According to well-known psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan, M.D., and Serena Weider, Ph.D., creators of the DIR/Floortime Approach, developing strong relationships is a prerequisite to communication. Through relationships with their parents and others, children develop the desire to communicate. Communication is largely non-verbal, and a child with a communication delay such as autism spectrum disorder may miss important social and language cues.
Early Relationship Development
Attachment parenting asserts that babies reach their full potential when they have developed a strong bond with their parents. Because the brain develops in response to stimulation from the environment, parents encourage communication by holding, touching and talking with their babies. Mothers naturally use therapeutic communication as they speak slowly with exaggerated tones, and by pausing to wait for baby's response.
Functional Emotional Development
The Developmental, Individual-Differences, Relationship-based model, or DIR, describes six milestones children reach during development within the context of their relationships. In the first stage, infants and children must learn to regulate their bodies and emotions to pay attention to the world around them. The child's interests provide a window into his world where meaningful communication can occur.
Non-Verbal Communication
A child engaged and interested in the world is ready to develop intimacy in his relationships. Non-verbal communication develops through these early relationships as the child and parent make eye contact, share enjoyment by pointing to objects of interest, and look in the direction of sounds. To encourage non-verbal communication skills, the parent can use more affect, or emotional tone, in his interactions. Using an expressive voice to say, "Come heeeee-re" conveys more meaning than saying "Please come here."
Reciprocal Communication
Reciprocal communication involves a give and a take, and another give and take. Also referred to as "two-way communication" in the DIR model, it gives the child the sense of intention and meaning. When the child "opens" a circle by holding out a toy, the parent "closes" the circle by saying "Oooh, for me?" Communication develops through loving relationships because the child feels a sense of comfort and joy in these back-and-forth interactions. As the child opens and closes more circles, his verbal and non-verbal communication develops.
Gestural Communication
The DIR model labels the fourth milestone "Complex Communication" because it involves a linking of gestures to communicate needs. A child who walks to the door and points to his shoes is communicating his desire to do something, likely, to go outside. To do this, the child must have already developed the idea of what it means to go outside, the motor planning and visual spatial skills to get to the door, and the gesture and joint attention to point to his shoes. With this step, it is clear to see how there are many skills underlying this seemingly simple form of communication.
Communicating Ideas
Through relationship-based play, or simply put, sitting on the floor and playing with the child, the parent naturally facilitates development of this next milestone. To communicate her ideas, the child must experience these ideas and connect them with vocabulary through play. For example, if the child is playing with a doll, the mom might set out a spoon and a bowl. The child then might say "Mmm. Eat." To encourage more communication in this stage, parents can get into the role of the play object.
Communicating Emotions
The final stage of emotional development in the DIR model is "Emotional Thinking." Within the context of a strong relationship, the child can now link complex ideas together in play and in speech. Therapeutic communication at this point requires the parent to challenge the child continually to think out of the box, to problem-solve situations, and discuss his emotions.
References
- "The Child with Special Needs": Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D.; 1998
- Ask Dr. Sears: Smart from the Start
