I am a language specialist with an Education and Pedagogy background. I started my Floortime journey in Argentina when my son was diagnosed with autism at the age of 1. Although a child neurologist prescribed Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) to help him with his development, the most recognised therapists in the field of autism in Argentina recommended Floortime. I decided to go with my motherly instinct and chose Floortime rather than ABA. The rest was just wait, watch and wonder. Shortly after we started Floortime sessions, my son began showing clear signs of improvement. His self-stimulatory behaviour stopped, and he preferred playing with me. He also said his first word after our first Floortime session.

After acquiring first-hand experience with my own son, I qualified to become a Floortime with therapist to spread the message and help other families with their children.

Floortime is a relational therapy based on the DIR interdisciplinary framework that originated in the United States. This approach is used to support the development of all children with special needs but has been mainly implemented to help children with autism spectrum disorder. DIRFloortime enables play practitioners, parents/carers and educators the possibility of designing a comprehensive assessment and intervention programme based on the child’s unique developmental profile. DIR stands for Developmental, Individual Difference, Relationship-based.

DIR offers an alternative perspective to therapy using a child’s natural/intrinsic interests as a stepping stone to expand that initial level of motivation and incorporate the interest of others. This approach does all this while supporting individuals’ unique biologies (neurological differences that may be preventing the development in the first place). The outcome is a reciprocal interaction that results in a general improvement in brain development. Children also become more communicative, more regulated and less self-stimulatory.