Services under the umbrella of a Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR®) model

Under the Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR®) model a child receives not only Floortime, but also sensory integration occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and other services such as physiotherapy, music therapy, swimming, gymnastics or other movement/co-ordination exercise activity, etc. according to their individual profiles. Ideally these services would all be monitored by a DIR® team who is in contact on a regular basis in the child’s best interest rather than be islands of isolated services.

* Please note that links may not be up-to-date are only suggestions where you can start, not endorsements. Please conduct your own due diligence when looking for services. Please contact us if you have a clinic you’d like listed here.

Virtual (Online) Training for Professionals and Services for Families

Clinics Offering DIR/Floortime in North America

International Clinics Offering DIR/Floortime® Services

DIR/Floortime schools

Other related services

(Also see ICDL’s Provider DIRectory to search or Browse Categories or Locations)

Virtual (Online) Training for Professionals and Services for Families

The Canadian Self-Reg Clinic, Inc. provides the Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship (DIR) model within an OT approach, grounded in Self-Regulation theory using the Shanker Method, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Sensory Processing, seeing parents, youth and adults separately using this combined toolbox, in addition to some families who are looking specifically for a DIR lens.

The DIR® Institute offers the DIR® Home Program focused on guiding and educating parents about how to implement a DIR program and how to utilize Floortime to strategically promote your child’s development through joyful interactions and activities that help address the unique needs of your child(ren) through weekly live virtual Floortime coaching sessions with a Floortime expert. A DIR program is a comprehensive approach that is implemented by the caregivers and natural supports in the child’s life.

The Greenspan Floortime Approach is Dr. Greenspan’s family’s online training site for parents and professionals.

The International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) is the primary resource for information about DIR/Floortime® for parents and professionals and certification training in DIR/Floortime® and the one Affect Autism endorses. Please find a DISCOUNT code for courses under the Shop-Products menu above.

The P.L.A.Y. Project incorporates the DIR® theoretical framework in an evidence-based intervention for children with autism. They offer services, resources and training.

Profectum uses their derived Foundational Capacities for Development (FCD™) model based on the DIR® model to provide an integrative framework to help parents and practitioners, and offers training and certifications.

International Clinics Offering DIR/Floortime® Services

Autism Seen Developmentally in England offers holistic, family-centred autism therapy, courses and workshops for parents and professionals using a DIR® framework.

Connecting Through Play in Scotland is run by an ICDL Training Leader and Expert DIR/Floortime® Provider offering services for children and adults on the autism spectrum using DIR/Floortime®.

Disfrutar El Mar in Northern Spain offers surfing experiences for children with developmental differences and disabilities using DIR/Floortime.

The Growing Brain PH in Quezon City, the Philipines offers DIR/Floortime training, parent coaching, and services for children with developmental differences.

Kiddie Club in Geneva, Switzerland offers DIR/Floortime® therapeutic services for children with developmental differences.

Little Buds Occupational Therapy in Melbourne, Australia offers DIR/Floortime® mobile occupational therapy in the suburbs of Melbourne.

 

Mind Builders: Autism Seen Developmentally in Ruhpolding, Germany offers Family-Centered virtual coaching and play ideas and strategies online in German and English using a DIR/Floortime approach.

Let’s Play Developmental Therapy in Brisbane, Australia provides Occupational Therapy services to children who have difficulty relating, communicating and functioning within the demands of daily life using the DIR® framework. The primary focus is working with children between the ages of 0 to 12, with special emphasis on children in their early years (0-6 years).

Simone Tiemann is an Occupational Therapist in Northern Spain who offers services with a DIR/Floortime lens.

DIR/Floortime Schools

Celebrate the Children Denville, NJ

Oak Hill Academy, Dallas, TX

Oakwood Academy Mississauga, ON

Rebecca School Manhattan, NY

Reconnections Education Center New Port Richey, FL

Soaring Eagle Academy Lombard, IL

Special Connections Academy Hallandale, FL

Threshold Community Program Decatur, GA

Other related services

Spiral Movement Center offers Movement!®, a holistic gross motor program that has helped hundreds of children across a wide range of movement challenges including autism, ADHD, hyperactivity and developmental differences revisit the fundamentals of moving, socially interacting, and being creative. The Toronto center also offers high-quality, individualized somatic motor-re-education and adapted yoga programs for children with disabilities and special needs.

