Bronwynn Saunders
OT
HCPC Registration Number: OT38942
Hello, my name is Bronwynn,
I am a Paediatric Occupational Therapist with over 23 years’ experience, and I am passionate about helping children and young people with complex needs and neurodiversity to participate, connect and thrive.
I qualified as an Occupational Therapist from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa in 2002 before moving to the UK, where I spent eight years working within the NHS as part of the Richmond Children’s Therapy Team in South West London. During this time, I saw first-hand the evolving role of Occupational Therapy within education. As services moved towards the introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), there was an exciting shift from a predominantly medical model of therapy towards a more embedded role within children’s everyday learning environments.
This experience shaped much of my professional philosophy. I believe Occupational Therapists have a unique and powerful role to play in education — not simply in adapting physical environments, but in helping to shape the understanding, confidence, mindsets and skills of the adults who support children every day.
As a qualified Ayres Sensory Integration® Therapist, I am particularly passionate about understanding sensory processing differences and how this can help us to reframe and make sense of behaviour. When we recognise that a child’s behaviour may be communicating an unmet sensory, emotional or environmental need, it can fundamentally change the way we respond to them.
I believe that shifting our perspective from asking, “What is wrong with this child?” to asking, “What is this child communicating, and what might they need from us?” can be transformative. Often, relatively simple changes to our mindset, expectations or environment can have a profound impact on a young person’s ability to engage successfully in learning, social interaction and community life.
Following the birth of my two sons, I returned to South Africa in 2012 and established my own private practice in Johannesburg and later in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. I had the privilege of supporting a number of specialist educational provisions, alongside working closely with families through my clinic, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary working.
In January 2026, my sons and I moved back to the UK. Since returning, I have been working in a busy private clinic in Twickenham, providing specialist assessments as part of the EHCP process and working closely with local schools.
I am incredibly excited to be joining the Words First team. Their core values resonate strongly with me, particularly their commitment to keeping the best interests of the student at the heart of everything they do, grounding interventions in best practice and a strong research base, and valuing truly interdisciplinary working.
I believe the best outcomes for children come when we bring together different perspectives, listen carefully to the young person and those who know them best, and work collaboratively to understand what will enable them to participate and thrive.
Outside of work, life largely centres around being mum to two teenage boys! I can often be found on the sidelines of a sports field at the weekend, coffee in hand. I also love running, and you’ll usually find me out in one of the beautiful parks, podcast playing, making the most of some time outdoors.
