Rewind: Managing Sensory Overwhelm in Parenthood with Larissa Geleris

No One Told Us

Rachael Shepard-Ohta

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, Parenting

4.9 • 590 Ratings

🗓️ 28 August 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Disclaimer: This episode is for entertainment and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please seek immediate care from your physician if you have any concerns about your health. This week, Rachael sits down with occupational therapist Larissa Geleris of @steadyparents to explore a topic that hits home for so many parents: sensory overwhelm. Picture this: you're cooking dinner, the oven fan is on, your baby is crying, your toddler is banging a toy, and your partner is asking you a question. You’re overstimulated, overwhelmed, maybe even raging. Sound familiar? You’re not alone—and this episode is for you. Larissa breaks down what sensory overload really is, how common it is in parenthood, and why it's a completely normal response to an overstimulating environment. She shares her personal story as a pediatric OT who experienced sensory dysfunction after a concussion—and how that shifted her focus to supporting overwhelmed parents just like you. Here’s what they discuss inside this episode: What sensory overwhelm is (and why it’s common in parenting) The “touched out” feeling—why it happens and what to do Quick, practical sensory strategies to use in the moment How to reduce the chances of overwhelm ahead of time Why self-compassion is key to self-regulation How to co-regulate with your child even when you’re dysregulated Tools to help you feel more confident and steady in your day-to-day parenting And so much more! Mentioned in this episode: Larissa’s Instagram: @steadyparents Larissa’s program: Sensing Your Needs in Parenthood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to No One Told Us, the podcast that tells the truth about parenting and talks about all the stuff you wish you knew before having kids.
0:11.2	I'm your host, Rachel Shepard Ota, and today I am so excited to welcome Larissa.
0:16.1	Larissa is an occupational therapist specializing in identifying and treating sensory processing dysfunction.
0:23.0	She began her career in pediatrics, and then I would really love to hear about how you kind of made
0:28.4	this shift. And you're the founder of steady parents, where you provide lots of regulation
0:34.6	strategies for parents who are experiencing overstimulation,
0:38.9	overwhelm, and dysregulation. And you really empower parents and help them feel confident
0:44.8	and steady in their parenting journey. And I absolutely love that. So Larissa,
0:47.9	thank you so much for joining us. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
0:53.1	I'm so excited about about this podcast. I know all the episodes are going to be great. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited about about this podcast.
0:56.1	I know all the episodes are going to be great. And it's an honor to be one of them.
1:00.6	Oh my gosh. Well, thank you. I think this one is going to be something that all parents need to hear.
1:04.8	So I'm really, really excited to kind of dive in. I would love to hear. So I know you're an OT,
1:09.0	but I would love to hear how you kind of
1:12.1	arrived at this like specialty, we'll call it, or, or how you arrived at talking about, you know,
1:19.1	the overwhelm and the sensory side of things. Because OT covers a pretty broad. I'm familiar with
1:24.8	OT just because I was a special ed teacher and I have a child who is in OT,
1:28.2	so I'm familiar with it. And you guys work on such a broad spectrum of things. So how did you
1:33.7	kind of niche into the sensory side of things? That is quite the story. So I originally, when I
1:41.2	went to OT school, so for those of you who don't know, an occupational therapist is a somebody who we support people with a disability or some sort of dysfunction or some barrier that makes it so that they can't do the things that they need to do.
1:59.3	So school, so for pediatrics, for example,
2:02.4	we would support kids with sensory processing disorder or other developmental disabilities
	...

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