Research summaries for autism therapy: Floortime

definition of Floortime: Approach that focuses on parents and other individuals spending meaningful interaction time with children to enhance their emotional and social development. For children with autism, Floortime™ is used to help build social interactions with other people. The name comes from the goal of adults getting on the floor with children for meaningful play. The approach emphasizes dealing with children at their level to engage them in a fun way. Floortime™ is part of a broader program called DIR®/Floortime™ (see DIR®).
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Listening to Parents: Understanding the Impact of Autism on Families, Summarized Mar 19, 2009

Every family has the right to choose the therapy program that best suits the needs of the child with autism and the family.

This is a group of three essays that describe the impact of autism on three families. The first parent relied on psychotherapy for her child and herself. The second parent used occupational therapy (OT), speech therapy, and physical therapy. The third parent used Floortime therapy. In the best of worlds, a therapy program respects the choice of the family, builds on family strengths, and partners with parents. Read more...

An Introduction to Stanley Greenspan’s Clinical Thinking: Autism as an Intention Deficit Disorder, Summarized Jan 14, 2009

DIR therapy may help the parent to understand a child with autism and use that new understanding to build a relationship that may help the child recover from autism. This review article describes the thoughts of Dr. Greenspan, which form the basis of the play approach to autism therapy and Floortime. This type of therapy is also known as DIR (Developmental - Individual Differences - Relationships-Based Therapy). The paper describes the basic factors that Dr. Greenspan believes should be thought about when treating a child with autism. These factors include: biology of the child, nature of the family, and the child/caregiver relationship. The article also includes a case study of a parent who learns to know her child better through DIR therapy.

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Guidelines for Early Identification, Screening, and Clinical Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Jan 7, 2009

Floortime may be a useful tool for creating a therapy program that meets the many needs of each child with autism.

This short article describes the views of some of the top autism doctors in the country. They suggest that doctors alert the parent any time a child does not meet a healthy milestone. They suggest that watching these milestones from an early age will give a better picture of a child than merely giving an autism screen at 18 and 24 months. They also suggest that doctors tell parents about Floortime therapy. Floortime intervention can include sensory integration therapy, speech therapy, social therapy, play therapy and more. Read more...

Pilot Study of a Parent Training Program for Young Children with Autism: The PLAY Project Home Consultation Program, Summarized Mar 21, 2008

About half of children with autism who receive Floortime therapy for 8-12 months show improved function.

Most people agree that young children with autism can be helped by early and intense intervention. Two of the most common types of early intense therapies are applied behavior analysis (ABA) and a social approach to therapy such as the developmental, individualized, and relationship-oriented (DIR) model. While the ABA approach has been shown to work, it is hard because it requires 40 hours a week of therapy. This paper reports on the use of DIR (also known as Floortime) to treat children with autism. The DIR model supports parents as the main play partner of the child. Read more...

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Synonyms for Floortime include: Floor Time, Floortime™
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