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

 

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.