Áine Farrell, M.Ed. (Hons)

Sensory-informed Neurodevelopmental Therapist, Johansen Auditory integration Therapist; Educator | Programme Designer

Áine Farrell is Director of Programmes, Lead Tutor, and Course Designer at Developmental Foundations for Learning – Training (DFLTraining). With over three decades of experience in primary education, and advanced specialisation in Sensory Integration and Neurodevelopmental Therapy (NDT), she brings depth of clinical reasoning, educational insight, and structured methodology to both her therapy and training work.

Clinical Practice

Based in Mullingar, Áine works directly with children and young people presenting with learning differences, sensory processing challenges, retained primitive reflexes, and neurodevelopmental delay.

Her approach integrates:

• Sensory regulation frameworks

• Reflex integration methodologies

• Postural and motor development sequencing

• Ocular motor efficiency training

• Individualised neurodevelopmental programming

Qualified across multiple NDT modalities, she tailors each programme to the child’s specific neurological profile, ensuring intervention is precise, progressive, and functionally relevant.

Programme Development & Innovation

Áine is the creator and director of the Sensory Motor Summer Programmes, successfully delivered for eight consecutive years. These structured programmes provide mainstreamed autistic children with an organised, supportive environment to strengthen movement foundations, sensory processing capacity, and emotional regulation.

She has also developed:

• Targeted ocular motor development programmes for Special Education Teachers and parents

• In-service training modules focused on classroom readiness, reading efficiency, and writing foundations

• School-based professional development workshops under the SENSORY SMART framework

These workshops equip teachers and SNAs with practical observation tools and immediately applicable strategies to enhance regulation and learning readiness within the classroom.

Role within the Therapist Training Diploma

As Lead Tutor and Course Designer, Áine:

• Designs and structures the full Diploma curriculum

• Develops assessment frameworks and clinical competency standards

• Delivers core teaching modules

• Integrates evidence-based theory with applied clinical practice

• Mentors students in developing robust neurodevelopmental reasoning

Her teaching model is experiential, reflective, and clinically grounded, ensuring graduates leave not only with knowledge, but with the capacity to assess, design, and implement structured developmental programmes safely and effectively.

Professional Vision

At this stage of her career , knowledge dissemination and professional formation have become central pillars of Áine’s work. DFLTraining was founded to create a high-quality, structured pathway for therapists, educators, and professionals seeking rigorous training in sensory and neurodevelopmental practice.

She curates rich, hands-on learning experiences and collaborates with specialist tutors in areas such as Rhythmic Movement Therapy and advanced Sensory & NDT practice, ensuring breadth and depth within the programme.

DFL Training reflects Áine’s commitment to raising professional standards and empowering practitioners to understand, assess, and support the developmental foundations that underpin learning and emotional regulation.

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