The Overview On DIR Model for Autistic Children

The Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship Model or DIR model is one of the most successful methods of starting the schooling and learning needs of kids with special abilities. Out of all the ways and means developed by various institutes to help autistic kids lead a normal life and provide for everything on their own, the DIR model is the widely used ones with the best success rate. The model primarily involves helping the development of neurobiological factors that can otherwise create a barrier in between parents and kids.

The developmental defines making activities that can help in the communication of kids with their loved ones. The symbols, languages, and signs that can help them communicate the immediate needs are taken care of in this part. The individual differences include the use of things that catch their natural interest and attention and use them for learning.  R or Relationship refers to relationships with caregivers that are the vehicle for affect-based developmentally appropriate interactions.

The idea basically revolves around the parents, teachers, siblings and other loved ones engaging in a floor time therapy that is pleasurable and educational at the same time. Spending time in an environment that is comfortable for the child and doing things that are of his/her natural interest can open up their prospects of learning to a large extent.

This can further help the parents and the therapists to ensure that the steps taken in their learning and education are going in a positive way and develop lessons on the same path.

The sessions can either be taken in a formal environment or an informal one depending on the comfort level of the child. Most of the teachers in the special education school are very well versed with this model and adopt in on daily basis with their students to develop a long-term understanding of them.

The sessions also involve the presence of parents to a large extent so that they learn ways and means of communicating and learning with their kids in a constructive environment. This can open up a lot of barriers to communication that is otherwise present in between the parents and the child.

Here Is Exactly What Special Education Schools Do For Kids In NYC

If you have discovered recently that your child needs special education then chances are you have heard that he/she will have to go to a school that has SEIT or special education iterant teachers. They are qualified to take care of your child in every aspect of the word and can provide the building blocks for your child to be self-dependent and self-sufficient in the future.

But before you leap onto an opportunity of getting your child into a special education school in NYC, it is imperative to know the works of teachers over there and how exactly will they end up helping your child. Some of the details about these teachers have been mentioned hereby.

The basic idea behind hiring these teachers is to enable the specially abled kids to perform alongside the other lot in the long run. They are certified in this kind of task. The teachers primarily hold a bachelors degree and are supposed to have a state license in special education to give developmental skills to children. The course enables them to know the basic of handling specially abled kids and then they can specialize further in an area of their interest with more certified programs run by the state.

The special education schools work with kids who have speech delays and motor disabilities. The teachers have two primary functions to perform in such cases:

• To assist the students in keeping up with the happenings of the classroom and making them learn in their way of interest.
• To provide assistance in developing a schedule that works best for small groups who have similar abilities to grasp the learning in the class.

The teachers also develop an IEP or an Individualized education plan that takes into consideration the interest of these kids and thereafter formulate learning around their interests so as to expand their horizon and make learning an easy task to accomplish on daily basis. The teachers also assist the therapist in the upkeep of sessions for speech and other therapy that are helpful in boosting the confidence of kids and get their comfort zones to expand over a period of time.

An Insight into the Common steps used in DIR/Floortime Therapy

Developmental, Individual-Deference, Relationship-Based model (DIR) and Floortime Therapy model are one of the most popular models for helping build healthy foundations in children with learning disabilities. The Floortime therapy model focuses specially on building social, emotional and intellectual skills rather than focusing on isolated skills and behaviors. It was developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan.

The DIR/Floortime model focuses on speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy involving specific educational programs tailored for children with specific disabilities. It can be described as:

• A method where 20 minutes are spent on parent-child interaction.
• Floortime therapy methods are incorporated into various education programs which include various therapy methods to achieve a set of specific educational goals.

