
I completed the foundation Floortime training after hearing about it in such a positive light in neurodiversity affirming circles. Alas, most presenters are based in the US so finding training that wasn't being run in the middle of the night was hard to come by. Luckily, I did manage to attend a (very early) morning training in 2022 and was so happy I did. Alot of the Floortime ethos I was already implementing in my practice, but hearing about a specific methodology to use with language delayed children was fantastic.
Floortime is a relationship based approach, which is well suited for Autistic individuals. The name comes from the fact that parents are on the floor, at their children’s level while playing and interacting with them. Floortime aims to promote development through respectful, playful, joyful and engaging interactions. Through this positive relationship, children’s development is encouraged in the areas of self-regulation, engagement, communication, shared problem solving and reflective thinking and reasoning.
When a Floortime therapist is conducting a therapy session with your child, you can expect that the therapist will follow your child's lead to understand their interests, and using this information, figure out the best way to challenge them and help them to grow. There is no redirection, social skills training or desensitisation. It’s all about meeting kids where they’re at and using what they’re interested in to build connections and communication opportunities.
Additionally, ICDL (the company behind Floortime) have a strong(ish) stance against ABA and are doing some nice advocacy work around why behavioural interventions are not appropriate.
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