Has anyone tried the Floortime method to hel… – Autism – Mental and behavioral health Community – Forum – Revolution Health

Has anyone tried the Floortime method to hel… – Autism – Mental and behavioral health Community – Forum – Revolution Health

Review for how Floor Time and the Play Project can be beneficial for your your young child. Read it! – Barbara

How Does Floortime Differ From RDI? – Chicago Floortime Families – Empowering families practicing the Floortime/DIR Model

How Does Floortime Differ From RDI? – Chicago Floortime Families – Empowering families practicing the Floortime/DIR Model

This is a very common question because there are a lot of similarities.  Read this to see difference in interventions.

Autism Speaks, In the News, Current News, Study: Children Can Be Diagnosed with Autism by Age One

Autism Speaks, In the News, Current News, Study: Children Can Be Diagnosed with Autism by Age One

This speaks to the early danger signs of Autism at one year of age.

Are Autism Cases on the Rise in U.S.? – washingtonpost.com

Are Autism Cases on the Rise in U.S.? – washingtonpost.com

A very readable article – watch for comments from Barbara next week.

Many Articles on Autism in February

Do your searches and come back here as I sort through the many opinions and facts that need delinieated.  The great news is that Autism is being talked about more and more and thus we can look forward to getting answers sooner and sooner.

bjs

Are Autism Cases on the Rise in U.S.? – washingtonpost.com

Are Autism Cases on the Rise in U.S.? – washingtonpost.com

What Is the Play Project?

PLAY Project is showing that the bond between parent and child can be used to bring children through a once-hidden doorway and into the warmth of a relationship. Half of the children who undergo the treatment improve significantly, 25 percent exhibit moderate improvement, and 25 percent (usually children with other physical or developmental problems) see little improvement.

The logic is almost exquisitely simple: rather than forcing a child to join the world, parents are taught to enter the child’s world and, over time, to become a trusted guide to the outside. Rather than trying to manage or control their child’s behaviors through coaxing, punishment or treats, parents are trained to follow the child’s lead, whether that means sitting quietly side by side waiting for a tiny flash of eye contact, exploring a light switch, or lying on the floor kicking the wall over and over. The key is that they are together in a place where the child feels most comfortable.

The approach is based on new knowledge about autism’s roots in the
brain, and about the ability of very young children’s brains to absorb new
knowledge and develop new skills — even if their initial development was
stunted by autism. Between 18 months and 6 years of age, children’s brains
are the most “plastic,” making early detection of autism, and early
intervention, all the more important to the eventual outcome.

Facts about autism, autistic spectrum disorders and the PLAY Project:

• One in every 250 children may have some kind of autistic spectrum disorder.
• Autism, which means “to oneself”, is marked by various behaviors and developmental delays. Children may not make eye contact or speak, or may repeat sounds or actions.
• Autism can be diagnosed in children as young as 18 months, though the typical age at which autistic children are diagnosed and begin treatment is often around 3 years.
• Children’s brains are the most “plastic”, or able to learn new skills and information, in the first few years of life, so autism therapies are most effective when begun early.
• The National Academy of Sciences endorses autism interventions that are intensive (more than 25 hours a week), engage the child and aim toward a strategic goal.
• The U-M PLAY Project trains parents to interact with their children for at least 15 hours a week, guiding their play and taking cues from them to shape the interaction.

Rehab Dynamics 3160 Central Park West Drive

Rehab Dynamics 3160 Central Park West Drive 

One of the most promising new approaches is to teach the family to interact with the child through play activities.  Stanley Greenspan, MD, a nationally recognized child psychologist, and Serena Weider, Ph.D, developed the Developmental Individual Difference Relationship-based model (DIR), also known as ‘Floortime’. In this approach the child’s natural strengths, as well as challenges, are identified and incorporated into play activities designed to expand their abilities. The overall goal is to enhance the child’s ability to interact appropriately with the people and things in their environment.

What is Floortime?

What is Floortime?
Last spring, I was a guest on the web radio show hosted by Dr. Stanley Greenspan, co-developer of the Floortime/DIR therapy for autism spectrum disorders. I asked Dr. Greenspan a number of questions, which he answered in depth. The first of those questions was “What Is Floortime — And How Is It Different From Ordinary Play?”