DIR Floortime emphasizes the therapist or parent’s entry into the child’s world, based on the child’s natural interests, to support the child’s emotional and cognitive development.
Floortime is a relationship-based therapy for children with developmental delays, learning disabilities, and autism. The intervention is called Floortime because the parent gets down on the floor to play with the child and engage with the child at their level. The main goal of this approach is to strengthen the child’s communication, emotional bonding, and problem-solving skills.
Floortime is an alternative to ABA and is sometimes used in conjunction with ABA therapies.
The goal of adults is to help children extend their ‘communication chains.’ They meet the child at their developmental level and build on their strengths.
Therapists and parents engage children through activities that each child enjoys. They join the child’s play. They follow the child’s lead.
What is the history of Floortime?
Floortime was created by child psychiatrists Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder. It is based on the Developmental Individual-difference Relationship-based (DIR) model. Greenspan developed the DIR model in the 1980s as a therapy for children with various developmental delays and issues.
What is the evidence that Floortime works?
In a 2003 study, Dr. Greenspan and Dr. Wieder examined Joey, a child on the autism spectrum who practiced Floortime with his father for three years. During this time, Joey received six Floortime sessions per day. He consistently progressed, and the two scientists concluded that Floortime helped Joey’s progress.
Similarly, a pilot study conducted by independent researchers in 2007 showed that Floortime significantly improved emotional development and reduced the core symptoms of autism, a finding also supported by Canada.