Special Needs School in New York City

When a child is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it affects every member of the family, especially the parents. The parents face a tough time coping with the issues of the child which include speech and sensory issues. They fear that their child will be the butt of jokes and ridicule owing to his communication problems and stay away from enrolling him in any school.

Such children with learning disabilities are termed ‘slow learners’ since they don’t develop the necessary skills in the same way as normal children. They may not have the explosion of words like other children. Such children fail to respond when they are called by their name or make eye contact. They also find it tough to understand or predict people’s behavior.

Children with such neurological disorders need special schools to realize their education goals since they don’t fit in regular classrooms of traditional schools. These special schools are equipped with teachers and therapists who are trained in handling such special needs students. Such schools follow a special model to help children with their social, emotional, communicative and developmental challenges. It is known as the DIR (Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-Based) model, also known as Floortime.

This therapeutic intervention model was devised by Dr. Stanley Greenspan for helping children with autism and developmental disabilities. This model is used to develop in children a host of skills such as communication skills, social skills, emotional skills, attention skills and problem-solving skills.

The DIR model is used to solve developmental issues in children while Floortime is used with children having developmental, educational, mental- health and emotional disorders.

Let’s break down the DIR Model.

Developmental: If you understand where your child is from the development perspective, it becomes easy to target the areas which need to be worked upon. The Floortime approach has six developmental levels and the main aim is to locate at what developmental level the child is and then guide him to the next level using the Floortime methods.
Individual Difference: This refers to the individual differences which separate which separate one child from the other. Here, a child’s strengths and weaknesses, sensory differences, learning techniques are identified.
Relationship-Based: This model refers to the relationship of the kids with the parents. It encourages parents to use the Floortime techniques with their children every day. This model is used to strengthen the socio-emotional skills of a child.

Yesterday in the subway, I met a special child. His cute smile, quirky eyes and the lovely voice he spoke in.. He was indeed special. After coming back home, I thought of children like him and realized that we so-called ‘normal’ humans, in chasing what is called a ‘normal life’, have somewhat forgotten about them. Regrettably, some members of our society perceive them as a burden, a problem. But I believe that children with special needs are not a problem at all. In fact the problem lies within our own society who perceives them as abnormal. I feel that all of us have the responsibility to make this world a better place for everyone, including them. A world where they can shape their own lives the way they want. For that, we need to help people become educated and aware of the major developments that are happening in the world of special needs services. Specifically, I recently learned about the DIR model (developed by Dr. Stanley Greenspan) that can help them become the best version of themselves that they can be. Many highly successful members of our society suffered from developmental delays. One example that comes to mind is Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist who became a leader in his field despite his disability.

‘D’ stands for – Developmental. According to the DIR model, there are six developmental levels that are quintessential for a child’s emotional as well as intellectual growth. These include two-way communication, complex communication, emotional and logical thinking, self-regulation and interest in the world, emotional ideas, intimacy, engagement and falling in love. So, ‘D’ denotes the method to identify the developmental stage the child is in and accordingly design his education plan.

‘I’ stands for - Individual differences. The model believes that there are certain unique qualities and talents that every child possesses. Each child is different in the way he/she responds to any given situation. The model thus recognizes and gives due significance to the individual differences that all children have. Hence, their way of learning should also be designed differently. Each child must be dealt with individually and should not be compared to others.

‘R’ stands for - Relationships based. It is an integral component because if you want to be helping a child with their emotional or cognitive development you first need to know how much he/she are comfortable with other children, their parents, caretakers, therapists, etc. This approach focusses on increasing self-esteem as well as the confidence of the child.

Floortime is very crucial element in the DIR model which is used for applying the model into practice. It accredits a greater role to the parents and family members in the development of the child as he/she have an emotional relationship with them. In the words of Stanley Greenspan, “Floortime is the cornerstone; the engine that drives the DIR model and drives the developmental process.

Children presented with Autism Spectrum Disorder largely show incapability of reflecting higher levels of empathy and creative & reflective thinking, no matter how much progress they make academically or with language. Autism is described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) as a mental disorder that displays three critical deficits:

(1) Impaired development of social interactions

(2) Impaired development of communicative abilities and

(3) A restricted range of activities or interests.

The social interaction impairment is usually accompanied by a limited use of non-verbal behaviors (e.g. gestures or facial expressions) that restricts the child from regulating social interactions and communication. The severity of lack of these abilities can differ from person to person and can be dependent on variables like age and developmental level. A child with autism also often fails at developing peer relationships and lacks the ability to experience social and emotional reciprocity.

Dr. Stanley Greenspan developed the DIR Model (Developmental-Individual difference-Relationship Based) for providing care to autistic individuals. This model explains the various kinds of developments that take place during autism spectrum disorders. It acknowledges individual differences in children and puts stress on their unique physiological, psychological, neurological and communication differences. It focuses on relationship based interventions. The concept behind this is that children with autism miss critical developmental milestones that push their ability to connect. Due to these deficits, these individuals have a hard time in reciprocating interactions and therefore in establishing communication that is needed for abstract thinking and high-level social skills.

The DIR model is a comprehensive model that is designed to stress on individual strengths and challenges of each child based on his or her specific processing and developmental needs. It takes into account the child’s and family’s individual profile so to create a handcrafted intervention that is efficient for each child. Each component of the DIR model is based on the philosophy that all learning takes place through interactive relationships.

The DIR model provides the framework for implementing such a focus through daily floor time sessions supporting continuous engagement, symbolic play, thinking of higher order, as well as ongoing problem solving and reality based logical conversations, reflective “talk time”, play dates and friendships.

The kind of focus that the DIR model methodology puts on individuality of each person, therefore, offers a perspective that takes into account the individual’s intrinsic level of interest and then expands on that initial level of motivation to incorporate mutual interest of others. As such, these interventions prove to be highly effective for improving interpersonal skills, communication and personal responsibility in autistic individuals.

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