Engaging Autism. Helping Children Relate, Communicate and Think with the DIR Floortime Approach

Editorial Review

The inspiring success of Dr. Stanley Greenspan's unique approach to autism and ASD (autistic spectrum disorders) is known to grateful parents and to professionals throughout the world. Now at last his highly effective and influential program is presented in one clear and accessible volume. A number of innovative, exciting features distinguish Greenspan's approach to autism:First, his program has demonstrated that children with signs of autism or autistic spectrum disorders do not have a fixed, limited potential, but in many cases can join their peers and lead full, healthy lives, emotionally and intellectually. Secondly, his approach can be applied at a very early stage, when signs of autism first appear. Thus, the hope of preventing the full onset of autism becomes a real possibility. Third, the approach empowers the entire family to promote their child's development throughout each day. Also, the DIR Floortime approach guides the efforts of speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and educators to work with the family and builds on the latest research on the development of the mind and brain. As cases of autism continue to rise worldwide, Dr. Greenspan's extremely successful Floortime approach is producing very promising results that could one day stem the tide against this dread disorder. No one involved in the care of children with autism, parent or professional, can afford to be without this landmark work.

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Customer Reviews

This book changed our lives

2007-03-19
This book took off where ABA left off. ABA is a fantastic therapy, but it only did so much for my child. He still lacked the 'natural' spontaneous nature of a child. Floortime made all the gears click in my childs brain, that used to be idle. The changes were so profound that I cried. I can't express how thankful I am that I incorporated Floortime into my child's life.

Thank you Stanley Greenspan!

Not aimed at parents with adolescents

2007-01-03
I purchased this book as a parent with a recently diagnosed adolescent with autism spectrum disorder, but the book is a better source for parents/educators/professionals with very young children.

Big payoff for a method schools can't do. Surprised?

2006-11-19
My daughter is 8. We did the early intervention from age 2,Kind. and 1st grade. School goals were to make her autism not so obvious by teaching her to be quiet in class and follow a schedule. I found a mom who did her own consulting. Her daughter started non verbal at age 2 like mine. However, she used Greenspan and her daughter is amazing and in a reg. Kindergarten with no shadows. Very articulate, executive functioning (planning etc) is excellent. When asked how she did this she replied I worked my "blank" off! You would be amazed at what floor time accomplishes. We got pretty normal eye contact in a month. When you imitate them they look at you. She has learned nouns, not nouns, verbs, pronouns... When I read Greenspan I found a wealth of ideas for all kind of situations and I needed stories to see how to do it. She doesn't need much chair time except some of homeschooling. I want a kid who argues with her brother, can whine like any kid. I want her to play and make friends. Remember, be a kid yourself,laugh,have fun during therapy. Your presence has to be the reason playing is more fun. Read Greenspan. I did like the second book better. My husband and I have seen such huge positive changes. You begin to take for granted what didn't exist before. Isn't that nice? Greenspan keeps it functional, real life teaching in the moment! P.S. The disciplinarian teaches nothing. Knock off the military mindset.

Excellent resource and practical guide to autism

2006-11-03
I am a psychologist (PHD) and also mother to a child with Autism. I own several of Greenspan's other books and have been doing floortime with my son for 3 years. This book is an excellent resource for parents of autistic spectrum kids or professionals who work with these children. I had read Greenspan and Wieder's earlier book on floortime, but this 2nd book expands on the method considerably, laying it out in an even better format. It is also interesting to read Greenspan's examples of cases that he has worked with. Since children on the spectrum are so diverse, these examples are varied and represent ways that floortime can be used with children who have many different issues. I highly recommend this book. It is designed for parents to read, so anyone considering buying it should not feel that they have to be a professional to understand it.

A new hope for parents of children with autism

2006-10-28
This is an amazing book. The DIR /Floortime model is very rich, a wonderful alternative for children with autism. The book is very readable and the methodology is explained very clearly, in language that the lay person can follow. There is also a very good review of the modern theories about autism. I highly reccomend this book

Good book, recommended by a Doctor.

2008-03-11
This is a good book. Bought it for my sister and my sister and my brother-in-law
are finding it very informative and useful.

On the same topic, ADHD as Autism requires lot of pointers for the parents, when
their kids/family members or friends are diagonised. May be there are lot of pointers
and information already, but I find it hard to get some directions on this.

Also, the medical community over here in US could share their invaluable knowledge and
expertise to countries like India, where this is new and parents like my sister are
suffering, lacking all this information, guidance and pointers - I really mean that.

Thanks for all involved in writing this book.

Useful

2008-02-24
Nice to know more than one method for teaching children with Autism. This book has great information to help you individualize teaching for young children with Autism.

Good introduction

2007-10-10
This is a good introduction to the Floortime method. It includes lots of practical tips and real-life examples.

very repetitive

2007-07-25
I was very disappointed in this book. There was very little information in the book. It basically just kept repeating the same general concept over and over again. As an educator of elementary age ASD students, I was hoping to expand upon the TEACCH and ABA approaches that I have been employing. But, I found very little information that was useful. I have read literally hundreds of books about autism and related disorders, including many first hand accounts. The authors of this book did not seem to demonstrate a firm understanding of autism spectrum conditions.

Good beginner Floortime book

2007-05-14
I am "seasoned" in DIR/FT, having read numerous books by Dr. Greenspan and Dr. Wieder and attended ICDL and Floortime Foundation conferences. This book thoroughly explains the core deficits of autism spectrum disorder and the DIR/FT approach. If your child was recently diagnosed with ASD or if you have an older child/adolescent with difficulty with social interactions (pragmatic language) or sensory needs, this is an excellent book to read. There are also examples with respect to integrating FT into the school curriculum. It complements Dr. Greenspan's "The Child with Special Needs".