Six Stages of Developmental Milestones in Autism:

• Stage 1: Self-Regulation and Attention: It involves improving and peaking a child’s attention with the help of interactive activities that involve movement, hearing, looking and touching to help improve their attention spans.
• Stage 2: Engagement: In involves developing a sense of engagement with the child to generate a feeling of security, intimacy, empathy and caring to improve their social interactivity.
• Stage 3: Two Way Communication: It involves gaining the child’s attention and interest in various activities and encouraging them to assist you in achieving a particular set of objectives specifically designed to induce the child’s involvement. It helps them gain a sense of fulfillment, thus encouraging them to act on similar tasks on their own or with others’ help.
• Step 4: Problem Solving: It involves building a foundation of problem solving skills to help them get along with their daily activities by walking them through a common task and then encouraging them to do it on their own. It enables them to do things on their own and ask for help if they get struck or do not know what to do next.
• Stage 5: Creating Ideas: It involves encouraging the child to relate to a general sense of life such as gestures, behaviors and conceiving ideas. It is usually achieved by prolonged communication to help them generate feelings and desires of their own.
• Stage 6: Logical Reasoning: It involves encouraging and teaching a child to help in logical thinking, which is essential for separating reality from fantasy by helping them plan, think and connect ideas.

Read More: DIR Model – The Preferred Model for Total Child Development

 

DIR Model – The Preferred Model for Total Child Development

In order to help young kids learn better, there are many schools in the US that employ a wide variety of proven learning methods. One of them is the wildly popular DIR model, which stands for Developmental, Individual Difference, and Relationship-Based model. It was developed by clinical professor and child psychiatrist Dr. Stanley Greenspan in 1979, and was first put forward in his book Intelligence and Adaptation.

So, how is it different from other educational models?

The main focus of DIR model is to build strong foundations for the development of intellectual, social and emotional capabilities of a child. The core of this model is Floortime, a unique technique that demands parent-child interaction in the grassroots level. It encapsulates the general philosophy of including other therapy, such as speech and occupational therapy, in-line with the features of Floortime.

Interaction is one of the key features of the DIY model, which can help the child gain focus and obtain insightful ideas on development and learning. It is widely believed that the DIR/Floortime model has a set of pre-defined milestones that must be achieved for effective growth of a child. These milestones include:

1. Evoking Interest: The child should be interested in his/her surroundings and follow it up with interactions involving movement, touching, sight and hearing.
2. Ability to Relate: The child should try to develop a sense of intimacy, caring and empathy in his/her relationship with family members, teachers, classmates and other people they come in contact with.
3. Ability to Communicate: The child should be able to respond to someone communicating with him/her, including ability to express emotions and desire, which should be reciprocated by the person he/she is communicating with.
4. Advanced Communication and Problem Solving: A child should be able to communicate in a series of steps, such as asking help in different stages to achieve a final need. It helps them develop social attributes and improve problem-solving skills.
5. Creating Ideas: Encourage the child to relate themselves to the real world, such as engaging in communication, invoking desires and emotions, creating ideas and collaborating on such aspects by the attributes of logical reasoning and concentrating on planning and modulating impulses.

Hence, the DIR milestones ensure that the child is on the right path in terms of complete development. These act as a developmental ladder, with each milestones adding a new layer of capabilities in children.

Read More: What Makes Floortime Therapy Effective?

Amenities Schools for Autistic Children Should Provide

Autism spectrum disorder includes a wide range of neuro-developmental disorders. Kids who have been diagnosed with Autism display two types of symptoms – drawbacks in social communication and interactions; restricted/repetitive patterns of behavior or activities. Schools that cater to autistic children need to pay meticulous attention to each child.

Needless to say that it’s imperative for each tutor and caregiver to must have a commendable amount of experience with autistic children. Because kids with autism suffer from more than one disorder out of the following:

• Social defects
• Sensory issues
• Communication difficulties
• Repetitive behavior
• And cognitive delays (in some cases)

Autistic children’s schools must provide some basic assistance and facilities to each child. Few of which are listed below:

Types of Therapies

• Music Therapy – music can be utilized as an amazing tool for therapy in schools for autistic children. It has a unique aspect of providing a deep stimulating effect on both (left and right) sides of the brain. A music therapist can effectively make use of songs and/or instruments to support and develop (or improve) the cognitive ability of the child. It can help in building self-awareness of the child and improve his/her relationship with others. Therefore, an autistic children’s school must have a professionally trained music therapist.
• DIR Floortime Therapy – one aspect of the Developmental Individual Difference Relationship-based model is ‘floortime therapy’. This assists the child in developing (or improving) the ability to communicate, relate, and think. Dr. Stanley Greenspan the founder of DIR-Floortime therapy suggests that the responsibility of schools should be to assist children to relate to others (caregivers, family, classmates, etc.) in a meaningful way, and become abstract and creative thinkers. DIR-Floortime therapy aims to achieve all these objectives.

