What is the DIR®/Floortime Model?

Greenspan and Wieder's Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based DIR®/Floortime Model is a framework for assessment and intervention for children with challenges related to relatedness and communication.

D evelopmental refers to identifying a child's developmental level within the framework of the functional developmental capacities or milestones described by Greenspan & Wieder. It also reminds us of the importance of developmentally appropriate interactions in supporting a child's progress toward mastery of these milestones.

I ndividual-Difference involves understanding the child's sensory profile, processing capacities, and motor planning/sequencing abilities. An understanding of these individual differences is required for assessment and intervention planning and often provides a window into treatment.

R elationship-Based refers to the emphasis in optimizing interactive patterns within relationships. These relationships provide the context in which we use our understanding of a child's individual profile (e.g., developmental capacities and individual differences) to promote mastery of the fundamental developmental capacities. Greenspan (2000) refers to the importance of providing “ongoing interactive learning opportunities geared to the child's individual differences and current functional developmental capacities throughout most of the child's waking hours.”

The Six Milestones

Shared Attention and Regulation Intimacy and Engagement Purposeful Two-Way Communication Complex Communication Emotional Ideas Emotional Thinking

More detailed information on the milestones can be found in references including The Child With Special Needs (1998) by Greenspan & Wieder and the ICDL Clinical Guidelines (2000) by Greenspan and colleagues.

Components of the DIR Model

Greenspan (2000) describes a comprehensive functional developmental intervention program as being comprised of the following components:

• Home Program
• School Program
• Specific Therapies
• Biomedical Interventions
• Family Support

He notes that the home and school programs should include three types of learning experiences:

• Floortime sessions geared toward mobilizing the functional developmental capacities;
• Semi-structured problem-solving interactions geared toward specific objectives in cognition, communication, and social domains; and
• Sensorimotor activities oriented toward improving sensory modulation, motor planning/sequencing, and visual-spatial thinking.

Floortime is one component of the relationship-based approach to developmental intervention described by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. In The Child With Special Needs (1998), they described Floortime as "the heart" of the developmental approach to therapy (p. 123).

Relationships are critical to a child's development. Through interactions, you can mobilize a child's emotions in the service of his learning. By interacting with a child in ways that capitalize on his emotions, you can help him want to learn how to attend to you; you can help him want to learn how to engage in a dialogue; you can inspire him to take initiative, to learn about causality and logic, to act to solve problems even before he speaks and moves into the world of ideas. As together you open and close many circles of communication in a row you can help him connect his emotions and his intent with his behavior (such as pointing for a toy) and eventually with his words and ideas ("Give me that!"). In helping him link his emotions to his behavior and his words in a purposeful way, instead of learning by rote, you enable your child to begin to relate to you and the world more meaningfully, spontaneously, flexibly, and warmly. He gains a firmer foundation for advanced cognitive skills.

Related Links