DIR/Floortime

DIR/Floortime is a way of relating to a child in which we recognize and respect the emotional experience of the child, shown in their actions, ideas, and intentions, and interact in a way that helps the child achieve a greater sense of purpose, building their capacity to engage and communicate at increasingly complex levels of functional development. In this naturalistic and play-based approach to working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental challenges, parents are coached in following the child’s natural emotional interests (i.e., child's lead) and at the same time challenging the child towards greater mastery of the social, emotional and intellectual capacities. Parents are taught to identify their child’s subtle cues, respond contingently to the child’s intentions, and effectively engage the child in reciprocal exchanges, building the way to increasingly more complex interactions, communication, and thinking. Individual differences in sensory reactivity, auditory and visual-spatial processing, motor planning, and praxis are carefully assessed and inform intervention.

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”   --Michelangelo