Problem-solving during Floortime Sessions

1. Problem-solving during Floortime Sessions Looking at some of the common challenges parents and therapists encounter while performing floortime

2. Types Of Problems • Avoidance • Self-stimulatory behaviors • Tantrums • Aggression • Scripting • Illogical or tangential expression

3. Avoidance Causes • Stress from sensory or emotional inputs - Being overwhelmed by a sound, sight, smell, touch, or taste present in the environment - Experiencing a negative emotion, like frustration, from a challenge during an interaction. • Seeking out sensory input - Seeking out sensory input in the form of running, jumping, crashing, etc.

4. Avoidance Solutions • Raise affect to entice child more. • Modify environment to be more calming for a sensitive child. • Challenge less during an interaction. • Provide enjoyable sensory inputs during the interaction. • Be PLAYFULLY obstructive.

5. Self-stimulatory behavior Causes • Seeking sensory inputs on their own. • Experiencing stress, emotional or sensory, and trying to calm self. • Fatigue

6. Self-stimulatory behavior Solutions • Provide similar sensory inputs through an interaction. • Take the stress or the child out of the environment. (Be cautious and avoid any environments that overly stress) • Keep children well rested and in a constant state of regulation.

7. Tantrums Causes • Over-stimulating sensory environment. • Over-challenging emotional environment. • Fatigue plus a sensory or emotional trigger.

8. Tantrums Solutions • Be very soothing and calming, as you would with an infant. • Provide proprioceptive sensory input in a slow rhythmic manner, while being calm and soothing. • Take the child into a calmer or more neutral environment.

9. Aggression Causes • Overwhelming emotions paired with sensory seeking. (especially proprioceptive inputs) -Emotions can be stimulated by challenging too much, fatigue, and lack of comfort and support. • Modeling impulsive or aggressive behavior.

10. Aggression Solutions • Stay calm, but set firm limits. • Only physically restrain a child when they are harming themselves or others. • Develop a calmer home environment with parents. (If necessary parents seek professional help to deal with their aggression)

11. Scripting Causes • Being self-absorbed in own world due to stress in outside environment. • Being more comfortable using someone else's ideas to communicate. • Using memory instead of creativity to express self.

12. Scripting Solutions • Calm the child down and help refocus them on the outside world. • Join the script and help become more flexible within the script. • Take stressors or child out of the environment.

13. Illogical or tangential expression Causes • Sequencing/attentional difficulties • Over-stimulation/Excitement • Over-stimulation/Anxiety

14. Illogical or tangential expression Solutions • Act confused. • Ask questions to help with logic and sequencing. • Calm and slow the child down, and ask them how they are feeling (nervous or excited).

15. Problem-solving Related to Slow or No Progress Looking at what to do when a child is experiencing slow or no progress within the Functional Emotional Developmental Milestones.

16. Reasons for Slow or No Progress • Their sensory processing systems are severely compromised, contributing to a flatter learning curve. • The Flootime program is not being carried out to it’s fullest extent, or in the correct manner. • There are negative stimulus present in the environment, health issues, or overwhelming or stressful intervention programs

17. Solutions to Slow or No Progress • We can work with specific processing areas, like motor planning and sequencing and auditory processing, to support the ability to process information. • We must work with the family on a consistent basis to make sure the home is a supportive environment. • We can limit exposure to over-stimulating environments, monitor health, and prioritize individual programs.

18. The Floortime Center 4827 Rugby Ave Bethesda, MD 20814 Phone (301) 657-1130 Email info@dirss.com Website www.dirss.com