DIR Floor Time

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DIR Floor Time

• Presented By
• Tracy Vail,MS,CCC/SLP
• Speech/Language Pathologist

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Floor time

• A warm and intimate way of relating to a child.
  A floor time philosophy means engaging,
  respecting and getting in tune with the child in
  order to help the child elaborate through
  gestures, words and pretend play what is on the
  childs mind. As a technique it is a process
  that is used to support the emotional and social
  development of the child. (Greenspan, 2002)

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Parent- Teacher Role

• A very active play partner who follows the
  childs lead.
• Play at whatever captures the childs interest
  but do it in a way that encourages the child to
  interact with you.
• Build emotion-driven reciprocal behaviors in
  relationships.
• Play environment and adult interactions vary
  depending on the childs developmental level.

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6 Developmental Stages

• Shared Attention
• Joyful Engagement
• Purposeful 2-way Communication
• Build Chain of Circles of Communication
• Use of Ideas and Feelings
• Build Bridges of Ideas Prompting Logical Thought

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Five Step Process

1. Observation of Child
2. Approach- Open Circles of Communication.
3. Follow the Childs Lead
4. Extend and Expand Play
5. Child Closes the Circle of Communication

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Shared Attention and Joyful Engagement

• Deal with sensory profile of child- If under
  responsive, rev up. If over responsive, talk
  quietly and slowly.
• Create Challenges to motivate child into focusing
  on care giver.
• Be playfully obstructive to gain interaction.
• Assume the childs actions meet his current
  needs.
• Join in his activity by doing what he is doing.
• Create atmosphere of shared enjoyment by sharing
  his pleasure.

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Join In!
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Follow the Childs Lead
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Shared Enjoyment
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Purposeful 2-Way Communication

• Foster simple back and forth communication.
• Gain childs attention with affect.
• Change facial expressions and/or body movements
  rapidly.
• Mimic childs body postures and rhythms
• Do silly things!
• Let childs natural interests emerge

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Tools for Building Engagement

• Have stimmy toys only available with adults
• Organize space to require interactions
• Play dumb
• Reinforce all vocal attempts
• Give the child multiple tools to communicate.
• Have FUN!

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Be Silly!
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Mimic
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Foster Communication
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Use Stories
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More Stories!
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Use Music
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More Music!
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Build Chains of Circles of Communication

• Open and close many circles
• Set up challenges in environment
• Foster complex problem solving
• Make yourself available
• Extend gestures and words

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Tools for Building Chains of Communication

• Use fill-ins rather than questions
• Use sing-song intonation
• Build relationships between words
• Stay with childs special interests
• All questions have answers
• Keep the child successful- Prompt then fade your
  prompts

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Open and Close Circles
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Shape Speech
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Give Child a Way to Communicate - Signs
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Make Sure Child will be a Successful Communicator
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Picture Exchange
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Sounds and Pictures
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Be Sure to Fade Prompts
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Shape and Fade
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Use of Ideas and Feelings

• Transition from circles to complex imitation
• Transition from complex imitation to pretend play
• Adult becomes a character in the child initiated
  drama
• Allow child to lead, care giver builds on script
• Dont use question/answer format, keep open ended

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Build Play Scripts
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Give Choices
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Be Available to Meet Childs Needs
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Child Initiates Drama
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Build Bridges of Ideas Prompting Logical Thought

• Prompt Bridges through the use of Wh questions.
• Form dialogs and pretend play to hook ideas
  together
• Encourage childs use and understanding of
  abstract ideas
• Use developmentally appropriate language

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Pretend Play

• The transition to pretend play is a very
  important leap in childhood. It involves the use
  of symbols in creative ways. The child with
  special needs lots of practice. Begin when the
  child can close many communication circles.

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Tools of Play

• Thicken the plot
• Expand the direction
• Introduce challenge or conflict
• Negotiate
• Monitor your own feelings
• Dont over direct

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Typical Play Themes

• Nurture and dependency
• Pleasure and excitement
• Curiosity and limit setting
• Power and assertiveness
• Anger and aggression
• Fears and anxieties
• Love, empathy, concern for others

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Use Questions to Guide Play Script
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Become a Character in Play
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Teach Abstract Concepts through Play
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Teach Negotiation and Planning
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Floor Time Guidelines

• 20-30 minutes of uninterrupted time
• Stay patient and relaxed
• Dont worry about looking silly
• Empathize with childs emotional tone and mood
• Monitor tone of voice and gestures
• Dont stop successful activities
• Be aware of your own feelings that may interfere
  with efforts
• Set your limits and be consistent

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The Hard to Woo child

• Build on sensory preferences
• Ascribe intent to all behaviors
• Playfully obstruct
• Use blankets, veils, scarves to build mutual
  attention
• Use water, shaving cream, paint, whipped cream
• Use a variation of favorite things

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Monitor Yourself

• Do I balance whats showing up in the child?
• Do I give gentle looks?
• Is my body posture supportive?
• Am I able to help the child identify play themes?
• Do I approach the child slowly with respect and
  thoughtfulness?

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Home Based Opportunities for Floor Time

• Dressing and undressing
• Mealtime
• Car time
• Coming and going time
• Bath time
• Book time
• Bedtime

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Turning Every Day Activity into Problem Solving

• Chair not close to table when meal arrives
• Bottle not open when you try to pour juice
• Bathtub empty at bath time
• Shoes hidden from usual place
• Changing location of favorite toys
• Put 2 socks on same foot
• Put shirt on feet
• Give child adult shoes
• Mix 2 sets of puzzle pieces

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The Bottom Line

• People are fun!
• Communication is fun!
• Communication is valuable.
• Emotions are important.
• Play mimics life.

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Thank You for Listening!