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Floor Time Basics
A Glossary of Floor Time Terms
Floor Time: A warm and intimate way of relating to a child. A floor
time philosophy means engaging, respecting and getting in tune with the child in
order to help the child elaborate through gestures, words, and pretend play what
is on the child's mind. As a technique, floor time is a five-step process
that is used to support the emotional and social development of the child.
Opening the Circle of Communication: Tuning in and following a
child's special interest.
Closing the Circle : Allowing the child to bring your
extensions and expansions to a close.
Two-Way Communication: The child is able to have an emotional
dialogue. Opening and closing circles can take place. You need to take an
interest in and respond to the child, and the child responds with gestural and
verbal reactions. (In typical children, this ability is evident when the child
is 6 to 18 months months old.)
Observing: Noticing how the child is special and unique in style,
rhythm and mood.
Engagement: Babies coo, smile, gesture and exchange motor movements
with their partners. (0 to 8 months)
Following the Child's Lead : Seeing the child as the director and
yourself as the assistant director of the activity.
Extending and Expanding the Drama: Tuning in to the child's
imagination and ideas and taking them one step further through gestures and
words.
Emotional Thinking: The child leans to elaborate fantasies and to
make connections between different ideas. (3 to 5 years)
Shared Meanings: The child begins to communicate ideas with words or
pretend play. Emotional themes enter the child's play. The child uses themes not
only to express wants and needs but also to expand fantasies and creativity. (18
to 36 months)
Stages of Relating : Stages in emotional and social development of
children.
The Five Steps in Floor Time
Step One: OBSERVATION
Both listening to and watching a child are essential for effective
observation. Facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body
posture, and words (or lack of words) are all-important clues that help
you determine how to approach the child.
 | Is the child's behavior relaxed or outgoing? |
| Is he or she withdrawn or uncommunicative? |
| Is he or she bubbling with excitement? |
| Is the child a real go-getter? |
Step Two: APPROACH - OPEN CIRCLES OF COMMUNICATION
Once a child's mood and style have been assessed, you can approach the child
with the appropriate words and gestures. You can open the circle of
communication with a child by acknowledging the child's emotional tone, then
elaborating and building on whatever interests the child at the moment.
Step Three: FOLLOW THE CHILD'S LEAD
After your initial approach, following a child's lead simply means being a
supportive play partner who is an "assistant" to the child and allows
the child to set the tone, direct the action, and create personal dramas. This
enhances the child's self-esteem and ability to be assertive, and gives the
child a feeling that "I can have an impact on the world." As
you support the child's play, the child benefits from experiencing a sense of
warmth, connectedness and being understood.
Step Four: EXTEND AND EXPAND PLAY
As you follow the child's lead, extending and expanding a child's play themes
involves making supportive comments about the child's play without being
intrusive. This helps the child express own ideas and defines the direction of
the drama. Next, asking questions to stimulate creative thinking can keep the
drama going, while helping the child clarify the emotional themes involved,
e.g.: suppose a child is crashing a car: Rather than ask critically, Why are
those cars crashing? You may respond empathetically, Those cars have so
much energy and are moving fast. Are they trying to get somewhere?
Step Five: CHILD CLOSES THE CIRCLE OF COMMUNICATION
As you open the circle of communication when you approach the child, the
child closes the circle when the child builds on your comments and gestures with
comments and gestures of own. One circle flows into another, and many circles
may be opened and closed in quick succession as you interact with the child. By
building on each other's ideas and gestures, the child begins to appreciate and
understand the value of two-way communication.
