Case Studies
The BOUNCE Approach® in Practice
Different settings. Different children. One question: what does this child need?
Mainstream Primary School
Engagement Snapshot
Re-run at 4 weeks
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Potential Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Regularly leaving the classroom, refusing written work and becoming distressed during independent tasks.
The Snapshot revealed: cognitive overload, anxiety around making mistakes and difficulties with executive functioning.
What changed: staff understood the distress as cognitive overload, not avoidance – tasks were broken into manageable steps, movement was woven into the day, and executive function barriers were identified before independent work began.
Impact ✓ Remaining in class for longer periods, attempting work more independently and requiring fewer adult prompts.
Primary School
Wellbeing Snapshot
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No Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Frequent stomach aches and headaches, with daily visits to the medical room.
The Snapshot revealed: anxiety and uncertainty were affecting emotional wellbeing and feelings of safety.
What changed: staff understood the body was telling the story of the child’s anxiety – predictable routines and daily emotional check-ins gave the child certainty, and a safe way to be heard before distress grew.
Impact ✓ Attendance improved and medical room visits reduced considerably.
“We’d been seeing as avoidance of work, now we see it as a nervous system under stress.” – Class teacher
Specialist Provision
Transition Snapshot
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Potential Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Refusing to enter the school building following the holidays.
The Snapshot revealed: anxiety around uncertainty and change was preventing successful transitions.
What changed: staff recognised the child was outside their window of tolerance – a gradual transition plan was paired with sensory tools and safe-person to bring them back to a place of safety before any expectation to enter.
Impact ✓ Attending daily and entering school with significantly reduced distress.
Alternative Provision
Regulation Snapshot
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Potential Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Regularly damaging property and becoming verbally aggressive when expectations were placed upon them.
The Snapshot revealed: sensory overwhelm, nervous system activation and low trust in adults.
What changed: staff read the behaviour as a nervous system in survival, not defiance – the environment was adapted, demands were reduced, and language shifted to declarative, low-pressure communication.
Impact ✓ Incidents reduced significantly; the young person was beginning to seek support before reaching crisis point.
“It gave clarity and practical suggestions right at the start, and gave the whole team a shared benchmark to work from.” – Practitioner
SEMH Provision
Regulation Snapshot
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Potential Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Frequently entering school in a heightened state and struggling to settle into learning.
The Snapshot revealed: the child needed movement and sensory input before they could access learning.
What changed: staff recognised the child was arriving dysregulated, not defiant – movement and sensory input were built into the start of every day, before any learning demand was made.
Impact ✓ Morning incidents reduced and engagement during the first lesson improved significantly.
College
Engagement Snapshot
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No Risk
Improved ✓
Before: An autistic student was struggling to attend lessons and complete coursework, despite strong academic ability.
The Snapshot revealed: sensory overwhelm and uncertainty about expectations were reducing engagement.
What changed: staff understood that engagement depends on certainty – expectations were made explicit, sensory load was reduced, movement breaks offered, and changes were signalled in advance rather than discovered.
Impact ✓ Attendance improved and coursework completion increased.
Foster Care
Regulation Snapshot
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Potential Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Frequent emotional outbursts following family contact visits.
The Snapshot revealed: the child required additional recovery time following emotionally demanding experiences.
What changed: carers recognised recovery as a need, not a behaviour – time, reduced demands and body-based calming followed every contact visit, instead of an expectation to return to normal.
Impact ✓ Emotional recovery became quicker and the intensity of meltdowns reduced.
“Once we stopped expecting him to bounce straight back, everything got easier – for him and for us.” – Foster carer
Residential Care
Regulation Snapshot
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Potential Risk
Improved ✓
Before: Frequent conflict with staff during daily routines.
The Snapshot revealed: expectations were often being introduced when the young person was already dysregulated.
What changed: staff had greater confidence in being neurodivergent-affirming and focused on co-regulation before problem-solving – regulation first, expectations second.
Impact ✓ Relationships improved and the frequency of confrontations reduced substantially.
Details have been generalised to protect identity. Snapshots provide a point-in-time summary and should be used alongside professional judgement. They do not replace safeguarding processes.