Your ABA provider is not doing Floortime.
As autistics have become more vocal about the potential negative impacts of ABA, the ABA world has made attempts to change how they implement their intervention. I see programs claiming to include DIRFloortime in their ABA and videos of people claiming to be doing Floortime ABA sessions. What I think is actually happening is that these providers hear that Floortime is “play based” but don’t actually understand the core concepts of DIR and Floortime. They might watch an introductory seminar but are not certified. As a DIRFloortime provider who has grappled with trying to make ABA work within the scope or DIR, going as far as completing over half of my BCBA training and hours, I can tell you that doing them together, within the systems created by funders (insurance, school districts)simply results in watered down ABA.
Most think DIRFloortime and DIR are the same thing, but actually DIRFloortime is a way of applying the concepts of the DIR framework. When you remove Floortime from the DIR framework and put it under a Behavioral framework it loses nearly all of its neurodiversity affirming aspects.
Another common misconception is that DIRFloortime is “teaching through play”. DIRFloortime is not teaching. When children receiving DIRFloortime services learn new concepts it is not because we target them in therapy. It is because as they move up the developmental ladder they become ready to learn new things, just like any other child. You cannot pair ABA type goals such as tacting, manding and matching while simultaneously providing DIRFloortime as many of those activities disrupt engagement and are not pertinent to the developmental levels we are working with.
When I see ABA providers implementing what they believe is DIRFloortime inspired intervention I see them engaging in play with neurotypical expectations. They play with a train as a train, picking up people, taking them places etc. When I did ABA back in the mid 2000s they even had play scripts which was a script to teach a child to play. When play is taught to look a certain way it is no longer play but just another task. DIRFloortime providers do not expand play to meet neurotypical expectations unless the child has the developmental capacity to go there organically and if this play sustains engagement and joy between the child and provider.
I have seen RBT’s attempting DIRFloortime inspired ABA where they quiz the child. They play with a child and then ask them to answer a question or complete a task enveloped in the play theme. This type of engagement is not aligned with DIR principles especially with children who still have vulnerabilities in their capacity to engage in back and forth communication and to stay regulated while engaged with others. In DIRFloortime the session is about the relationship between the adult and the child. It is about expanding on that and not about tasks or discrete skills.
If ABA providers want to change how they are viewed by autistics they need to address the concerns the community has and make those changes within the practice itself and all its overseeing bodies. Glomming on to another modality that has a better reputation with the population you serve is not creating change.
