What is Floor time?
- Floor time is a model used to guide caregivers with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders
- Floor time has an emphasis to use the floor to play with children by following their lead, joining them at their floor with their height, playing with them based on their choices
- This helps infants and children with ASD build upon their strengths and abilities
- Floor time training is a certification process that teaches and promotes intervention. The training is appropriate for professionals who work in settings with children in early intervention, preschool aged and school-aged children
- Professionals such as child psychologist, special education teachers, speech-therapist, and occupational therapist will seek specialized training for floor time
- Throughout this certification training, professionals learn intervention for practice, self-reflection, and mentorship
Benefits of General Floor Play
- Floor play simply means playing on the floor with the child which is used in the floor time approach
- Many movements can occur when playing on the floor, which can assist in helping developmental milestones to occur
- On the floor, infants they can learn tummy time, strengthen their bodies, and learn movements developing gross and fine motor skills as well as learning to engage with toys
- On the floor, toddlers can develop fine motor skills, gross motor skills, strength, hand-eye coordination, coordination, and social-emotional skills through play
- On the floor, older children can build social-emotional skills, postural control, executive functioning skills, endurance, and strength
Milestones of Floor time
- The six key milestones of floor time include
- Self-regulation
- Engagement in relationships
- Two-way communication
- Complex communication
- Emotional ideas
- Emotional thinking
- Floor time focus is on emotional development; however, it also works on speech, fine motor, gross motor, and cognitive skills through emotional development
How does Floor time work?
- Environment: Floor time should take place in a quiet environment such as a professional setting of a therapy clinic or the home of the child. If floor time occurs in a preschool setting, a pull in method should be used for inclusion with typical developing peers
- Floor time sessions can occur from anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours long. This time is spent with interaction with the child as well as for education to the parents. At home, many parents will do 20-minute sessions multiple times throughout the day
- Throughout a floor time session, the therapist will join in the child’s activity of their choosing and let the child take the lead. However, it is the responsibility of the therapist to have the child engage in complex interactions that focuses on the six milestones
- Floor time session should also focus on back and forth play to encourage communication, attention, engagement in relationships, and emotional thinking
- For any child of any age three things should always occur during floor time which include:
- Following the child’s lead: It is important to show an interest in the activity that the child has picked
- Challenge the child: Encourage the child to communicate and interact
- Expand the activity: Make small changes to the activity that the child has picked. This will encourage the child to have to problem solve, adapt, communicate, and create with an increase in complex communication
