Dr. Greenspan strongly advocated for early intervention before a formal autism diagnosis. He believed that waiting for a diagnosis before beginning support was an unnecessary delay that cost children critical developmental time. If a child is showing signs of developmental delay — in attention, engagement, or communication — beginning Greenspan Floortime-based support immediately is both safe and beneficial.
Early intervention — particularly in the first three years of life — takes advantage of the brain’s greatest period of neuroplasticity. During this window, the right relationships and experiences can have the most profound impact on developmental trajectories. Dr. Greenspan’s research showed that children who begin relationship-based intervention early make significantly greater developmental progress.
The Greenspan Floortime Approach is effective for children showing any developmental differences — including delays in social engagement, communication, sensory processing, or emotional regulation — regardless of whether they have received a formal diagnosis. The approach is built on universal developmental principles that apply to all children, and is most powerful when started early.
Parents can begin Greenspan Floortime at any age, but the earlier the better. If your child is showing signs of developmental differences — limited eye contact, reduced social smiling, delayed babbling, difficulty with two-way interaction — begin Floortime-based play immediately. The Parent Course at stanleygreenspan.com teaches parents how to get started in under five hours of video content.