BUSS® began as a clinical intervention for children who have experienced disruption to their early development. It was developed by Sarah Lloyd when she was working in a joint Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service / Social Work team supporting foster carers and the children they were looking after. Building on many years of work as an Occupational Therapist and Play Therapist in CAMHS, BUSS® was designed to augment existing therapies, bringing alongside them an understanding of how critical good bodily regulation is for the development of emotional regulation, relationships and learning for a child.
Good bodily regulation is knowing our own body from the inside out, having a sense of agency and knowing that (most of the time) our body will do what we need it to do without us having to pay much conscious attention to it. So, we can walk and chat without having to think about the walking part of things, or sit down for a meal with friends without our body having to concentrate on sitting, or worry that picking up our fork might destabilise our sitting position. We know the difference between a tummy that’s hungry and how it feels when we’re nervous or excited. We feel pain if we hurt ourselves, and can discern which noises in our environment we need to pay attention to, and which can be ignored. We want children to grow into their bodies and have that sense of agency that they can do what ever they want to, without having to use their conscious attention to manage their body and environment. To be able to run without bumping or tripping, so that running can be part of a game, or be able to sit in a class and concentrate on what the teacher is saying, rather than trying to manage their body to keep still.
The development of foundation sensorimotor systems and bodily regulation starts in utero and continues once the baby has been born, through loving nurture, touch and movement, in the early years. Lots of things can get in the way of this progression, including things like illness, prematurity, neglect or abuse. Where that has happened, we may notice children struggling to move and play in a way that looks smooth and well-coordinated. They might bump into things or fall over more than their peers. They might over or under respond to things in their everyday environment, like noise or touch. Things like sitting down and writing or eating might be challenging. Sometimes children can describe a sense of not being able to get their body to do what they’re wanting it to do, and develop ways of compensating for that, perhaps by doing things very fast or avoiding situations where those skills are needed.
A lot of work with children who have experienced disruption to their development focuses on relational and psychological therapies. These can be complemented by an intervention like BUSS® which is a ‘bottom up’ therapy, building that foundation of good bodily regulation and relationship so that a child or young person is more able to use other relationships and therapies if they might be helpful to them.
BUSS® was developed to bring together the importance of loving relationships with the development of bodily regulation. Observations from clinical work, the feedback we have from parents and children and the evidence that we’re gathering from research, shows us that even if this process didn’t happen at the right stage of development, it’s not too late! The brain has amazing capacity to fill in the gaps in foundation sensorimotor systems, when a child or young person is in an environment where they’re loved and well cared for. BUSS® can be used from birth to early adulthood and we find that however old a child or young person is, establishing a good foundation of bodily regulation helps with play, emotional regulation, friendships, and learning.
One of the cornerstones of BUSS® is that the relationships that a child and young person has with their parents and carers is the most important relationship. We want to work alongside parents and carers so that they can support the development of their child’s foundation sensorimotor systems. We talk about parents and carers being the main agents of change – we can support and guide, but the work that is done at home is what builds regulation. And it’s great see that, by working in this way, those relationships also grow.
Our intention is that the BUSS® Model can enhance the practise of professionals working with children who have experienced disruption in their early lives. It’s not intended to be an alternative to other ways of working, but rather to sit alongside the skills and expertise of professionals working with children. There is a training programme for professionals who wish to develop their skills in using this model with children and families so that we can be sure that the high standards that we set and fidelity to the model are maintained. All Accredited BUSS® Practitioners must have their BUSS® work supervised by a BUSS® Consultant.
We work in partnership with Oakdale Therapies to offer BUSS® as an individual programme of work to toddlers, children, young people and their families. We also run LEAPlets, the BUSS® in Early Years groups in Leeds in collaboration with Leeds Virtual School and the Therapeutic Social Work Team, aiming to work with all 3 year olds in Leeds and their foster or kinship carers, as part of a school readiness programme. We train and support other professionals to run LEAPlets in fostering and adoption services across England, Ireland and Wales. We work with Virtual Schools and individual primary schools, training and supporting education colleagues to deliver LEAPlets in their settings. We are currently piloting work in schools where children are starting below age expected norms of development, to see whether a BUSS® lens can helpfully support the work of school for these children and their families. More details of that will follow when we’ve finished our initial evaluation!
We hope that you’ll find this website useful – there’s information about the model, therapy, LEAPlets groups, BUSS® in education, and training. There are also reflections from parents and professionals who have used the model on each of these pages. We’re always happy to talk to people so do get in touch with us if we can be of any help – info@bussmodel.org.
– Louise Michelle Bombèr, Founding Director of TouchBase.org.uk
– Diane McSharry, Education Officer for Children with a Social Worker at Cumbria Virtual School
– Candia Slaughter and Mel Campbell, Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapists, Therapeutic Services and Trauma Team at Beacon House
"The most interesting part was listening to Sarah explain the model in such an informative engaging, warm, and passionate way"
“For her to feel comfortable walking down the stairs without being afraid was the biggest accomplishment I can think of, and in a very short space of time. I would definitely highly recommend this work; an essential understanding of what has been missed or gotten stuck and how it affects the body.”
This will be the most valuable training you could ever do. Totally changed my thinking and understanding of the children I work with. The BUSS Model is the missing piece of the jigsaw and Sarah makes her incredible knowledge so accessible. One not to miss.
"Thank you all for your amazing support all the way through – the training and supervision is fantastic and so thoughtful. Honestly the best training I have done!"
"A fascinating much needed training. Really well delivered and balance of theory and real life experience."
"Very well explained - loved the use of analogies, good overview of theoretical underpinnings with practical strategies. Inspiring, Informative, and engaging"
"Inspiring, excellent, and thought provoking. Loved how active the training session is. The videos were really helpful."
"I found it interesting, thought-provoking, and enlightening. A lightbulb moment!"
“It’s been a fantastic, thought provoking training – highlights simple techniques that can make such a huge qualitative difference to our children’s lives!”
"I think it's worked brilliantly and I've found it easier to fit into my life in terms of childcare and work commitments."
"It’s amazing that something that’s so completely life changing can be so much fun!”
"It was fun! I most enjoyed the interactive parts of the day, and found the atmosphere to be friendly and relaxed throughout. Good use of metaphors and analogies, and videos throughout to aid explanations"
“We were struggling to understand how this physical work could help her emotionally, but the improvement so far has been remarkable. We have noticed that her reactions to unexpected situations are much more measured, school has fed back that she is calmer when she is there and that they can reason with her much more easily, she seems to be able to stay in the moment a little longer and generally seems less angry and frustrated all round. We will be continuing with great gusto and hoping that the improvements will continue!”
“The best thing is that the strategies are easy to do – don’t focus on feelings and emotional issues. Children might enjoy the practical suggestions rather than trying to explain ‘why’ they’re doing something they shouldn’t.”
“Very inspiring trainer: so passionate and knowledgeable with a cheeky sense of humour brought everything alive.”
“Thank you, really motivated to incorporate this into school”
“The impact so far on our daughter is remarkable. Our main concerns were around the way she manages her emotions, mainly at school and when playing with other children. She can feel very angry very quickly at seemingly small things. She also struggles to sit still and can’t cope with unpredictability. These were impacting on her friendships and her learning.”
“My own personal understanding of what’s going on with my child and what they need is incredible. I have learned so much in the last few months and become really creative in how to use the sensory integration techniques in everyday life. Taste tests, exercise balls, balancing and combat crawling fun games that have been adapted to suit my child.”
"I think my balance has really improved - i can do skateboarding now and that makes me feel happy. I feel as if I've accomplished something that I used to think was really scary"
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