Floortime or Positive Development feedback

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

My 3.5 yr old ASD level 1 (Asperger’s) was specifically recommended for DIR Floortime. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but can anyone who have gone through either Floortime (ran by Greenspan’s sons) or Positive Development (DIR approach), provide any concrete feedbacks as to what they liked or didn’t like about either of these providers?

Thanks so much in advance.

[Anonymous]

Avoid Floortime Center. The son is trained in business and not clinical work and runs the practice entirely through that lens. Will prioritize making money over recommendations of the licensed clinicians. High clinician turnover rate too…

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your feedback! How long was your child in the center? Were you able to find other Floortime therapists besides them in the area?

[Anonymous]

A few months if I recall correctly? Once we got out of there we ended up increasing private speech and OT to twice a week each and have been satisfied with the progress

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Avoid Floortime Center. The son is trained in business and not clinical work and runs the practice entirely through that lens. Will prioritize making money over recommendations of the licensed clinicians. High clinician turnover rate too…

+1

This was our experience as well.

[Anonymous]

my child is that Positive Development and it has been a good experience. It’s been about seven months. They do play visits twice a week and then occupational therapy once a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my child is that Positive Development and it has been a good experience. It’s been about seven months. They do play visits twice a week and then occupational therapy once a week.

How old is your child? What changes have you noticed? Do you do OT in Bethesda and do you find OT helpful? We are in DC and they do home visits except for OT so trying to get as much feedback before we start therapy sessions with them. If you have any helpful tips or insights, I very much appreciate them!

[Anonymous]

I did floortime with my DD when she was little; it was somewhat helpful to forge connections more meaningfully, but not much more than that, unfortunately. I really liked Stanley Greenspan's books and felt very hopeful about them. I found OT and ST much more helpful for her. Positive Development wasn't a thing when my DD was little, but having looked at it, I would be very skeptical. It's run by a Wharton MBA and on its page, its business staff are ahead of its professional staff. It's got many locations, and it's clearly positioning itself as an efficient delivery system business with investment potential. That's not the kind of provider I would want for my kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

My 3.5 yr old ASD level 1 (Asperger’s) was specifically recommended for DIR Floortime. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but can anyone who have gone through either Floortime (ran by Greenspan’s sons) or Positive Development (DIR approach), provide any concrete feedbacks as to what they liked or didn’t like about either of these providers?

Thanks so much in advance.

We were referred to and went to Floortime center (ran by the son) by a very reputable psychological practice that diagnosed our child at 2. Went for a visit and did not like the center, the approach, the kiddo reaction to the tryout or the proposed therapist, ended up not going there. A few details: the center is run by 2 guys and it shows - we were there in the morning and many areas looked like they could use a vacuum. The child ended up crying when the owner was demonstrating/explaining the approach to us. The proposed therapist did not have any Floortime certifications or credentials, was with the center for only 3-4 months at that time and did not prev. experience with ASD or kids (she had an active OT license but was previously a rehabilitative OT with older adults). None of this inspired a lot of confidence.

We went to a more traditional OT 1:1 and ended up finding a very good match, and later we added a Floortime/DIR based paygroup from another reputable practice which we loved, with very experienced OTs who gave us great insights on our child.

Something I wish I was told when we first got the diagnosis, and feel free to ignore as you wish - with any providers: very good practices have names and bios of therapists on their web. If you don't see that, it could mean that there is a lot of turnover or even that they are using part time contractors to fill the hours. Always ask for a blurb/paragraph of experience of the therapist/provider that's proposed for your child, don't go on "oh, it's a great match" - good signs are several years in the same practice, previous experience with pediatric populations of same profile as your child, certifications and continuing education beyond the basic license. For 2-3 y.o. it's perfectly reasonable to ask to observe some early sessions in order to understand if the method and therapist are a good fit for your child. Be picky, don't be afraid to change if it doesn't feel great. Many good places may have a waitlist - put yourself on, even if you find something more immediate. We found that our dev. ped at childrens and our regular ped were able to give us lists of excellent providers locally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

My 3.5 yr old ASD level 1 (Asperger’s) was specifically recommended for DIR Floortime. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but can anyone who have gone through either Floortime (ran by Greenspan’s sons) or Positive Development (DIR approach), provide any concrete feedbacks as to what they liked or didn’t like about either of these providers?

Thanks so much in advance.

