What is the Floortime approach?
The Floortime approach was developed by Dr Stanley Greenspan and Ms Serena Wieder in the USA as a playful approach to assess and support the child's emotional development. It is recommended for children who have difficulties communicating with, and relating to, people.
This is a description of Floortime by the developers:
"Floortime is a warm and intimate way of relating to children. A Floortime philosophy means engaging, respecting, and getting in tune with children in order to help them elaborate through gestures, words and pretend play, their thoughts and ideas. As a technique, Floortime is a 5- step process that can be used by teachers, parents and therapists to help support a child's emotional, social and physical development." (Greenspan & Wieder 1998).
A Floortime assessment leads to an individualized functional profile of the child's special abilities and helps to establish the child's current developmental level. Floortime treatment addresses their weaknesses in a playful way, helping the child to establish the skills needed for healthy development. The focus of the treatment is on helping the child to become warmly connected, spontaneous and interactive.
The goals of a Floortime based intervention program include helping a child to:
- Become more alert.
- Take more initiative.
- Become more flexible.
- Be more tolerant of frustrating situations.
- Sequence longer actions - plan and execute them.
- Improve problem solving skills.
- Communicate with both gestures and words.
- Take pleasure in learning.
(Sherri Cawn & Beth Osten/James J.Messina & Constance Messina 2000)
More information is available at:
www.icdl.com
www.stanleygreenspan.com
Reading material:
The Child with Special Needs by Stanley I. Greenspan & Serena Wieder (1998)
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