Floortime Strategies to Promote Development in Children and Teens

A User's Guide to the DIR® Model

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Andrea Davis, Ph.D., Lahela Isaacson, M.S., LMFT, Michelle Harwell, M.S., LMFT

Floortime is a highly effective intervention approach for children and adolescents with autism and other developmental disorders. Now there's a step-by-step guide for parents to LEARN and professionals to TEACH the DIRFloortime® model of helping young people with social, emotional, and cognitive challenges.

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• Table of Contents
• Reviews
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This guide takes the research-supported developmental approach to treatment and breaks it down into a curriculum of simple, sequenced strategies you can use right away to support the social and cognitive development of children and teens. Quick instructions and examples for each method are laid out for easy viewing in the midst of a play session. Certified DIRFloortime experts explain the theoretical background and the basics of how to play and interact with children in ways that motivate them, make the most of their natural interests, and help them develop critical new social, emotional, and intellectual capacities. Whether you're a professional or parent, this practical, ready-to-use Floortime guide is an essential addition to your intervention toolkit.

WHY USE DIRFloortime?

• Proven effective—research-supported, field tested, and rooted in developmental psychology
• Targets the key cognitive and social-emotional capacities children need to thrive in the real world
• Promotes learning and growth through play and interaction
• Fosters warm, attuned parent-child relationships
• Meets your specific needs—apply DIRFloortime strategies in developmental order or use them as standalone teaching tools
• Gives you quick catchphrases that make strategies "stick", so you can use them anytime, anywhere
• Encourages caregiver self-reflection and self-awareness—a key part of helping children and teens develop their own self-reflection skills
• Leads to children and teens becoming joyful, spontaneous, flexible, creative, and empathic human beings

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Each DIRFloortime strategy comes with a clear description and enlightening examples of how to apply it in a variety of real-life scenarios. The appendix walks you through 11 effective strategies for helping children and adolescents reduce challenging behaviors.

Help children develop crucial skills:

• Regulation and Attention
• Social Engagement and Attachment
• Reciprocity
• Social Problem Solving
• Self-Awareness
• Empathy
• Imagination
• Emotional Thinking
• Logical Thinking
• Complex Thinking
• Self-Reflection

DIR® and DIRFloortime® are registered trademarks of The Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders, Inc.

Reviews

Joshua Feder, Director of Research, Graduate School, Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders – June 18, 2014
"Offers clear and practical techniques for building rich and vital connections with family members, caregivers, teachers, and other helping professionals. When we construct these foundational capacities, we have the basis for better thinking, communicating, and learning."

Noel Janis-Norton, Director, Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting Centre, London, UK – June 18, 2014
"An invaluable resource . . . This caring and compassionate approach will help children become their best selves and will be a lifeline for the adults who work and live with them."

LouAnne Boyd, therapist and consultant, ABAcus: Behavioral Tools for Social Engagement – June 4, 2014
"Decades of clinical expertise come together in this playfully well-planned manual for parents and staff. Teaching the crucial skills of relationships has never been so easy to understand. Growth for all is guaranteed."

Dr. Deb Leach, Associate Professor of Special Education, Winthrop University – May 27, 2014
"Provides strategies for teaching joint attention, social reciprocity, and emotional regulation skills that are generally difficult for parents and educators to address yet vital to the social development of individuals with ASD."

Authors: Andrea Davis Ph.D., Lahela Isaacson M.S., LMFT, Michelle Harwell M.S., LMFT
Foreword Author: Serena Wieder Ph.D.

Download a laminatable guide

Refer to this Floortime Strategies guide as a quick way to choose a strategy to work on

Read an excerpt

What Is DIRFloortime?