Floor time helps Xander very much. It is an approach explained in detail in the book The Child With Special Needs by Drs.Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder. This is what they wrote about floor time:

        "Floor time is precisely that: a 20-to-30 minute period when you get down on the floor with your child and interact and play."

        When Xander's special educator described floor time, I thought it would be easy. It was getting down and playing with your child for a half an hour straight. I thought I'd been doing that, but I soon learned that I hadn't. This was one-on-one time with no interruptions, where you follow your child's lead. That means that you play what they want to play. But it doesn't mean that you're passive. In fact, your job is often to interrupt your child.

        For example, if he is playing with a toy car, you can bring other toy cars and race or crash into your child's car. The purpose of floor time is to get your child to interact with you. Interaction often leads to communication.

        How do you get started doing floor time? Pick a time during the day when you know you will have 30 minutes to play with your child. If you can only do this once a day, feel good about getting it done. If you can do it more often, that is great.

        You don't need to plan lots of educational activities with your child. Remember, the point is to follow his lead. For us, floor time is a very low-key time. Don't pull your child out of an activity, but join him in his activity, whatever the activity is. Xander spends a lot of time rearranging our video tapes. When he's doing this, he loses contact with everything around him; it's a perservative activity. So, I make sure he has to notice me by rearranging the tapes he's rearranging. Sometimes he gets mad, but now he usually recognizes it as a game and interacts.

        What are some ways you can involve yourself in your child's play? Look for clues about what he needs. Does he need a lot of motion? Try swinging him or playing games that require motion, like "Ring-Around the Rosie". There are a lot of cues in your child's daily behavior, look for them.

        Creativity will be your best friend. Children with special needs often resist floor time at first. Xander enjoys being in his own little world, and at first, he didn't want us forcing him to join our world. But now he looks forward to our interactions. But sometimes we had to be creative about joining him. Be imaginative. If your child is lining up his cars, and you've tried racing and crashing, but he still won't interract, think of something else.

        Patience will be a necessity. Things move slowly. You probably won't notice many changes the first few times you try floor time. In fact, things may seem to get worse. Your child may protest. But look at the protest as a way of interacting. He's communicating with you, even if it's not in the way you'd prefer. It takes time, and it will be frustrating. But slowly, you will notice small improvements. You will begin to know your child better. One of the most frustrating things about children with special needs is that it is harder to find their personalities under all their difficulties. As you play side-by-side with your child, and as he interacts with you, you will see a whole new side to your child.

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