Clinical Services

Clinical services largely include all therapies that a school provides to children with ASD. Apart from that, the school must realize that children need other support such as psychologists that hold one on one as well as group counseling on regular basis.

Additionally, the school must keep parents in the loop (and vice-versa) about the developments and improvements in the child’s abilities. Consultation and transitional planning should also be carried out by the combined opinion and agreement of the caregivers as well as the parents.

Benefits of the DIR Model Used by Special Education Schools Explained

The DIR model or developmental Individual difference relationship model is one of the best ways to impart learning to autistic children. This model has basically been developed for detailed assessments of autistic kids. Clinicians, parents, doctors and therapists who attend to kids with autism use it.

Developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan, the DIR model can help children become the best version of themselves by inducing recovery from two major autism related problem: communication and social skills. The D refers to developmental issues addressed by building playtime around the interests of the child. I refer to individualism that comes from deep study of the interest of the child based on activities that they like and can do for a long span of time. And R refers to developing a relationship on the basis of the study done with the child.

These floor time sessions basically provide many benefits to the autistic child as well as their parents. Some of these are stated as under: –

• With constant interactions and smooth flowing sessions with the therapist the child develops certain social skills and the ability to interact with a group without being greatly disturbed or uncomfortable in larger groups.

• These sessions are developed keeping in mind the likes and dislikes of the child that have been studies over a period of time. Hence, the learning sessions are based on the likes of the child to make it interesting and lasting impact on their mind.

• These sessions are developed to build the gap between the child and parents that is developed because of autism issues. The time that you spend as a parent with your child in these sessions help you learn the ways and means to make them calmer and keep them occupied in a constructive manner.

• Learning becomes easy with these methods. Even a child without any special abilities learns better when things of his/her interest are involved in the method of learning. Similarly, when an autistic child already has a bent of positive mind towards a certain activity or a thing then involving the same in the learning process makes their concentration level higher and learning is well etched in their minds.

Items Every Special Education Classroom Should Have

Special education schools aim to develop a comfortable and secure classroom environment that offers various learning opportunities for special students to utilize. This often includes the use of critical learning tools that promote social development and academic progress in students.

Although the purpose of such tools is to inculcate vital skills in students, the information can also be utilized by parents while selecting the ideal special education school for their child.

So, the next time you visit a special education school in NYC, some items that you might encounter in a special education classroom are-

Sensory Toys

The use of sensory items such as fidgets, wiggle seats and therapy balls is an effective way to target sensory skill development in special students, and help them gain better control over their environment.

Fidget toys engage children in hands-on activities which promote self-regulation, focus and tactile awareness in special students. This is beneficial especially for children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) which affects their ability to concentrate and pay attention.

Moreover, children with sensory processing disorder have difficulty in receiving and responding to information that comes through their senses, and often need to feel intense outside sensations. Sensory toys offer quick and repetitive sensory response to children and help them calm down and focus their attention. Some effective sensory toys are light up toys, finger paint, and mini trampolines.

Visual Timers

Another item that should be a part of every special education classroom is a visual timer. The use of timers allows special educators in following classroom schedules and managing activities that suit the different learning needs of special students.

Visual timer is also effective in assisting children with autism to make transitions from a preferred activity to an unpleasant one and vice versa. Moreover, it encourages confidence, independence and natural capabilities like visual thinking in special students.

Manipulatives

Hands-on manipulatives are a critical learning tool for students in all classrooms. Many educators believe that learning is enhanced when children acquire knowledge through active processes that engage them.

The use of manipulatives allows students to physically investigate a math problem and reach a solution through concrete experiences of abstract reasoning. Manipulatives can be the key in providing effective, active and engaging lessons in teaching mathematics to special students.

Impact of Special Education Schools on your Child’s Future

Children with emotional, physical and learning restrictions may find the traditional academic settings rather hard to cope with. This is because such children face difficulties in focusing communicating with others or even getting along with their peers. Parents should enroll their children in special education schools including autism schools where their needs would be addressed specifically, thereby enabling them to become more successful in the future.

