Welcome
to
The Learning Tree
and
The Greenspan Floortime
Approach ®
by Jake Greenspan and Tim Bleecker
The Floortime Center®
The DIR Model
“D” =Developmental
“I” =Individual Differences
“R” =Relationship-based
The DIR Model
Functional
Developmental
Capacities
The Nine Developmental
Milestones
Developmental Profile of the Child
Individual Differences
•Sensory modulation and
processing
•Motor Planning and
sequencing
•Auditory processing
•Visual-spatial processing
RelationshipsCaregiver/Child
interactions and family
patterns
DIR Model: The Learning Tree
Trunk: Development

The 9 Functional Emotional Developmental Milestones
1. Staying calm and regulated, and shared attention.
2. Engagement and relatedness
3. Basic Intentional interaction and communication,
5-10 circles of communication.
4. Problem solving, co-regulated interactions with a
continuous flow.
5. Creative and meaningful use of ideas and words.
6. Building logical bridges between ideas.
7. Multi-causal, comparative thinking.
8. Grey area thinking
9. Reflective thinking off an internal standard.
Roots: Individual Differences




Motor Development
 Motor Planning and Sequencing
 Gross and Fine motor
 Balance and Coordination
Auditory/Language Processing
 Expressive and Receptive
Visual-Spatial Processing
 Tracking and Scanning
 Visual Thinking
Sensory Modulation and Processing
 Over- and under- reactive sensory systems
 Vestibular and proprioceptive systems
Relationships

Caregiver/Child interactions and family
patterns
Teacher/Child interactions
Therapist/Child interactions

All caregivers must reflect on self


What type of individual am I?
 How do I react to different emotions?
 Does child act differently around me?

Establish a Positive Relationship
 Have
Fun!
 Show interest and enthusiasm in
child’s interests
 Listen, don’t judge or lecture
 Sympathize and Empathize
The Greenspan Floortime
Approach
Fundamentals
Follow
the Lead
Challenge
Expand
Work on Regulation and the
first three Developmental
Milestones
1. Shared Attention
2. Engagement and relatedness
3. Basic Intentional interaction and
communication, (5-10 circles of
communication)
Being calm and regulated
 Sensory
and emotional systems, staying calm
and regulated
 Be aware of hyper sensitivities and sensory
needs, both can limit attention and
“disregulate” a child.
 Emotional inputs and needs can also
“disregulate” and limit attention.
 We can use the two systems to balance
each other.
working on shared attention
Follow the child’s lead
 Observe what the child is doing and do
it with them
 Join their activity
 Use motivating interests, activities and
objects, to harness the emotional
interest of the child

Engagement and relatedness

Affect
 Using
personal emotional energy, in the form of
gesturing and vocalizing, to show interest in the child or
the activity the child is involved in, to increase the
child’s eye contact and gesturing with us.

Playful obstruction
 Playfully
using affect and creating obstacles in the form
of physical obstructions to make the child acknowledge
your presence.
Basic intentional interaction
and communication (5-10
circles)

Sensory play
 Use
sensory pleasures to help the child enjoy relating
and interacting, ex: deep pressure, swinging, spinning,
etc.

Playing dumb
 Playfully
pretend that you don’t know how to do
something or what the child is expecting.

This will entice the child to use more circles of communication
and interaction to get you to do something for them.
Work on developmental
milestone 4
4. Social Problem solving, co-regulated
interactions with a continuous flow
Social problem solving, co-regulated
interactions with a continuous flow

Create problems that need to be solved using
many circles of interaction.
 Take
simple interactions and create extra circles.
 Create interesting barriers/obstacles to your child’s
goals.
 Always change the problem and the solution within the
same activity, so that your child is always learning
something new.
 Be aware of your child’s level of frustration as it builds
when we challenge. Sometimes you will need to step
back and calm your child before they can complete the
problem.
Work on developmental
milestone 5
5. Creative and meaningful use of
ideas and words
-Simple and Complex
Simple creating and using ideas

Help your child use ideas by fostering situations in
which needs and desires are expressed.
Remember WAA (Words, Action, Affect): Always
combine your words or ideas with your affect
(expressed feelings) and actions.

Initially, encourage your child’s imagination by
staging familiar interactions during pretend play.
Challenge the use of new plot twists. Ex:
challenge his stuffed animals to feed each other,
hug, kiss, cook, or go off to the park and play.
Complex Creating and
expressing Ideas

Encourage more developed use of ideas, in reality
and fantasy, and with emotions.

Follow your child’s lead and help him build more
ideas by challenging him to expand what he is
saying or playing.
Give your child choices about where to go or what
to do.
 Encourage opinions, not facts

Work on Developmental
Milestone 6
6. Building logical bridges between
ideas
answering
W questions, having
logical back and forth conversations
Building bridges between ideas and
logical thinking

Challenge your child with open-ended questions;
those beginning with “who,” “what,” “where,”
“when,” “why,” and “how”.

Provide possible multiple-choice answers if your
child ignores or avoids responding to your openended questions. Throw in some silly possibilities
for him to consider.

If his thinking becomes a little piecemeal or
fragmented, get your child to be logical by acting
confused yourself.

Work on your child’s opinions, not facts. (If you
know the answer, it is a fact)
Developmental Milestones 7, 8,
and 9
7. Multi-causal, comparative thinking
8. Grey-area thinking
9. Reflective thinking off an internal
standard
Multi-causal, comparative thinking

Ask for multiple reasons “why”?

Compare and contrast things: A vs. B

Have them place ideas and interests in a
hierarchy of importance.
Grey Area Thinking

Moving away from polarized thinking (all or
nothing thinking); finding a middle ground

Understand gradations, degrees, and magnitudes
of things, like feelings
Reflective thinking off an
internal standard

Get your child to express opinions about their
own behavior and feelings. “I’m angrier than I
usually am, in this situation.”
The Greenspan Floortime
Approach ®
Level 1 Certification
We will be accepting applications for a hands on
Greenspan Floortime Certification course.
 6 hours of webinars to review DIR analysis
 2-3 days hands on coaching by The Floortime
Center directors Jake Greenspan and Tim
Bleecker.
 Once Trainees show proficiency in The
Greenspan Floortime Approach they will be
allowed to provide The Greenspan Floortime
Approach to the children they work with.
The Floortime Center®

Contact Information:
4827 Rugby Ave.
Bethesda, MD 20814
 Phone: (301) 657-1130
 Email: info@dirss.com
jake@thefloortimecenter.com
 tim@thefloortimecenter.com


Website: www.thefloortimecenter.com

www.thefloortimecenter.com/workshopmaterials.html