“Each time the baby follows his interests and takes your bait, he is closing a circle of communication… Getting to a continuous flow of back-and-forth communication is the goal—going from two or three circles, to five, ten, twenty…” — Dr. Stanley Greenspan Engaging Autism, Pages 67 & 92 The Continuous Flow is part of Dr....
When applying an intervention for children with social-emotional challenges/delays, caregivers and professionals must maintain focus on the core fundamental process driving social-emotional development, sustained dynamic co-regulated interactions. Creating a sensory and emotionally supportive environment for a child can maximize the effectiveness of an intervention. However, if the environment does not support both the sensory and...
Let me start by saying that all trauma is perceived because trauma is defined by the mind and body’s response to intense experiences that threaten or cause harm. Trauma defines our individual emotional and physical response to these events and doesn’t define the event itself. This should not downplay the significance or impact of trauma. ...
While speech and language are very important tools that can help us effectively communicate, language is not the only type of human communication. Research has determined that 70%-93% of our communication is non-verbal (Mehrabian A. Silent messages: a wealth of information about nonverbal communication (body language) 2016 http://www.kaaj.com/psych/smorder.html). While there is still a debate about...
In the 1960’s, Jean Ayres, an occupational therapist, psychologist, and neuroscientist challenged traditional occupational therapy ideals by looking at the whole child and their perception and response to their environment, not simply focusing on specific components of a motor pattern. In 1972, Ayres stated that sensory systems develop in an integrated manner and depend on...
Research shows, and professionals agree, that having social interest and developing social skills are necessary for long term social-emotional health. However, there seems to be a common misconception that schools and ‘peer modeling’ are responsible for a child’s social skill development. While that would make everyone’s lives easier, it is simply not true. Social skills...
“We believe this is due to a primary biological challenge in connecting their emotions to their motor systems or motor planning. Because they can’t sequence their actions under the guidance of their desires, they may want closeness but can’t figure out how to translate that desire into action (communication).” — Dr. Stanley Greenspan Engaging Autism,...
“With this approach, children learn to master critical abilities missed or derailed along their developmental path—namely, the ability to relate to others with warmth and pleasure, communicate purposefully and meaningfully… and, to varying degrees, think logically and creatively.” — Dr. Stanley Greenspan Engaging Autism, Page 3 Dr. Stanley Greenspan defined Floortime as an intervention that...
“The principle in encouraging two-way communication and social problem-solving is to inspire the child to do something to you the therapist or caregiver—to take initiative, rather than you doing something to the child.” — Dr. Stanley Greenspan Engaging Autism Page 94 If you were lucky enough to have experienced a consultation with Dr. Greenspan, whether...
Developmentally appropriate play is different from age-appropriate play. Age-appropriate play is determined by looking at a child’s chronological age and determines what types of toys and activities a child should be using and participating in to match their peers interests and abilities. Developmentally appropriate play first looks at the child’s abilities to communicate, move their...
