Affect Autism Blog Posts and Podcasts
Home of the 'We chose play' podcastEverything you need to know to implement and practice DIR/Floortime on your own
To browse all posts/podcasts by topic/category/guest/profession, go to the Start Here link.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL VIEWS EXPRESSED BY PODCAST AND BLOG POST GUESTS ARE SOLELY THEIRS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF AFFECT AUTISM, DARIA BROWN, NOR ICDL AND ASSOCIATED PARTIES.
Guests: If you hold a DIR/Floortime certificate or are a caregiver using DIR/Floortime with your child(ren) and would like to be interviewed for a podcast or write a guest blog, please Contact Us.
Podcast Schedule:
September 13, 2024: Beginning a Floortime program with OT Kerri Ciskowski
After that:
- Affective Signalling with Educator Kasheena Holder
- DIR® Institute Intensives with Becky Gottlieb and Gretchen Kamke
Bringing DIR Into the Classroom to Accommodate Communication for All
Photo by Tima MiroshnichenkoThis Week's EpisodeToniAnn Loftus is DIR Expert and Speech-Language Pathologist. She trained at the Rebecca School and now owns and operates Seaport Speech and Feeding, a clinic in Manhattan. Today we are discussing inclusion in schools...
Trauma through a DIR Lens
Photo by NEOSiAM 2024+This Week's TopicThe topic of this episode is trauma through a DIR/Floortime lens. Maude Le Roux recently did a course on this topic through the International Council on Development and Learning and here she covers how to work with trauma clients...
Developing Through FEDC 4 into FEDC 5
Photo by cottonbro studioThis Week's TopicThe topic of this episode is to give an overview and review of the fourth Functional Emotional Developmental Capacity (FEDC 4) of the Developmental, Individual differences, and Relationship (DIR) Model from last episode, an...
FEDC 4: Complex Communication and Shared Problem Solving
Photo by Mikhail NilovThis Week's TopicThe topic of this episode is the fourth Functional Emotional Developmental Capacity (FEDC 4) of the Developmental, Individual differences, and Relationship (DIR) Model based on the presentation our guests in March at the New York...
Nurturing Intentionality as a Bridge to FEDC 4
Photo by Anna ShvetsThis Week's TopicThis episode we are discussing intentionality in the third Functional Emotional Developmental Capacity (FEDC 3), which is Intentionality and Two-Way Communication in the Developmental, Individual differences, and Relationship (DIR)...
A DIR Lens on Sleeping
Photo by Ketut SubiyantoThis Week's PodcastThis week our topic is one that is a top request by parents: sleep. I covered it a bit with Dr. Joshua Feder in a previous podcast. Although neither this episode's guest nor I are sleep experts, we want to come at the topic...
Giant Steps Interdisciplinary Autism Centre
Photo credit: Giant Steps Autism CentreThis Week's PodcastI’m speaking with Marla Cable, the Assistant Director of the Resource and Training Centre at Giant Steps Interdisciplinary Autism Centre in Montreal, Quebec, which houses the developmental approach,...
Reflective Practice in DIR
Photo by Christina MorilloThis Week's PodcastAndrew Klein is a DIR Expert and Training Leader and a pediatric Occupational Therapist at Emerge Pediatric Therapy in Durham, North Carolina where he has a specialized role in facilitating reflective supervision with his...
DIR and Medically Complex Children: Trauma-Informed Care
Photo by Nicola BartsThis Week's PodcastThis week's podcast features DIR Expert Erin Forward, a speech-language pathologist and certified lactation counselor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. She is a part of their interdisciplinary feeding team and their outpatient...
Advocating for rightful inclusion in school
Photo above: The Kredich boys performing at school.This Week's PodcastThis week’s podcast features Kim Kredich who has served as a volunteer advocate for hundreds and hundreds of students with disabilities in East Tennessee, working with families to help their...