Strategies for Floor Time
Intervention
| follow the child's lead and join them - it does not matter what they do as
long as they initiate the move |
| persist in your pursuit |
| treat what the child does as intentional and purposeful - give new
meanings |
| help the child do what they want to do |
| position yourself in front of the child |
| invest in whatever the child initiates or imitates |
| join perseverative play |
| do not treat avoidance or "no" as rejection |
| expand, expand, expand - keep going, play dumb, do wrong moves, do as
told, interfere etc. |
| do not interrupt or change the subject as long as it is interactive |
| insist on a response (encourage the child to close the circle) |
| do not turn the session into a learning or teaching experience |
Opening the Symbolic Door
| get engaged at any level |
| get intentional - build on any intent, problem solving, corner or undoing |
| heighten affect - at every level, all emotions are equal |
Strategies for Engagement and
Two-way Communication
| Give the child’s seemingly random actions new meanings by
responding to them as if they were purposeful. |
| Use sensory-motor play -- bouncing, tickling, swinging, and
so on -- to elicit pleasure. |
| Use sensory toys in cause-and-effect ways: hide a toy, then
make it magically reappear; drop a belled toy so that the child
will hear the jingle; bring a tickle feather closer,
closer, closer until finally you tickle child with it. |
| Play infant games, such as peek-a-boo, I'm going to get
you, and patty cake. |
| Play verbal Ping-Pong with the child, responding
to every sound or word the child makes and continue the ping pong match to
expand the number of circles closed. |
| Pursue pleasure over other behaviors and do not interrupt
any pleasurable experience. |
| Use gestures, tone of voice, and body language to
accentuate the emotion in what you say and do. |
| Try to be as accepting of the child's anger and protests as
you are of the child's more positive emotions. |
| Help the child deal with anxiety (separation, getting hurt,
aggression, loss, fear, and so on) by using gestures and problem solving. |
Following the Child's Lead
| have symbolic toys available |
| recognize and create opportunities |
| cue or model symbolic actions |
| be meaningful |
| make it easy |
| persist through - affect cues - affect pacing-wait/speed up |
| personalize |
| be a player - join in |
| expand and keep going |
| do not change the subject |
Creating and Expanding Ideas
| treat every object or action as an idea! |
| you do not need permission to play |
| do not "read" or just describe |
| talk to the child in a role - as an actor or with a figure |
| take on a role and talk through the role |
| build on real experiences - bridge to what would happen next |
| wait for child to make the next move - then give choices or model the next
step |
| resist the temptation to take over |
| "Appreciate" child's need for control |
| try to build bridges between ideas |
| give reasons for your or the child's actions |
| problem solve and assist in the finding of a solution |
| make ideas more complex and more elaborate |
Constructive Obstruction
to
Extend Problem Solving
The child will be surprised, amused or frustrated when faced with
the changes and obstacles you create for them.
| Approach the child with a supportive attitude, sharing surprise, Oh no
what happened? What's the matter? |
| Help the child solve the problem, but wait for the child to recognize the
problem first and then encourage the process. |
| Stretch the problem as long as possible by playing dumb |
| Offering wrong solutions so the child can check out several alternatives |
| Ask questions and opinions about what they want, etc. |
Remember: The goal is not to frustrate the child but to mobilize the
child's thinking and acting in face of something which matters personally to him
or her.
Helping The Child Build A
Symbolic World
|
Identify real-life experiences the child knows and enjoys and have toys
and props available to play out those experiences |
|
Respond to the child's real desires through pretend actions |
|
Allow the child to discover what is real and what is a toy |
|
Encourage role playing with dress-up props, use puppets - the child may
prefer to be the actor before using symbolic figures |
|
Use a specific set of figures/dolls to represent family members and
identify other figures with familiar names |
|
Give symbolic meaning to objects as you play: |
Some Examples -
When the child climbs to top of
the sofa, pretend the child is climbing a tall mountain.
When the child slides down the
slide at the playground, pretend the child is sliding into the ocean and
watch out for the fish.
| Substitute one object for another when props are needed. Pretend that the
ball is a cake or the spoon is a birthday candle. |
| Resume use of gestures for props along with toy objects and substitutes |
| As you play, help the child elaborate on personal intentions. |
Ask who is driving the car,
where the car is going,
whether the child has enough
money,
did the child remember the keys
to the car,
why is the child going there,
why not somewhere else, etc.
| Expand as long as you can. (Use all of the Who, What, Where, Why, When
questions, and keep them open ended) |
| Make use of breakdowns. |
When a problem crops up during play, create symbolic solutions.
Get the doctor kit when the doll
falls so the child can help the hurt doll, tool kit for broken car.
| Acknowledge the child's disappointment and encourage empathy. |
| Get involved in the drama. |
| Be a player and take on a role with your figure. |
Talk directly to the dolls rather
than questioning child about what is happening or narrating
Both help the child and be your
own player.
Talk as an ally (perhaps
whispering), but also have your figure oppose or challenge the child's
ideas.
| Insert obstacles into the play. (e.g.: make your bus block the road. Then
speaking as a character, challenge child to respond. If necessary, get
increasingly urgent (whispering to child to encourage to deal with the
problem, offer help if needed by becoming an ally). |
| Use symbolic figures the child knows and loves, such as Barney, Disney or
Sesame Street characters, to generate symbolic play. Reenact familiar scenes
or songs, create new ideas, and notice characters and themes child may be
avoiding or fear. |
| Use play to help the child understand and master ideas/themes, which may
have been frightening. Work on fantasy and reality. |
| Let the child be the director. Child's play need not be realistic (the
child may still be a magical thinker) but encourage logical thinking. |
| Focus on the process as you play; which character to be, what props are needed
when ideas have changed, what the problem is, when to end the idea, etc.
