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Autism Teaching Methods:
DIR®/Floortime™
Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a child psychiatrist in
the Washington, D.C., area, has written extensively about a strategy of teaching
children with developmental problems through the use of interactive play and
relationships. The child's actions are assumed to be purposeful. It is the
parent's or caregiver's role to follow the child's lead and help him develop
interaction and communication skills.
For example, a boy may enjoy tapping a
toy car against the floor. During a Floortime session, his mother may imitate
the action, or put her car in the way of the child's car. This will prompt the
child to interact with her. From there, the mother encourages the child to
develop more complex play schemes and incorporate words and language into play.
Floortime is more child-directed than some teaching methods. Its goal is
to increase back-and-forth interaction and communication between child
and adult.
School systems may incorporate this strategy
into their programs, but generally do not make this their primary means of
educating young children with autism or PDD. With its strong emphasis on
social and emotional development, the Floor Time method may be a natural complement to a
behavioral teaching program ─
such as Applied Behavior Analysis
─
or to a TEAACH program. Floortime
lacks the controlled research studies of ABA or even TEACCH, but it is being
used successfully by some families who prefer a play-based therapy as a primary or secondary treatment,
especially for toddlers and preschoolers. Floortime advocates say it can be used
along with other therapies.
The full name of this method is the
Developmental,
Individual-Difference,
Relationship-Based, or "DIR® Floortime," model.
The Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL),
which Dr. Greenspan chairs, has published Clinical Practice Guidelines that can
be requested through its
web site.
1.
Floortime DVD Training Series, The Basics: Relating and Communicating by
Stanley Greenspan M.D. and Serena Wieder Ph.D. This two-disk set teaches the
basics of using the Floortime Method to teach your child.
Floortime DVD Training Series. Set 2 Sensory Regulation and Social Interaction
for families who've moved beyond the basics. FloortimeDVD Training Series. Set 3: Symbolic and Logical Thinking
completes their training series.
2. Dr. Greenspan's paper on "Developmental
Patterns and Outcomes in Infants and Children with Disorders in Relating and
Communicating".
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