Affect and Regulation in Middle Eastern Culture
This Week's PodcastThis week's podcast features DIR Expert Nagwa Khedr, who is an early intervention specialist in Cairo, Egypt. She's been practicing DIR/Floortime since 2014 and was involved recently in opening a DIR/Floortime Center there called Etwasel, which...
If I Need Help
This Week's GuestFor this podcast, I step outside of the DIR/Floortime world to showcase If I Need Help, a non profit that reunites those who might become lost, disoriented, or need assistance in a critical moment with their families, loved ones, and caregivers using...
Presuming Competence
Photo credit: Kat Wilcox This Week's PodcastThis week's podcast features returning guests, Special Educator Jackie Bartell and Speech Language Pathologist Bridget Palmer who are both DIR Experts and coaches in ICDL's DIR Home Program, and who both teach courses at...
A Developmental Perspective on Sharing
Photo credit: Vika Glitter This Week's PodcastThis episode, returning guest, Occupational Therapist, Stephanie Peters, DIR Expert & Training Leader and Clinical Director with Kinder Growth discusses the developmental considerations around sharing.Bonus...
Gestalt Language Processing and DIR
Photo credit: Tara WinsteadThis Week's PodcastThis episode, Speech Therapist, Sabrina O'Keefe, DIR Expert & Training Leader, discusses Gestalt Language Processing within a Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) framework, which listeners...
Parent Perspectives: Navigating Our Different Support Roles
Photo credit: James GanaParent PerspectivesOn this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have a discussion with a mother and grandmother of an autistic son and grandson about navigating her support roles. Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual...
Parent Perspectives: Parent Self-Regulation
Photo credit: Ketut SubiyantoParent PerspectivesOn this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have a parent discussion with an autistic parent of two autistic daughters about parent self-regulation with some great examples. Parent Perspectives is an...
Revisiting the ‘R’: Hidden Regulators in the Development of Relationships
Photo credit: Royal Opera HouseThis Week's PodcastThis episode, I bring you the live recording we did at the International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) 2023 International DIRFloortime Conference where I interviewed Dr. Ira Glovinsky who is a Clinical...
Parent Perspectives: Parents Listening to Autistic Self-Advocates
A New Podcast!This week is another edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism! I thought it would be helpful for parents and practitioners to hear some of the things we discuss at ICDL's parent support meeting, which happens Mondays at 1pm Eastern time, and in...
Regulating through Trauma
This Week's GuestDevelopmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader and Clinical Social Worker in Psychotherapy Private Practice, Galina Itskovich, is the Director at the Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Study Center (PPSC) Refugee...
Autistic Masking or Impression Management?
Bonus Insights This Week's Topic In this episode, we discuss Dr. Amy Pearson and Kieran Rose's newly published book entitled, Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of...
Parent Perspectives: Retrospective Perspective
Parent PerspectivesOn this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have another parent panel! Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual podcasts.This Week's GuestsThis edition of Parent Perspectives features three mothers of autistic daughters,...
Visual Spatial Planning and Assessment (ViSPA)
This Week's GuestsDevelopmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader and Occupational Therapist Toni Tortora is the Clinical Director at the Rebecca School and joins us from Manhattan. Occupational Therapist Colleen Gabbert is also...
Visualization leads to Imagination
Photo by Jessica Rockowitz on UnsplashThis Week's GuestOccupational Therapist Maude Le Roux is a DIR Expert and Training Leader and has a DIR/Floortime clinic, A Total Approach, in Glen Mills, PA, just outside Philadelphia and they are opening a satellite location in...
Parent Perspectives: Relationships, Play, and Growth
Parent PerspectivesOn this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have another parent panel! Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual podcasts.This Week's GuestsThis edition of Parent Perspectives features four mothers of autistic children,...
Parent Perspectives: Navigating our Health and Education Systems
A New Podcast!On this edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism, we have our first parent panel! Parent Perspectives is an addition to the usual podcasts with DIR Experts and other guests. I hope you enjoy them!This Week's GuestsThis edition of Parent...
