I attended a floortime approach conference which is all about matching a child’s affect to increase joint interaction. Floortime meets children where they are and builds upon their strengths and abilities through creating a warm relationship and interacting.
I have incorporated some of the principles in practice and am enjoying the progress in play skills with the children I treat. If your child is young and just making noises then I suggest making the same noises back and keeping it at the same tone and inflection. It may start a back and forth conversation.
With children who tend to play by themselves, I tend to join them with parallel play. If they grab a dinosaur I simply state “ oh me too” grab a dinosaur and perform the same actions. I am looking to get a few back and forths with a kid and then work towards more adult-directed tasks that are complex.
Three Principles of Floortime
- Follow your child’s lead
- Challenge them be creative and spontaneous
- Expand the action and interaction to include all or most of her senses and motor skills as well as different emotions