DIRFloortime® is a comprehensive, relationship-based model of intervention for children and adults who have challenges in relating and communicating, including autism.

This two-day course is delivered by ICDL Training Leader Denise Wilson, MSc. She is an occupational therapist and play therapist.

DIRFloortime® is a comprehensive, relationship-based model of intervention for children and adults who have challenges in relating and communicating, including autism.

More about DIRFloortime®

DIR® stands for Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based:

Developmental – The course gives an overview of  Greenspan’s Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities 1-6. These are the capacities a child must master for healthy emotional and intellectual growth. The stages are:

• The ability to be regulated and interested in their surroundings.
• The ability to engage with others and deepen attachment bonds.
• The ability to initiate and respond in two-way purposeful communication.
• The capacity for complex communication and shared problem-solving.
• The ability to create emotional ideas and be imaginative.
• The capacity for complex imagination and logical thinking.

Individual Differences – Each child has their own unique profile that needs to be taken into account. Individual differences within the child, or within their environment, will either help or hinder the child in achieving their potential. Improving our knowledge of each child’s Individual Differences helps us to understand the child’s unique experience within their bodies and their perception of their world. These differences may be in the following areas:

• Motor and perceptual motor function
• Sensory modulation
• Sensory processing
• Auditory processing
• Environment factors
• Biomedical factors
• Developmental history
• Family factors including attachment
• Any history of trauma

Relationship-Based – Warm, loving interactions between the child and their caregivers are at the core of the model. Brain chemistry changes when the child is calmly alert, motivated and positive. This improves neurological processing, helping the child to think and learn more effectively. The child develops an understanding of themselves and the world through long chains of back-and-forth interactions with their caregivers.

Floortime – Through video examples and discussion, course participants will see how Floortime play supports the D, I and R, so that the child can evolve towards independent thinking and sustaining warm, loving relationships.

Who should attend?

This two-day introductory course is approved by the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning (ICDL). It is aimed at families and professionals. It is the first step towards professionals becoming accredited ICDL DIRFloortime® practitioners. Research has shown that coaching parents to carry out Floortime with their children improves the child’s function while reducing parental stress and depression (www.icdl.com/research).

Dates, location, cost and booking

The course takes place on 4th + 5th October 2024.

It runs from 9.30am – 4.30pm on both days.

Location: Friends Meeting House, 43 St Giles’ Oxford OX1 3LW

Lunch is not included; however, there are cafes near the venue.

Cost: Early Bird until 29th August 2024 – Parents £85, Professionals £185

Full price: Parents £115, Professionals £225