Harnessing the Power of Narratives to Impact Development
This Week’s TopicThis week, we're discussing personal narratives and harnessing their power to impact the Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs) including expanding emotional language, the concept of hindsight (e.g., should I have reacted that way),...
(Non)Compliance does not equal (Dys)Regulation
This Week's TopicCompliance is often mistaken for readiness to learn, but compliance does not equal regulation, and regulation is necessary for learning. On the flip side, dysregulation is often seen as noncompliance. In this podcast, we discuss the connection between...
A New Community-Created Resource: SLP MAPs
This Week's GuestThis week's guest is Amanda Binns, a clinician scientist who has her PhD and is also a Speech and Language Pathologist. She's currently the co-lead at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital of a student-led environment designed to support...
Parent Perspectives: How Do We Handle Fears and Anxiety?
A New Podcast!This marks the first edition of Parent Perspectives from Affect Autism! I thought it would be helpful for parents and practitioners to hear some of the things we discuss at ICDL's parent support meeting, which happens Mondays at 1pm Eastern time,...
Adapted Spiral Praxis and Movement for the Bodymind Process
This Week's GuestToday I am thrilled to interview Yuji Oka of the Spiral Movement Center in Toronto where my son went for their MOVEMENT program weekly for many years up until the Pandemic. Yuji is the founder and a practitioner of Adapted Spiral Praxis which is based...
All About Praxis: Part 2 of 2
Photo by Mika Baumeister on UnsplashThis Week's Guests and Part 1 ReviewOccupational Therapist, Joann Fleckenstein, and Licensed Professional Counselor, Mike Fields, both of Individual and Team Therapy Services in Atlanta and Expert Developmental, Individual...
All About Praxis: Part 1 of 2
Photo by Mika Baumeister on UnsplashThis Week's GuestOccupational Therapist, Joann Fleckenstein, and Licensed Professional Counselor, Mike Fields, both of Individual and Team Therapy Services in Atlanta and Expert Developmental, Individual differences,...
A Floortime Approach to Fears and Phobias
This Week's GuestDr. Karen Levine is a Developmental Psychologist and a Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Model Expert and Training Leader based in Maine. She has a private practice specializing in treating young children, both...
Floortime Coaching for Different Parenting Styles
Photo: Annie SprattThis Week's GuestThis week I welcome Gabriela Michaca who is a licensed school neuropsychologist and also just received her Masters in Occupational Therapy. Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Model Expert and Training...
The Somatosensory System and Tactile Perception
Photo: Annie SprattThis Week's GuestOccupational Therapist Maude Le Roux is back again this week to discuss the sense of touch, or tactile perception, part of the 'I', Individual differences. Maude is a Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR)...
Physical Therapy is Enhanced Using a Floortime Lens
This Week's GuestMary Beth Crawford is a licensed Physical therapist and Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) Expert Training Leader who founded Baby Steps Therapy in 2008. Mary Beth regularly provides lectures and in-service training to...
Our Differences are Our Strengths
Bonus Insights FREE this week!This Week's GuestThis week I'm speaking with autistic self-advocate, Mickey Rowe, who has had a prolific and varied career as an actor, director, consultant, and public speaker. He is autistic and legally blind. He believes that our...
Autism and Medication: Part 2
Photo: Rhendi RukmanaThis Week's TopicWe're back this week with Dr. Joshua Feder, a child and family psychiatrist in Solana Beach, California. We did a podcast on autism and medication a few years back and this is part 2 because there is a new Child Medication Fact...
Emotional Playgrounds Foster Emotional Well-Being
This Week's TopicThis week I am over the moon excited to have Developmental Psychologist Gordon Neufeld as my guest to discuss emotional well-being (versus 'mental health') and rethinking 'play' in terms of emotional playgrounds--the heart of a culture of well-being.I...