Clinics Offering DIR/Floortime in North America

A Total Approach in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania created by Occupational Therapist and DIR/Floortime Expert Provider and Trainer, Maude LeRoux is exclusively based on the DIR Model offering DIR/Floortime, occupational therapy with a focus on sensory integration, speech therapy, physical therapy, Tomatis® Sound Therapy, Interactive Metronome®, and more. They also offer online consultations and coaching. See our many podcasts with Maude under the Start Here menu including this one.

ACT Learning Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada “is an autism therapy centre founded to provide evidence-based, innovative and leading-edge assessment and intervention for children, youth, and adults with autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays or developmental disabilities. Therapies are offered by ACT’s highly trained staff both in our clinic or in your home” and includes DIR/Floortime and the P.L.A.Y. Project.

Alphabet Soup Speech Consultants in New York and New Jersey provides developmentally-based speech and language services as well as parent coaching within the DIR/Floortime® approach.

Attuned Families in Toronto, Canada provides attachment-informed and relationship- and developmentally-based family therapy, child therapy, and parent coaching via social workers who are DIR/Floortime trained.

Autism Education and Development Solutions  in Fort Lauderdale, Florida founded by Dr. Jennifer Kirkland is a DIR® clinic providing a wide variety of services for children, families, educators, and organizations.

Baby Steps Therapy LLC in Media, Pennsylvania (just W of Philadelphia) was founded by Physical Therapist and DIR Expert Trainer Mary Beth Crawford and brings a wide range of treatment techniques and a holistic perspective to pediatric physical therapy and occupational therapy with practitioners trained in a variety of sensory integrative and neuro-developmental techniques, which support a collaborative therapeutic approach, both with each other and with every child’s family.

Beth Osten & Associates Pediatric Therapy Services in Skokie, Illinois is a team of experienced pediatric therapists providing occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physical therapy, educational services, and parent and child mental health services using the DIR® Model.

The Canadian Self-Reg Clinic, Inc. in Toronto and Hamilton, ON (and virtually) provides the Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship (DIR) model within an OT approach, grounded in Self-Regulation theory using the Shanker Method, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Sensory Processing, seeing parents, youth and adults separately using this combined toolbox, in addition to some families who are looking specifically for a DIR lens in downtown Toronto, in the Hamilton area, and online.

Child Therapy Chicago in Chicago, Illinois is primarily a psychotherapy clinic but does provide DIR/Floortime® services.

Clinical Communication Consultants (CCC) in Thornhill, ON provide children with communication disorders and their families the best suited and individualized comprehensive intervention program based on developmental diagnostic measures and list DIR/Floortime® as one of their certifications/methodologies.

Communicare Therapy Developmental Disorders Clinic in Ottawa, Ontario offers DIR/Floortime® services.

Connect With Kids in Toronto, ON offers private social work support of children with special needs and their families using the DIR® model and DIR/Floortime.

Developmental Fx in Denver, Colorado offers pediatric occupational and speech therapy, and mental health support for children who have a range of learning and developmental disabilities and mental health challenges.

Developmental Music Health Services in North Baldwin, NY is your resource center for relationship-based developmental intervention and training services for families, professionals, schools, and agencies, founded by DIR Expert Trainer, Dr. John Carpente, serving the Long Island and metropolitan areas.

The DIR® Institute in Livingston, NJ is a revolutionary institute focused on guiding and educating parents about how to implement a DIR program and how to utilize Floortime techniques. In addition to the DIR® Home Program (live virtual sessions), the international center gives families from around the world the opportunity to come in-person to experience Floortime with top experts.

Donnie Welch Poetry offers training, webinars, and instructional books for providing DIR-based sensory, developmental poetry workshops. You can learn more about these from our podcast with him.

Dynamic Kids NY in Hartsdale, New York is a multi-disciplinary pediatric practice that provides Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapy services to children from birth through teens and is very sensory-oriented and uses the DIR Model. They also provide enrichment groups such as music, art, yoga, self-regulation and handwriting. 

Ellen Yack & Associates Sensory Integration Occupational Therapy Services in Toronto, ON is a private practice that primarily provides occupational therapy (OT) assessment, treatment and consultation services to children and adolescents with a range of challenges and has associates who have specific expertise in the areas of sensory processing and autism spectrum disorders as well as having DIR/Floortime® training.

Embracing Autism Services in Oakland, California provides affirming support services, including DIR/Floortime, for neurodivergent children and teens, creating neurodivergent affirming spaces where autistic and neurodiverse children can be authentically themselves. 

Emerge Pediatric Therapy in North Carolina (Durham, Cary, and Carrboro) provides occupational, speech, and physical therapy “paired with wraparound care” including DIR/Floortime.