Identify the beginning, middle and end. |
| As you play, match your tone of voice to the situation. Pretend to cry
when a character is hurt, cheer loudly when your character is happy, speak
in rough or spooky tones when you are playing the bad guy. Remember, drama,
drama, drama to give the child affect cues. |
| Reflect on the ideas and feelings in the story both while playing and
later on as you would with other real life experiences |
| Discuss the child's abstract themes such as good guy/bad guy,
separation/loss, and various emotions such as closeness, fear, jealousy,
anger, bossy, competition, etc. |
Remember, symbolic play and conversation is the safe way to practice, reenact,
understand and master the full range of emotional ideas and experiences.
Developing Abstract Thinking
Ask why questions
Ask for opinions
Compare and contrast different
points of view
Reflect on feelings - come back
to experiences again later
Don't ask questions you know the
answer to
Don't tell the child which
dimensions to use
| Use visualization - picture yourself |
| Avoid rote, fragmented, academic questions |
| Be creative |
Some Examples -
If the child puts his foot in
pretend pool, ask if it's cold.
If the child is thirsty, offer
her an empty cup or invite her to a tea party
If the child is hungry, open a
toy refrigerator and offer some food, pretend to cook, or ask if he will go
to pretend market with you to get things to eat.
If the child want to leave, give
her pretend keys or a toy car
If the child lies down on the
floor or couch, get a blanket or pillow, turn off the lights, and sing a
lullaby.
| Encourage role playing with dress-up props, use puppets - child may prefer
to be the actor before the child uses symbolic figures. |
| Use a specific set of figures/dolls to represent family members and
identify other figures with familiar names. |
| Get involved in the drama. Be a player and take on a role with your own
figure. Talk directly to the dolls rather than questioning child about what
is happening or narrating. |
Developing Motor Planning
Abilities
| Encourage "undoing" |
Examples -
Move an object in line
Cover a desired object
Put a puzzle piece in wrong place
Bury desired objects under other
toys and very different objects
Hide the desired object from the
place where child last put it
| Provide destinations for actions - treat every act as intentional and
symbolic |
Child throws a ball - catch it in basket
Child holds figure (little
person, animal) -bring over toy slide, school bus, food (if child does not
use spontaneously, ask if the figure would like to... give choices if
needed...ask figure directly...try not to direct)
Child taps - bring over drums
(can be plate, plastic toy, sticks etc)
Child rolls car - bring over
garage, crash into it, block with figure
Child reaches for hand - play
give me five, variations, dance
| Create problems to solve - require multiple steps |
Put desired objects in boxes to
open, untie, remove tape or rubber band
Pretend an object needs to be
fixed using tools, tape, rubber bands, Band-Aids (symbolic)
Create obstacles for the child to
get around, move, or restore to the correct position
hold a book to read upside down
and/or backwards
Offer pens/markers which do not
work
Sit in the child's special place
Get to where the child is running
first
Hide an object the child desires
in one hand or the other so that the child can choose
When the child seeks your hand
instead of using his own hand, put your hands on your head or in your pocket
Put socks on the child's hands
instead of feet
Give the child your shoes to put
on
Make the desired toy/object a
moving target (move from place to place)
| Be playful and supportive as you encourage and expand interactions |
| Change the environment frequently to encourage flexibility, create
problems and expand discussion |
Move expected objects (change
drawer content, change content in baskets)
Rearrange furniture and create
problems (child finds chair upside down, or is told to sit down when chair
is across the room)
Hang up pictures from magazines
at eye level and change frequently
| Encourage the child to initiate/continue action |
Ready, set, Go!
Put the toy the child was using
back in the child's hand. (Oh, you dropped, forgot)
provide cues - uh oh, knock,
knock, help
Use indirect prompts (call the
figures to come, where are you?)
Bring over the next step (puppet
to eat pretend food, mirror to see the hat etc.)
Trade objects, positions
| Deal with the consequences of actions symbolically |
Baby doll falls (is dropped) - Uh
oh! He's crying. Are you hurt? Get a bandage. Go to the doctor.
Call an ambulance...
Car crashes - Oh no, it's
broken! Can you fix it mechanic?
