Greenspan Floortime is a relationship-based, play-centered intervention developed by Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan that builds a child’s developmental capacities through warm, joyful interactions that follow the child’s lead.
Gestures like pointing, reaching, and showing are a child’s way of communicating intent before words emerge. Rich gestural use directly predicts language development. The Greenspan/DIR Model prioritizes expanding gestural communication at early developmental levels as the bridge to spoken language.
Parents can expand gestural communication by responding to every gesture enthusiastically, treating each reach or point as meaningful communication. Adding gestures to your own speech and creating situations where gestures are needed builds the gestural foundation that supports language.
For pre-verbal or minimally verbal children with autism, developing rich gestural communication is often the most powerful path toward spoken language. When a child learns to communicate meaningfully through gestures, they build the communicative intent that underlies all language.