other vast activities of daily living.  We can work together to build their confidence in things such as dressing skills, toileting skills, mealtime and environmental based strategies, and the sensory-motor skills of eating . This assists and enhances achievement in their rich and changing daily routines, experiences, and opportunities.

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As a Self-Reg™ Facilitator, I can demonstrate a holistic approach to understanding what self-regulation is and work together to find and build individualized strategies tailored to your child’s needs for managing sensory and emotional regulation. I do so using the principles of Self-Reg™ as the frame work and Sensory Integration as my guide.

Please visit my useful links for more information on Self-Reg™ .

I am a member in good standing with the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT), the Saskatchewan College of Occupational Therapists (SCOT), formerly the Saskatchewan Society of Occupational Therapists (SSOT) as well as the Newfoundland Occupational Therapy Board (NLOTB). I am listed on the Autism Registry for the province of Saskatchewan as a provider of Occupational Therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

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I consider myself a life-long learner in both my professional and personal life.  When I am not focusing on the care and growth of my clients and colleagues, I am passionate about giving my time to local animal rescue organizations and providing a safe foster home for animals and their families in need.  During the rest of my time I love reading, doing puzzles, playing board games, drawing, walking in the city's beautiful green spaces with my dog Kenji, and traveling wherever life will take me.

Please email me at sheilafarnell@Purpose-FullPlayOT.org and kindly fill out the intake form if you want to know more about what I do so we can work together to help both you and your child.

Let me show you how we can help your child grow!