Autism Speaks

April was Autism Awareness Month and I attended 2 days of training on the importance of play. Using art to engage children almost always works for me. However, there are times when you must follow the child's lead and participate with them in their behavior to be successful. This approach is based on Stanley Greenspand's DIR (Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship Based) Floortime Model. There are those who are quite resistant to DIR, fearing that you will reinforce the undesirable, repetitive, and non-interactive qualities of a child who has been diagnosed with autism. Radically different from the more medical ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) approach,  I think that this is a more strengths based model and feels more natural.


But let's look at what works in real life with anyone. If you express an interest in what someone else seems to be doing and enjoying, well that is a basic fundamental building block to forming an alliance or relationship. For reasons that we do not understand, children diagnosed with autism seem to withdraw from social interaction and disappear into their own world of play. We seem to think that this is their way of self regulating an otherwise anxiety filled, stressful, and chaotic world. Joining with them in their activities doesn't mean we stop there. A skilled therapist can then gently begin to introduce and build on higher levels of functioning.

 Though we call it play and it can be fun, it is also hard work and takes a lot of time and patience. At least 2 or 3 hours a day of directed play is required with the child by a skilled individual, i.e. parent, family member, friend, or professional.


Of course, you know what I was really thinking all the while during my 2 days of training. I am wondering about the role of the expressive arts for a child diagnosed with autism. The old adage "time and place" keeps going through my mind. Art, music, dance...would have to be introduced very slowly and cautiously and only if the child seems to be in a spot to be able to experience and integrate something new into their environment. Remember that the arts frequently have the potential to be overstimulating for anyone.




"May I have this dance?"

 Once again I am reminded of the quote that is attributed to Plato. It goes something like this "Be Kind. For everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."