Archive for August 2015

A mother sits around her child, but doesn’t get acknowledged. She hugs the kid, but the kid responds by running away and flapping the hands. Well, the child could be autistic. An autistic child's behaviour may seem to be “out of the world” for a non-professional observer.

Autism is a common developmental disability affecting the social and communication skills of an individual. It is much more common than one might think. There are several special needs schools in NYC that can help children cope with their developmental growth by employing several therapeutic techniques. The DIR/Floortime method is one such interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach that assumes emotions of children to be the foundation of their holistic development.

Floortime Therapy is the practical component of this child-centered approach and is adopted by several special needs schools in NYC. It helps children learn and develop through the application of several insights outlined by the developer of the approach, Dr. Stanley Greenspan.

These insights are:

Emotions and relationships are the foundations of the growth of a child’s mind.

Interactions encourage special needs children to invest their interest and emotions in the world around them. These interactions lead to a child’s learning and cognitive development. According to Dr. Greenspan, every word in our language need to be experienced in order to be understood. A child must not rely on theoretical concepts, but rather experience the practical implementation of a word as well.

Each and every child has unique processing abilities.

Children with ASD process sounds, languages, and space around them differently. The processing includes motor planning, sequencing abilities, and sensory modulation of incoming stimuli. Children with autism may have issues with understanding ideas such as how space is organized in the form of walls of the room. The motor planning and sequencing abilities are the reasons behind certain behavior issues of children such as piling up things in a certain manner, for example.

Some children with ASD are likely to be more hypersensitive to certain stimuli, whereas some are under sensitive. It is important to accommodate the environment to suit the special needs of the children and familiarize them with environmental stimuli.

The Developmental Capacities of a Child

The varying aspects of motor development, language development, and cognitive development integrate into the overall functional development of a child. Observing and assessing this development help foster the acquisition of concepts, ideas, and skills through an emotion-based learning.

Floortime Therapy was developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and is considered by many to be a revolutionary approach to dealing with ASD. This approach allows certain special needs schools in NYC help autistic children reach developmental milestones crucial to their social, economic, and academic development.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) find it difficult to connect with other people emotionally and intellectually and may need individualised and intense assistance. The DIR Model/ Floortime method incorporates a play-based, problem-solving interaction experience between the child and the caretaker.

The Floortime method is a practical component of DIR model. It involves specialized activities that are crafted to assist autistic children with their sensory and cognitive development. DIR/Floortime teachers and therapists use several play props to sharpen the minds of children with ASD, such as:

· FUNCTIONAL TOYS

Children with ASD face difficulties when processing sensory information. This is called 'sensory sensitivity'. Specific functional toys stimulate the sensory and motor skills of these children. Musical toys, books with foil or cloth attached to them, toys with bumps and furs, playdough, and squishy balls can all help children manage these tactile sensations.

Some children are more sensitive to touch while others are more sensitive to sound or light. Therefore, these toys must be chosen to suit each child's sensitivity and competency.

These functional toys help children relate their internal settings externally. Playing kits for garage tools, road signs, and dummy vehicles are all examples of toys that can help children connect playtime activities with what they see outdoors.

· BUILDING BLOCKS

Allow children to put together pieces of building blocks and give rise to new form-free creations. Once children have completed their own creation, direct them to constructing something new. Autistic children find difficulty in following oral and visual instructions, so the process of constructing a specific object by adhering to certain directions will help reinforce these skills.

Construction toys like wooden or plastic building block sets, detachable doll houses, toy towns, jigsaw puzzles and brain games – can all help children with ASD employ visual and organizational skills.

· ART PLAY

Letting children paint their imagination on canvas is the most effective way to enhance their cognitive and motor skills. It strengthens their socialization and boosts their sense of empowerment. Color recognition improves their observational skills.

Sensory table is specifically designed to let children play freely with crayons, water colors, finger paints, clay, brush, etc. The children are deliberately roped into squashing, sieving, sorting, and getting messy in order to engage their audio-visual and tactile ability.

· PLAYFUL OBSTRUCTION

This technique increases a child's ability to cope up with distraction and abrupt changes. It includes blowing soap bubbles, bouncing a light ball, tying things together with rubber bands, and tapping a toy when the child is playing.

The child is interrupted in a playful manner. This interruption usually follows four steps:
a) warning the child about interruption
b) playfully interrupt the child's play
c) wait for the child to react
d) respond to the child's reaction

It is necessary to have an anticipatory phrase because our aim is to have a healthy interaction with autistic children and not to startle them with an abrupt change.

Playing can help children with ASD learn social interaction and language skills. An effective use of above mentioned props can assist parents and teachers exercise 'intervention technique' from DIR Model. Thus, these props should be employed with a supportive attitude, sharing the child's amusement.

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