Engage Relate Communicate in upstate New York/northern New Jersey is ICDL DIR expert training leader Colette Ryan’s Floortime education service providing direct services, consultations, and family advocacy for children and families with disabilities.

Floortime Atlanta comprises seven experienced Expert Training Leaders DIR clinicians practicing in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Floortime Atlanta serves children with social, emotional, communicative, developmental and learning challenges, including autistic spectrum disorders such as Autism and Asperger’s Disorder and their entire families.

The Floortime Center in Bethesda, Maryland and in Alexandria, Virginia are run by Dr. Greenspan’s proteges, son Jake Greenspan and Tim Bleecker offering the Greenspan Floortime Approach and a full umbrella of services one would see in a comprehensive DIR® Model including occupational therapy, speech therapy, vision therapy, FOODTIME™, and more…

The Glovinsky Center for the Child and Family in West Bloomfield, Michigan was created by Psychologist and DIR/Floortime® Expert Provider Dr. Glovinsky. It is a multi-disciplinary center for children and families specializing in developmental challenges and more using the DIR® approach.

Greenhouse Therapy Center in Pasadena, California helps children and adults to become more self-aware, regulated, capable of sustaining relationships, creative, spontaneous, joyful, and emotionally intelligent using the DIR® approach.

Holding Hands Pediatric Therapy & Diagnostics in Los Angeles, California offers a range of varying services including DIR/Floortime® services.

Integrated Therapy Solutions in Los Angeles, California offers a range of varying services including DIR/Floortime® services.

Individual and Team Therapy Services for Children (ITTS) in Atlanta, Georgia offers occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, DIR/Floortime, Tomatis listening therapy and more with services delivered by DIR/Floortime trained professionals.

Joleen Fernald Pediatric Therapy Services in Trinity, Florida offers DIR/Floortime® services by Joleen Fernald, a speech and language pathologist who is a DIRFloortime® Training Leader and Expert Provider, with a focus on Selective Mutism.

Kaleidoscope Interactive Developmental Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota offers a range of varying developmental services based on the DIR® model including offering the Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) evaluations.

Kansas City Developmental Therapies in Overland Park, KS offers a range of services based on the DIR® model including Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language therapy, Physical therapy, DIR/Floortime, parent coaching, feeding services and more.

Kids Always Kount in Daphne, Alabama offers a wide range of occupational, physical and speech therapy services with the co-owners both having DIR/Floortime training.

Kinder Growth DIRFloortime Therapy in New Jersey offers DIRFloortime therapy services and parent coaching throughout the state of New Jersey that are covered by Medicaid. See our podcast with them here.

Leaps & Bounds Family Services, Inc. in Lombard, Illinois provides early intervention services to help children develop, grow and learn during the early years of life. Early intervention programs including DIR/Floortime are designed for families of infants, toddlers and young children with or at risk for developmental delays or disabilities.

Learning Without Borders in Saline, Michigan provides personalized learning, educational therapy, parent education and coaching, transition planning and DIR/Floortime services from a certified PLAY project consultant and DIR/Floortime trained professional.

L.E.E.P. Forward in Chicago, Illinois uses the DIR/Floortime® approach in their range of therapeutic services and preschool.

Little Buddies Pediatric Therapy in Burnaby, British Columbia and the Greater Vancouver area uses the DIR/Floortime® approach offering assessments, occupational therapy, school and daycare visits, and groups and camps.

Logan Center in South Bend, Indiana uses the Play Project, derived from DIR/Floortime®, as a home consulting program for families of children with autism.

Logopedia in San Francisco, California is a DIR/Floortime Speech and Language clinic that offers gender affirming voice training, pediatric speech and language therapy, early intervention, and parent programs in both English and Spanish. See our podcast about Logopedia here.

Maui Center for Child Development in Maui, Hawaii created by Occupational Therapist and DIR/Floortime® Expert Provider and Trainer Kiegan Blake provides highly specialized and comprehensive assessment and treatment of children in Hawaii using state of the art equipment and interventions under the DIR® model.

The MEHRIT Centre in Toronto and Gores Landing, ON was where the ground-breaking DIR/Floortime brain research was conducted. The focus is now on the first of the six key functional emotional developmental capacities, self-regulation. They are offering many exciting services at their site.

Parent Support Online Drop-In Meetings Each week, the International Council on Development and Learning and Affect Autism hold a free online drop in for caregivers to guide and support each other through the ups and downs of parenting using the DIR/Floortime approach.

