This presentation will offer a theoretical conceptual and practical understanding of the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and young adults with regulatory disorder, regulatory challenges and developmental delays through the developmental relational technique known as DIR/Floor Time.
Using the DIR/Floor Time approach, you will learn the importance of an interdisciplinary collaboration that includes mental health, occupational therapy/physical therapy, education, speech and language therapy and medicine all working together to help promote optimal developmental growth. Participants will gain a better understanding of relationship-based intervention to guide their practice in the home, clinic, school-based and workplace setting. Video case studies as well as participants own clinical practices will be discussed to create an interactive 'hands on' medium that will illustrate practical solutions to complex developmental problems.
https://frumtherapist.com/workshops/DIRFloortime2026/viewDIR Floortime:
A Multidisciplinary Collaborative Model for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Monday, August 31, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT - 4:45 PM EDT
Presenter: Esther B. Hess, Ph.D
Course Length: 6 Hours
This workshop Offers 6 Live Interactive Continuing Education Credits
This presentation will offer a theoretical conceptual and practical understanding of the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and young adults with regulatory disorder, regulatory challenges and developmental delays through the developmental relational technique known as DIR/Floor Time.
Using the DIR/Floor Time approach, you will learn the importance of an interdisciplinary collaboration that includes mental health, occupational therapy/physical therapy, education, speech and language therapy and medicine all working together to help promote optimal developmental growth. Participants will gain a better understanding of relationship-based intervention to guide their practice in the home, clinic, school-based and workplace setting. Video case studies as well as participants own clinical practices will be discussed to create an interactive 'hands on' medium that will illustrate practical solutions to complex developmental problems.
3 HOURS
1: The Developmental, Individual-Difference,
Relationship-Based (DIR) Model *Functional developmental stages
*Individual differences in auditory processing and language,
visual-spatial processing, motor planning, sensory modulation
*The affect diatheses hypothesis: The central role of
emotion in the development of intelligence, language, motor, and sensory
processing
*Relationships, dynamic, learning interactions and family
patterns
*Interactive break out session with participants-Identifying
DIR in real session time
II: Clinical Assessment Approaches
*Analysis of adaptive development, including motor,
affective, sensory, language, cognitive, and sense of self
*Observing infant's behavior, affects and developmental
patterns
*Comprehending child/caregiver interactions and family
patterns
*Taking the initial interview and eliciting the
developmental history
*Assessing clinical challenges, such as the differences
between developmental variations and disorders
*using the Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) for
clinical and administrative requirements
*Interactive break out session with participants-rating
actual parent/child pattern interaction in session
*Q & A with Dr. Hess
45 Minutes- Lunch Break
3 HOURS
III: Diagnostic Process
*Determining functional developmental levels (in comparison
to age-expected levels) *Discovering the range, flexibility, and stability of
adaptive and coping strategies *Assessing the contribution of environmental
patterns, stresses and conflicts, as well as constitutional and maturational
patterns of both parent and child
*Constructing the diagnostic profile
IV: Intervention Planning
*using the diagnostic profile to plan appropriate
intervention strategies for frequently presenting challenges, as well as rare
or unusual patterns
*Video-taped illustrations throughout the presentation
* Interactive break out session with participants
V: In-depth presentation of DIR/Floor Time: A
developmental/relational play therapy approach to intervention for children
with special needs and their families based on the child's functional
developmental level, individual differences and interactive relationships (DIR
Model), including home and family program of developmentally appropriate
interactions, interventions, and practices geared to each child's developmental
profile (Floor Time). A new educational model for use in classrooms, daycare,
and semi-structured activities promoting social interaction for small group
settings will also be discussed.
*Q & A with Dr. Hess