Basket is dropped - What a
mess! What do we do now?
| Model/mediate the sequence of actions needed to solve problems |
| Plan your idea - discuss what the child will need for their ideas |
Get toys/props the child will
need
Identify settings and
destinations
While playing, identify problems
and sequence of solutions
Identify beginning, middle and
end
Challenge, reason, negotiate
| Play interactive song-hand games |
Itsy bitsy spider
one potato two potato
slap my hand
sailor went to sea, sea, sea
| Play Treasure Hunt and use maps (use visual and verbal cues) |
| Play games |
Social playground/party games
Board games (cognitively
challenging)
Cooking
Drama
Arts and craft activities
| Encourage athletic activities |
Individual sports such as tennis,
roller skating, shooting baskets, ice skating
group sports such as soccer,
baseball, basketball
Gymnastics
Tae Kwon Do
Addressing Processing
Difficulties
|
Child's Actions |
Adult's Solutions |
|
Avoids, moves away |
Persist in your pursuit
Treat as intentional
Provide visual cues
Playfully obstruct
Attract with
"magic"
Insist on a response |
|
Stays stuck, does not know what to do next |
Provide destination
Return object of interest
Use object in some way
Expand, expand
Give new meanings
Use ritualized cues to start
("ready, set, go") |
|
Uses scripts |
Join in
Offer alternative scripts
Change direction of script |
|
Perseverates |
Ask for turn, join, imitate,
help
Make interactive
Ask "how many"
more times
Set up "special"
time for this activity |
|
Protests |
Act sorry
Play dumb
Restore
Blame figure |
|
Rejects, refuses |
Provide more things to say
"no" to
Expand, give other choices or
time |
|
Says something unrelated |
Try to insist on a response
Notice change or bring
closure |
|
Becomes anxious or fearful |
Reassure
Problem solve
Use symbolic solutions |
|
Acts out, pushes, hits |
Provide affective cue ("Uh,
uh, uh"; "No, no, no") to encourage
self-regulation
Set limits.
Reward for absence of
negative behaviors |
Opportunities
for Doing Floor Time
To assist the child in learning to solve problems and handle changes,
identify opportunities in the child's daily life which present a
"stage" for problem solving and change accepting "dramas"
Brainstorm how you could utilize the following opportunities:
| all things you routinely do for child |
| all the things child expects or waits for you to do |
| all the things child already expects to do for self |
| all the things child desires or expects to have or go to |
| daily challenges |
Home Based Opportunities for
Floor Time
| dressing and undressing:
giving the child choices about what to wear or not, or what to take off
first, is following the child's lead. |
| mealtime:
chose one meal with enough time - talk may focus around food
preparation, different foods being served, which foods are particularly
enjoyable or any topic relating to the child's life. |
| car time: engage the child in a
relaxed conversation in which the child takes the lead, or sing-along for
which the child chooses songs |
| coming and going time: plan to have
at least a little time to get the child settled on arrival to a classroom or
in switching and transitioning from one activity to another by reading a short
story, visit pet in classroom or at home, or look at special toy in classroom
or at home. Show the child support through your interest and warm clear
good-bye if leaving in classroom. On picking the child up from the classroom,
give the child a chance to tell you something important about the day while
you are still in the school setting (This provides visual prompts to help the
child retrieve the information). |
| bath time: Bath toys are wonderful
props as they float, get dunked, and come into contact with each other. The
water is a great opportunity for play. The child will naturally relax in the
water. |
| book time: Read the book with the
child on your lap or next to you on a chair or bed. As you read, be aware of
responses and questions that you can extend. (If the child is totally
absorbed, however, it is best to continue reading and simply enjoy the sense
of shared interest) |
| bedtime: Bedtime is often
accompanied by a ritual, but is also a moment to feel close and loving.
Children sometimes share important thoughts and feelings during the last
moments before falling asleep. Although you will not want to rev-up the
child up prior to sleeping, you can respond with empathy and stay close until
the child is calm and feels safe enough to sleep. |
Turning Every Day Activity
into Problem Solving
| chair not close to the table, in the child's spot, when meal time arrives |
| bottle not open when you are trying to pour juice |
| bathtub empty of water when you tell the child it is time to take a bath |
| shoes hidden from usual resting place |
| changing the shelf locations of favorite books, tapes etc. |
| putting two socks on same foot |
| putting shirt on feet |
| give the child adult shoes instead of their own |
| use rubber band to hold together a spoon and fork when giving the child a
tool for eating |
| cup is upside down when offering the child a drink |
| put markers in a new container which child has not yet learned to open |
| mix puzzle pieces of two or three puzzles together |
Back
to Floor Time
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