DIRFloortime® for Children | Dynamics On The Floor

DIRFLOORTIME® SINGAPORE

DIRFloortime^® (also known as Floortime) is an evidence-based therapy. It leverages human relationships and connections to develop a child’s ability to engage and communicate as well as to increase positive behaviours and thoughts. Floortime is a widely used intervention to treat children with autism and developmental challenges.

Through Floortime, our team of trained therapists at Dynamics On The Floor aims to empower these children to go beyond their diagnoses and reach their full potential to achieve independence and success in their daily lives, at home and school.

WHAT IS DIRFLOORTIME®?

DIRFloortime®, or Floortime, was developed in the 1980s by a child psychiatrist, Dr Stanley Greenspan. He recognised the need to get down to a child’s level to effectively help them develop developmentally and physically. D.I.R. stands for “Developmental, Individual Difference and Relationship-based”.

Floortime is a form of play therapy that takes on a relationship-based approach as it focuses on building an emotional connection with the child through play. As its name implies, Floortime therapy takes place on the floor with the child, where an adult (a therapist or parent/caregiver) follows the child’s lead and imitates the child’s actions through engaging in games or activities or playing with the toys that the child is interested in. This maximises the engagement, communication and interaction between the child and the adult as well as the child’s learning. Floortime benefits young children and adolescents who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and/or developmental delays or disorders.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Floortime Therapy fosters a positive and close relationship between the child and the adult and kindles the child’s motivation to succeed through engaging in the activities they like. The ultimate goal of Floortime is to help children reach developmental milestones and specific goals, such as self-regulation and interest in the world, engaging and relating, purposeful two-way communication, complex communication and shared problem-solving, using symbols and creating emotional ideas, and logical thinking and building bridges between ideas, among others. Floortime promotes development in several areas, such as:

Emotional and Cognitive Development

E.g. Helps the child recognise and acknowledge another person’s feelings.

Motor Skills

E.g. Improves the child’s ability to perform physical tasks.

Sensory Development

E.g. Guides the child in making sense of the things they see or hear.

Communication

E.g. Provides opportunities for the child to learn about two-way communication.

For a more comprehensive and integrated development, Floortime Therapy is often incorporated into the intervention plan of many other therapeutic services, which include Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) Therapy.

How We Can Help

Floortime sessions at Dynamics On The Floor are conducted by a team of therapists who are trained in the Floortime approach. They include our in-house Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Behavioural Therapists, Psychologists and Educational Therapists. In the course of our intervention programme, we will implement Floortime techniques in the children’s playtime, such as allowing them to take initiative in play, teaching them expressive language, providing opportunities to solve problems, and more. These sessions are designed to achieve specific goals and can be held one-on-one or in a group setting To learn more about DIRFloortime® and how this approach can help your child, schedule an appointment to have a chat with one of our trained therapists.

Our Companies

Since our inception in 2004, Dynamics Therapy Group has been making a significant difference in the lives of individuals and their loved ones through client-centric and evidence-based therapy, and intervention and educational services—in a manner that is accessible, comprehensive and cost-effective.

Our suite of services include Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy,Psychological evaluations and intervention, Social Skills training, Educational Therapy, Physiotherapy and an Early Intervention Program. These essential services are provided by a multidisciplinary team of qualified and experienced specialists.

Our education arm includes Dynamics International School, which offers both mainstream and special education curricula for children with learning needs and/or who benefit from different types of instructions.