Imagine it -- a community in which DIRFloortime™ is systemically available. What might we see?

A pediatrician walks concerned parents through Greenspan’s Social Emotional Growth questionnaire. She refers the parents to a neurologist, psychologist or other specialist trained to evaluate a child at his best, seeking to understand the child’s individual strengths as well as weaknesses.  She provides a directory of DIRFloortime™ resources or an Early Intervention Center where DIRFloortime™ services are available. Highly trained DIRFloortime™ Training Leaders are locally available to build an integrated treatment program for the child, drawing upon other DIRFloortime™-trained specialty providers, as needed by the child’s individual profile. The educator or consultant creates a detailed program to guide parents in their efforts at home, and meets with them regularly to assess needs and progress. Trained Floortime™ players are available to offer Floortime™ sessions in the home and help parents learn to do Floortime™ more effectively. Later, the child is enrolled in a preschool or elementary classroom staffed with teachers who are trained in developmental, relationship-based Model (DIR®). DIRFloortime™ training programs for professionals are available through local agencies, training centers and universities, with different levels of training offered depending upon learners’ individual needs and occupations. At each step along the journey, parents have resources to draw upon, professionals who can help support their choice of DIRFloortime™ as the intervention for their child.

Now imagine not just one community embracing this social-emotional , developmental and relationship-based approach to serving special needs children, but communities all over the world. Imagine, too, the benefits to all children in communities like this -- because as Brazelton and Greenspan assert, the irreducible needs of children are the needs of all children.

This then, should be our mission: to alter the status quo. And we must ask ourselves, what would it take to move from where we are today to this vision of DIRFloortime™ as a systemic parenting model and true intervention choice for parents with children with special needs? Why would we settle for anything less?