Affect Autism was created to help parents and practitioners apply the Developmental, Individual differences, Relationship-based (DIR) model to respectfully promote relating, communicating, and thinking in autistic children in order to invite out their highest potential. Research in neuroscience has…
Toronto, Canada
Our topic for this episode is promoting agency and autonomy through the lens of DIR®-informed music therapy and how facilitators can practice within a more mindful, neurodiversity-affirming approach.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://www.icdl.com/parentsCaregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents
La invitada de este episodio es Simone Tiemann, terapeuta ocupacional de integración sensorial formada en Floortime en Santander, la costa norte de España. Atiende a pacientes con dificultades y diferencias en el desarrollo en su clínica y dirige desde hace 15 años la asociación Disfrutar El Mar, que ofrece actividades en la playa y el mar, incluyendo surf, donde voluntarios juegan y atienden a niños con el enfoque Floortime.Enlace al blog completo con los enlaces a los puntos clave de la discusión y otras formas de ver o escuchar el podcast aquí: https://affectautism.com/2025/04/11/surfing/Cuidadores: Consideren unirse a nuestra Red de Padres DIR® para recibir apoyo de una comunidad de Floortimers con intereses similares aquí: https://www.icdl.com/parents
This episode's guest is Simone Tiemann who is a Floortime-trained sensory integration occupational therapist on the north coast of Spain in Santander who sees clients with developmental challenges and differences in her clinic and runs an association for 15 years now called Disfrutar El Mar which means "enjoying the sea" that offers activities at the beach and sea, including surfing, where volunteers play with and attend to children using a Floortime approach.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/04/11/surfing/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents
The International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) Board President, autistic self-advocate, Emile Gouws and I discuss April's month of autism awareness, acceptance, and appreciation, and the need to move towards action and inclusion. What does all of this mean and how does DIRFloortime® fit in? Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/03/28/april/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents
En esta edición de Perspectivas de los Padres, Mary Santiago de Toronto, una madre practicante de DIRFloortime® conversa con Susana en Buenos Aires, Argentina, y con Lucia y Manuel en Atlanta, Georgia, sobre sus experiencias con Floortime y su participación en las reuniones virtuales de apoyo para padres lideradas por la terapeuta ocupacional y DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leader, Mili Cordero.Enlace al blog completo con los enlaces a los puntos clave de la discusión y otras formas de ver o escuchar el podcast aquí: https://affectautism.com/2025/03/14/padres-floortime/Cuidadores: Consideren unirse a nuestra Red de Padres DIR® para recibir apoyo de una comunidad de Floortimers con intereses similares aquí: https://www.icdl.com/parents
This marks the second edition of DIR® Dialogues from Affect Autism! This new podcast features Practitioner Panels–this one featuring five international DIRFloortime® Expert Training Leaders discussing Floortime around the world! DIR® Dialogues will be an addition to the usual podcasts. I hope you will enjoy them!Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/02/28/world/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parentsThank you to Toronto recording artist Ayria for the intro/outro song permission: https://ayria.bandcamp.com/track/infiltrating-my-way-through-the-system
The therapy trio from Baby Steps Therapy, a DIR® clinic offering physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy in the suburbs of Philadelphia, is here to discuss their collaborative Floortime approach used within their strengths-based studio to support growth within the Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs). Baby Steps embodies a true DIRFloortime® collaborative.Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2025/02/14/baby-steps/Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents
German Psychologist Sibylle Janert is a DIRFloortime® Expert and Training Leader who teaches courses in the UK in English, and in German in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. She also offers Floortime coaching to families over Zoom in both English and German, as well as offering family intensives in her beautiful village. She runs supervisions groups, a mastermind group, and monthly webinars on relevant topics in German. She has also published several books for parents and for professionals about autism from a relationship-based developmental multi-cultural and trauma-informed perspective. Her next book on early exploratory play is due to be published in early 2026. Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points here: https://affectautism.com/2025/01/31/following/ Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents
On this edition of Parent Perspectives, I am interviewing three Buffalo area families about their struggles finding, accessing, and keeping DIRFloortime services and how it has changed their view of their neurodivergent children and given them hope. Bethany is the mother six of whom two are neurodivergent, one with an autism diagnosis. They range in age from 14 to 32. Heather is the mother of three of whom two are autistic boys and one is a neurotypical girl, ranging in age from 3 to 8. Megan and Mark are the parents of one autistic son who is 7. They are all in Bridget Palmer's DIR parent support group, Bridget being a colleague of mine at ICDL who is an amazing DIR-Expert and Speech Language Therapist. This video is from https://affectautism.com/2025/01/17/finding-dir/ where you can link to full BLOG post with links to key discussion points. Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers! Learn more at https://www.icdl.com/parents!
The post DIR/Floortime In-Home Coaching Supports Families appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Bringing DIR Into the Classroom to Accommodate Communication for All appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Trauma through a DIR Lens appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Developing Through FEDC 4 into FEDC 5 appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post FEDC 4: Complex Communication and Shared Problem Solving appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Nurturing Intentionality as a Bridge to FEDC 4 appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post A DIR Lens on Sleeping appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Giant Steps Interdisciplinary Autism Centre appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Reflective Practice in DIR appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post DIR and Medically Complex Children: Trauma-Informed Care appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Advocating for rightful inclusion in school appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Affect and Regulation in Middle Eastern Culture appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post If I Need Help appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Presuming Competence appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post A Developmental Perspective on Sharing appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Gestalt Language Processing and DIR appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Perspectives: Navigating Our Different Support Roles appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Perspectives: Parent Self-Regulation appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Revisiting the ‘R': Hidden Regulators in the Development of Relationships appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Perspectives: Parents Listening to Autistic Self-Advocates appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Regulating through Trauma appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Autistic Masking or Impression Management? appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Perspectives: Retrospective Perspective appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Visual Spatial Planning and Assessment (ViSPA) appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Visualization leads to Imagination appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Perspectives: Relationships, Play, and Growth appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Perspectives: Navigating our Health and Education Systems appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Harnessing the Power of Narratives to Impact Development appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post (Non)Compliance does not equal (Dys)Regulation appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
This episode'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 autistic children and families across the province of Ontario. She's also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and an adjunct researcher at Western University. She's with us to introduce us to the new MAPs (Meeting the needs of Autistic People) resource designed to support Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) who are working with autistic clients and their families. Link to the full blog post with links to key discussion points and other ways to view or hear the podcast here: https://affectautism.com/2023/08/04/maps/ Caregivers: Consider joining our DIR® Parent Network for support from a like-minded community of Floortimers here: https://www.icdl.com/parents
The post A New Community-Created Resource: SLP MAPs appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Parent Support: How Do We Handle Fears and Anxiety? appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post Adapted Spiral Praxis and Movement for the Bodymind Process appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.
The post All About Praxis: Part 2 of 2 appeared first on Affect Autism: We chose play, joy every day.