Autism: Can anyone give me direct "floortime" principles to use with my child? All the websites want money.

Question

I would like to learn some of the practical skills with the son-rise floortime program. I know there are books out there too... there is great success with this program... but am limited on the funds.. so if you know any of the principles with the son-rise program and "floortime" teachings, please share. Just trying to help my son. Thanks.

Answer 1

I would suggest reading the page I have linked to below which will give you an idea of what "Floortime" is.

http://autism.about.com/od/developmental...

My opinion on this is that Floortime in and of itself does nothing but aggravate autistics. HOWEVER, the parental role in Floortime offsets this aggravation, which leads me to beleive that it is parental interaction with the child on the child's level which yields the results.

One thing no one should do with autistics is increasing their stress levels by bombarding them with sensory overload and more activities than they can reasonably handle.

One thing all parents should be doing is trying to reach their autistic child on their level. This willingness to interact with an autistic tends to make them feel a special intimacy in return and makes them willing to try harder to act outside of their "bubble."

Save your money on these programs. Apply you time to very quiet and inter-personal interactions with your child.

Answer 2

Our experience with floortime has been much more positive than the answerer above.  I also could not afford the books but I went to Barnes and Noble and read through them, got a few ideas and worked on just those. Then I'd go back, peruse the book again, etc etc.

We did not use a particular plan, son-rise however seemed rather rigid and unbending to me. Greenspan was more respectful, but still does not take into account all the variables in people with autism.

The basic principle behind floortime is meeting the child on his or her level, engaging at what they are doing, and slowly stretching their boundaries within their comfort level. So with my daughter we started by getting down on the floor (hence the name, in contrast to ABA or DTT which usually takes place at a table/not in the natural environment) We would observe what she was doing, just being with her. I think we did this for days until she was comfortable with it (and we did use a reward system similar to ABA, a pocket of mini m&m's so we could say "Well done, here I am...thanks for sharing". Following that we would try to hold one of the toys, and reward like crazy. Then moved on to imitating her, then making up a new move, then encouraging her to imitate us. It takes months to do it in a respectful manner. Constantly working on lengthening the amount of time spent by her, using more words, tolerating nursery rhymes or songs.

This basic principle can be adapted to any level of ability or comfort. Our daughter was extremely low-functioning, and has made great strides with this method. After a while it becomes natural and you can apply it to visiting stores, cooking in the kitchen, doing chores, schoolwork, what have you.

I hope this kind of kick-starts some ideas. You might also contact your local autism society, they often have libraries from which you can borrow books.