From Roanoke to the National Stage: Allie Newton Named Keynote Speaker for AOTA Children & Youth Conference

We’re incredibly excited to share some big news from Hands On Play Pediatric Therapy: our founder and CEO, Allie Newton, MS, OTR/L, has been selected as the keynote speaker for the American Occupational Therapy Association’s 2026 Children & Youth Specialty Conference in New Orleans this December.

Allie will deliver the keynote on Friday, December 4, presenting:

“The Decline of Play and the Rise of Dysregulation in Modern Childhood: Implications for Occupational Therapy Practice.”

The presentation will explore how changes in childhood play, movement, independence, and everyday environments may be contributing to the challenges pediatric professionals are seeing more often in areas like emotional regulation, executive functioning, sensory processing, and participation.

It will also focus on something that sits at the heart of the work we do at Hands On Play: before we rush to correct a child’s behavior, we have to get curious about what may be happening underneath it.

Is the child overwhelmed? Are there sensory needs at play? Are executive-function skills still developing? Is the environment too demanding? Is the expectation actually a good developmental fit?

That “look underneath the behavior” lens has become a major part of Allie’s clinical work, teaching, and professional voice.

“Being invited to give the keynote for a national conference in my profession is an incredible honor, and getting to represent Roanoke on that stage makes it even more meaningful,” Allie said. “So much of my work has centered on helping adults understand what a child’s behavior may be communicating before we rush to correct what we see.”

A Year of Growth and Recognition

The keynote announcement comes during a year of exciting growth and recognition for both Allie and Hands On Play Pediatric Therapy.

In 2026, Allie was named to The Roanoker magazine’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2026 and was selected as one of three finalists for the 2026 ATHENA Leadership Award through the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Hands On Play also earned Platinum for Best Pediatric Occupational Therapy Practice in The Roanoker’s 2026 Best of Roanoke awards, marking the practice’s second consecutive Platinum win after also receiving the honor in 2025.

The practice additionally received Silver for Best Mental Health Provider in 2026.

Earlier this year, Allie presented “Managing Big Behaviors in Pediatric OT: A Regulation-First, Executive Function Lens” at the Virginia Occupational Therapy Association’s Child & Youth Conference.

The presentation focused on helping pediatric professionals move away from simply managing surface-level behavior and instead look at the developmental, sensory, executive-function, and regulation skills underneath it.

Attendee feedback described the presentation as practical, organized, evidence-based, and clinically relevant, with multiple participants requesting a longer session and additional advanced training.

Allie also serves on the Virginia Occupational Therapy Association’s Membership Committee and Continuing Education Committee and was recently featured by RoanokeFamily Magazine as a local expert helping families better understand the role occupational therapy can play in supporting children’s development, regulation, and participation.

From One Therapist in the Community to a Growing Regional Practice

Hands On Play Pediatric Therapy was founded in 2022 after Allie identified a need for more flexible, relationship-based pediatric occupational therapy services in the Roanoke region.

What began as one therapist driving throughout the Roanoke Valley to see children in their natural environments has grown into a team serving children and families across Southwest Virginia in homes, schools, childcare centers, community settings, and our Hollins clinic.

That growth has never just been about getting bigger.

It has been about helping families access care that looks at the whole child, supports participation in real life, and recognizes that behavior is often communication.

“Hands On Play started with one therapist driving around the Roanoke Valley trying to meet families where they were,” Allie said. “To see that grow into a team serving families across the region — and now to have the opportunity to bring some of the ideas shaped through that work to a national stage — feels incredibly full-circle.”

What Comes Next

The AOTA Children & Youth Specialty Conference will take place December 4–5, 2026, in New Orleans.

As Allie prepares for the keynote, she will continue sharing pediatric OT education around topics including emotional regulation, sensory processing, ADHD, executive functioning, developmental play, and understanding the skills and needs underneath children’s behavior.

To follow more of Allie’s educational content, visit Allie Newton OT on social media or follow along here on the Hands On Play blog.

We’re so excited to see where this next chapter leads.