Here, it needs to be understood that apart from the curriculum which has been specially designed to cater to children’s needs, the staff are also trained to look into every possible need of such kids. Classes are kept small in strength and duration to keep the students engaged throughout.

If parents believe that their child is showing any signs of stress or difficulty in terms of their behavior or academics, they can undertake an evaluation which most schools provide at no extra cost. According to the results of the assessment, professionals will provide an opinion as to whether the child needs special education or not. For eligible kids, an Individualized Education Program (IEP) is developed, which consists of a plan to address the difficulties faced by them every day.

There are times when special education programs at public schools are unable to address the needs of the child as specified in the IEP. In such a case, parents can look for autism schools in the private sector. The best part is that the district pays for the education of kids with special needs in the private sector.

The law mandates that children placed in public schools must have access to special education programs which provide a learning environment with the least restrictions. It allows students with special needs to learn alongside children who do not have such requirements. This provides a more holistic approach as they learn in a more inclusive environment where are treated just like any other kid.

The best way for parents to identify the best setting for their child is to visit a special school such as an autism school, when they are in session. This will give them first-hand knowledge of the day-to-day functioning of such schools and also the facilities available for their kids.

Indispensable Tools Used in the Special Education Schools of NYC

Educators at special education schools in NYC work really hard to ensure that students with special needs keep developing and growing during their school years. Teachers at such schools encounter varying challenges in their classrooms that can be effectively overcome with the right teaching methods and tools.

To help teachers at special education schools in NYC, here are a few items which such teachers must make use of in their classrooms –

• Fidgets, Wiggle Seats, Therapy Bands and Balls

 Fidgets and the rest of the items mentioned above are highly essential in special education classrooms. These items can come in really handy for self-regulation, staying focused and attentive in class, as well as for the promotion of tactile interactions and regulation of movement.

• Reader Trackers/Highlighter Strips

Students with learning disabilities in the special education schools of NYC very often struggle with keeping track of the words which they are reading. More often than not, they can be found skipping lines which can greatly hamper their reading accuracy and delay their comprehension. Such students really appreciate being provided with highlighter strips that help them remain focused on a single line when reading. The fact that many of them even take such reader trackers back home from school is evidence for the fact that students with learning challenges benefit from the use of such tools.

• Timers

Timers can be used for a number of things. It is a useful tool for training students for the future. Time for students of special education schools in NYC can be an arbitrary concept. If they are able to see for themselves how long they need to complete an assignment or task, they are more likely to be at ease with any transitions which might happen in the future.

A number of special education schools use timers to assess the reading fluency in their students. Reading tests in which students can be asked to read as many numbers of words as possible in a minute is a wonderful way of gauging how fluent students are in reading and keeping track of their progress as well.

What Its Like Being A Teacher At A Special Education School In NYC

If there is one thing that I have learnt being a teacher at a special education school in NYC, it is that every child is special. We meet parents who feel a little disheartened, thinking that their child will need support to carry on with some tasks. However, their thinking takes a paradigm shift once they see the progress of their child after he/she takes admission into a good special education school.

Every day at a special education school in NYC is a new learning experience for both the students and the teachers. We constantly have sessions wherein all sorts of teaching methods are taught to us so that we can provide the best for the students.

Similarly, the specially-abled kids have a lot of queries and each one of them needs undivided attention at all times.

There are a few instructional strategies that parents, caretakers and teachers need to keep in mind while imparting knowledge to the specially-abled children-

• It is imperative to pay full attention to the inquisitiveness of the kids and build a learning strategy out of it. Their questions help teachers and parents attend to the needs of the kids and make learning easier for them.

• While engaging the gifted kids in activities, teachers and parents must keep in mind that they should be open ended. While appreciation during activities is always welcome, special children should not be criticized, lest it affects their efforts and self-belief.

• Encouraging the kids for interactive sessions with others is a very important part of teaching at special education schools. This helps the kids to overcome their fear and insecurities if any.

• Another important prospect to take care of are the leadership skills. In case any such skill is observed in a kid, this should be brought forward and appreciated as it will boost the confidence of the kid.