Curiosity as a Driver of Connection and Interaction in Adolescence
This Week's TopicIn our last podcast together, back in 2019, Dave Nelson and I discussed puberty and how we can best support our kids in a respectful way using a developmental approach. Today we want to continue on that topic by touching on the developmental way to...
Empowering Ability
This Week's TopicThis week I welcome Eric Goll, the creator of Empowering Ability. I regularly watch Eric's weekly 5-minute video tips, attended his free life plan workshop and took his online course, realizing it was what I needed for where I was at with my son...
The Dynamic Process of ‘Transitions’
Photo Credit: Markus Spiske on UnsplashThis Week's TopicThis week I'm pleased to welcome new DIR Expert Training Leader, Helen Groth, as my guest to discuss the dynamic process of 'transitions' in autism. Helen gave a fabulous presentation on Transitions at the...
Giant Steps School in Montréal, Québec
This Week's TopicToday I'm speaking with Marla Cable, the Resource and Training Centre Coordinator at Giant Steps School. Giant Steps is a bilingual, developmental approach, individualized private school in the public interest in Montréal, Québec with 93 students aged...
Part 2: Adult Diagnosis and What it Means
This Week's Topic This week, in Part 2, Kieran Rose and I will discuss late diagnosis and what it means. In Part 1 last week, we discussed a number of topics around neurodiversity including who to listen to as parents when our child is diagnosed with so many opinions...
Part 1: To Whom Should Parents Listen?
This Week's TopicThis week, in Part 1, Kieran Rose and I will discuss a number of topics around neurodiversity including who to listen to as parents when our child is diagnosed with so many opinions out there, and the balance between what we want as parents for our...
The Process of Parenting our Neurodivergent Children
This Week's TopicThis week we're discussing the parenting process, the intersection of the parenting experience and Nicole Mank's professional world, and how one shaped the other. Nicole discovered Engaging Autism when her son was seven which shaped how she parented...
Part 2: Bridging the Gap in Understanding
This Week's TopicThis week is Part 2 of our podcast with autistic self-advocate Khylil Robinson and his mother, Michele Abraham-Montgomery, also known as Chele, who specializes in Family Services, Autism Resources & Advocacy, Peer Family Coaching, Peer Best...
Part 1: Taking that Step on the Red Carpet
Image: shutterstock.comThis Week's TopicJoining us this week are guests Khylil Robinson who is an autistic self-advocate, and his mother, Michele Abraham-Montgomery, also known as Chele, who specializes in Family Services, Autism Resources & Advocacy, Peer Family...
The Complexity of Vision and Visual Processing
This Week's TopicOccupational Therapist Maude Le Roux is back this week to discuss the visual system, vision, and visual processing, following up from our podcast on the vestibular system from a few months ago. The 'I' in the Developmental, Individual differences,...
Kinder Growth DIR/Floortime Medicaid Services
This Week's GuestSari Levin is a Special Educator who has worked with families for a long time and is the Clinical Supervisor of Kinder Growth where they provide home-based DIR/Floortime services throughout New Jersey and are the first accredited DIR/Floortime...
Unpacking ‘Aggression’
This Week's GuestReturning guest, DIR Expert Training Leader and Licensed Professional Counsellor, Mike Fields, joins us this week to discuss aggression. We'll cover praxis, regulation and co-regulation, neuroception (i.e., the body scanning the environment for...
The Conversation
This Week's GuestReturning guests, Jackie Bartell, retired special educator, and Colette Ryan, Infant Mental Health Specialist discuss a video conversation presented at a past ICDL Conference where a mother and son have a discussion about the son's differences pre-...
The Impact of Vestibular Processing on Development
This Week's GuestA returning, frequent guest, Occupational Therapist Maude Le Roux joins us this week to discuss the impact of vestibular processing on the functional emotional developmental capacities (FEDCs), the 'developmental ladder' in the Developmental,...