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Dr. Stanley Greenspan
Floortime is the centerpiece of the Developmental, Individual-Difference,
Relationship-Based (DIR) Model. The DIR/Floortime approach involves meeting
your child at his current developmental level, and building upon his
particular set of strengths to help him develop. The approach suggests
following the child’s lead: tuning in to his interests and desires in
interactions and play to harness the power of his motivation and help him
climb the developmental ladder. It also involves tailoring these
interactions to the child's individual differences in sensory reactivity,
processing and motor planning.
An important part of this program is engaging in developmentally appropriate
interactions at every opportunity. This is "Floortime,” which literally
involves getting down on the floor to play with your child.
By following your child's interests, joining what he is doing and wooing him
with warm but persistent attempts to engage his attention, you can lead him
to climb the developmental ladder. Through playful, engaging interactions,
you can help him want to learn to pay attention, want to engage in some sort
of dialogue and want to take initiative, even before he speaks in any
meaningful conversation.
By entering into your child's world, you can help your child learn to relate
in a meaningful, spontaneous, flexible and warm way. This does not happen
overnight; adopting this approach involves making a commitment to spending a
considerable period of time on the floor, playing with your child and
becoming a part of his world, even if his activities are limited. It
involves responding to his every utterance or gesture, in an effort to spark
a response – the beginning of two-way communication with your child.
www.floortime.org
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There is an
energy in us which makes things happen when the paths of other persons touch
ours.
from the Monks of Weston Priory
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