Pediatric Physical & Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington and Pacific Northwest Pediatric Therapy in Portland, Oregon are private practices owned and directed by Rosemary White, OTR/L specializing in using the DIR/Floortime® Model with emphasis on understanding the impact of the child’s sensory processing and postural control on their capacity to relate, communicate and learn.

Play Connect Learn uses the DIR/Floortime® approach with families as well as schools and programs in San Francisco, California to provide direct intervention, caregiver coaching and support, educational support and more.

Play Partners Maine uses the DIR/Floortime® approach with families as well as schools, programs and agencies in Maine and New Hampshire and has a very informative website and blog.

Play Potential in Milwaukee, Wisconsin offers DIR/Floortime® services, developmental assessments, sensory play experiences, and curated play spaces to empower children’s development.

Playful Connections Therapy Center in Cornelius, North Carolina offers psychological and DIR/Floortime® services for children with Autism, ADHD, learning challenges, developmental disorders, behavioral issues, depression, anxiety, fears, and more and also offers parent training and coaching.

Playworks Chicago in Chicago, Illinois offers a wide range or services from speech, feeding, occupational, to physical therapy and more with DIR/Floortime practitioners on staff.

Positive Development offers DIR/Floortime-based clinics in California, D.C., Florida, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia covered by insurance.

Professional Child Development Associates (PCDA) in Pasadena, California utilizes a DIR/Floortime® relationship-based approach with multidisciplinary team services and training that recognize the importance of supporting the ‘whole child’ and special relationships with parents, siblings, other caregivers, and friends.

The Rebecca Center for Music Therapy in Rockville Center, New York on the campus at Molloy College was founded by DIR Expert Trainer and music therapist Dr. John Carpente and uses interactive music therapy with children, adolescents, adults and the elderly to facilitate relatedness, communication, and thinking while removing physical and cognitive barriers that prevent people with developmental differences from engaging in essential social interactions and life processes.

Seaport Speech and Feeding in Manhattan, New York was founded by SLP and DIR Expert Trainer ToniAnn Loftus who has a special interest in feeding and hearing, providing speech and language therapy using DIR/Floortime as well as private consultations, play therapy, school training, and parent/caregiver coaching.

Smile Center in NY, NY provides pediatric occupational, physical and speech therapy services with a strong emphasis on sensory integration (SI), neuro-developmental treatment (NDT), and DIR/Floortime, treating the whole child by addressing the systemic sensory and postural needs, as well as supporting social-emotional, communicative and affective development.

Social Play And Creative Education (SPACE) Therapy & Gym in Houston, TX provides outpatient pediatric occupational, physical, and speech therapy services utilizing the DIR/Floortime model to guide the therapy process. SPACE’s founders trained under Dr. Serena Weider, and multiple therapists hold certificates to provide DIR/Floortime services.

Spark Therapy in Thornhill, ON provides therapy services in schools, day programs, and group homes throughout the Greater Toronto Area and York Region, including DIR/Floortime. The Thornhill facility includes therapy rooms and a sensory gym. The multi-disciplinary team coordinates the client’s therapy services to ensure that all areas of need are assessed and treated.

The STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorders in Colorado provides support for sensory processing challenges offering therapies and training for professionals.

Speech & Language Matters in Toronto, ON provides DIR/Floortime speech and language services. The clinical practice includes working with children and families using a combination of trans-disciplinary parent coaching, reflective parent meetings, and direct therapy. They also provide ongoing professional support to teachers, designing classroom curriculum and individualizing programs for students.

Talk On Speech & Language Therapy in Kent, OH provides highly individualized, creative, engaging and evidence-based speech and language therapy using a DIR/Floortime approach.

TEAM Autism Memphis in Germantown, TN provides a variety of services to assist clients and families who are focused on furthering growth and development including DIR/Floortime.

Therapy Keeper in New Jersey is a private Occupational Therapy DIR/Floortime provider that offers 1:1 Coaching, Intensives, Support Groups and more.

Dr. Lauren Tobing-Puente, Licensed Psychologist in Manhattan & Queens, NY provides services to toddlers through young adulthood with neurodevelopmental disorders of communicating and relating, including autism spectrum disorders, and their families using the DIR/Floortime® philosophy and related Floortime strategies in her work.

Unique Learning in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is a clinic offering HANDLE, DIR/Floortime, The Listening Program, the Irlen method, as well as educational strategies and reflex integration. “These non-drug treatment modalities are developmental in nature and assist the brain in creating efficient pathways, leading to improved overall functioning.services.

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