Innovation, Iteration and Co-production - ISIC Poster · The Sensory Ladders™️ Project

Innovation, Iteration and Co-production - ISIC Poster

We are sharing our ISIC poster alongside this reflection, because it captures something central to Sensory Ladders®: co production is not a slogan. It is how the work was built, and how it continues to grow.

Bridging the Gap | From Sensory Motor Processing to Human Occupation with Sensory Ladders®

This is one of the posters presented at ISIC:

What we mean by co production

There are three living layers to this.

The concept itself was co produced. Sensory Ladders®️ did not arrive fully formed. They grew organically in collaboration with people using services, families, and clinicians.

In learning disability and mental health services, we needed a way to make sensory experience visible in a way that protected dignity and supported participation. People described what overwhelmed felt like. What underpowered felt like. What helped. What made things worse.

We trialled versions together.

We changed language when it felt reducing.

We refined structure when it felt confusing.

The framework evolved through feedback, reflection, and active participation. Lived experience shaped the structure as much as theory did.

Every individual ladder is co produced. No two Sensory Ladders®️ are the same. Each ladder is created with a person, not for them.

The steps are named together.

The wording reflects the person’s own language.

The levels link directly to real occupations, roles, and environments.

The making of the ladder builds shared understanding. It supports agency, reduces misinterpretation, and strengthens relational response.

It is not about placing someone into a type. It is about recognising unique patterns and building a shared map that supports meaningful doing.

Translation is also co produced. As Sensory Ladders®️ are translated internationally, this is done in collaboration with therapists within each cultural and linguistic context.

Translation is not simply about swapping words. It involves:

• ensuring metaphors make sense locally

• aligning examples to cultural norms

• protecting dignity in language

• retaining the core participation first principles

We work carefully to preserve what mattered most to the people who first helped create Sensory Ladders, while allowing cultural authenticity in each setting.

Why this matters

Our ISIC poster shows how Sensory Ladders®️ bridge sensory motor processing and human occupation. They operationalise Ayres Sensory Integration theory in a way that is relational, practical, and participation focused.

Co production is embedded:

• in the origin

• in each ladder created

• in global translation and dissemination

If you are using Sensory Ladders®️ in practice, teaching, or translation, you are part of that ongoing co production.

We would love to hear:

Where have you seen co production make the biggest difference in your work?

#ayressensoryintegration

#sensoryladders

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