We were referred to and went to Floortime center (ran by the son) by a very reputable psychological practice that diagnosed our child at 2. Went for a visit and did not like the center, the approach, the kiddo reaction to the tryout or the proposed therapist, ended up not going there. A few details: the center is run by 2 guys and it shows - we were there in the morning and many areas looked like they could use a vacuum. The child ended up crying when the owner was demonstrating/explaining the approach to us. The proposed therapist did not have any Floortime certifications or credentials, was with the center for only 3-4 months at that time and did not prev. experience with ASD or kids (she had an active OT license but was previously a rehabilitative OT with older adults). None of this inspired a lot of confidence.

We went to a more traditional OT 1:1 and ended up finding a very good match, and later we added a Floortime/DIR based paygroup from another reputable practice which we loved, with very experienced OTs who gave us great insights on our child.

Something I wish I was told when we first got the diagnosis, and feel free to ignore as you wish - with any providers: very good practices have names and bios of therapists on their web. If you don't see that, it could mean that there is a lot of turnover or even that they are using part time contractors to fill the hours. Always ask for a blurb/paragraph of experience of the therapist/provider that's proposed for your child, don't go on "oh, it's a great match" - good signs are several years in the same practice, previous experience with pediatric populations of same profile as your child, certifications and continuing education beyond the basic license. For 2-3 y.o. it's perfectly reasonable to ask to observe some early sessions in order to understand if the method and therapist are a good fit for your child. Be picky, don't be afraid to change if it doesn't feel great. Many good places may have a waitlist - put yourself on, even if you find something more immediate. We found that our dev. ped at childrens and our regular ped were able to give us lists of excellent providers locally.

Do you mind sharing the place you loved?

[Anonymous]

How much money do you have to throw at this issue?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

My 3.5 yr old ASD level 1 (Asperger’s) was specifically recommended for DIR Floortime. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but can anyone who have gone through either Floortime (ran by Greenspan’s sons) or Positive Development (DIR approach), provide any concrete feedbacks as to what they liked or didn’t like about either of these providers?

Thanks so much in advance.

We were referred to and went to Floortime center (ran by the son) by a very reputable psychological practice that diagnosed our child at 2. Went for a visit and did not like the center, the approach, the kiddo reaction to the tryout or the proposed therapist, ended up not going there. A few details: the center is run by 2 guys and it shows - we were there in the morning and many areas looked like they could use a vacuum. The child ended up crying when the owner was demonstrating/explaining the approach to us. The proposed therapist did not have any Floortime certifications or credentials, was with the center for only 3-4 months at that time and did not prev. experience with ASD or kids (she had an active OT license but was previously a rehabilitative OT with older adults). None of this inspired a lot of confidence.

We went to a more traditional OT 1:1 and ended up finding a very good match, and later we added a Floortime/DIR based paygroup from another reputable practice which we loved, with very experienced OTs who gave us great insights on our child.

Something I wish I was told when we first got the diagnosis, and feel free to ignore as you wish - with any providers: very good practices have names and bios of therapists on their web. If you don't see that, it could mean that there is a lot of turnover or even that they are using part time contractors to fill the hours. Always ask for a blurb/paragraph of experience of the therapist/provider that's proposed for your child, don't go on "oh, it's a great match" - good signs are several years in the same practice, previous experience with pediatric populations of same profile as your child, certifications and continuing education beyond the basic license. For 2-3 y.o. it's perfectly reasonable to ask to observe some early sessions in order to understand if the method and therapist are a good fit for your child. Be picky, don't be afraid to change if it doesn't feel great. Many good places may have a waitlist - put yourself on, even if you find something more immediate. We found that our dev. ped at childrens and our regular ped were able to give us lists of excellent providers locally.

Do you mind sharing the place you loved?

TTLC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

My 3.5 yr old ASD level 1 (Asperger’s) was specifically recommended for DIR Floortime. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but can anyone who have gone through either Floortime (ran by Greenspan’s sons) or Positive Development (DIR approach), provide any concrete feedbacks as to what they liked or didn’t like about either of these providers?

Thanks so much in advance.

We were referred to and went to Floortime center (ran by the son) by a very reputable psychological practice that diagnosed our child at 2. Went for a visit and did not like the center, the approach, the kiddo reaction to the tryout or the proposed therapist, ended up not going there. A few details: the center is run by 2 guys and it shows - we were there in the morning and many areas looked like they could use a vacuum. The child ended up crying when the owner was demonstrating/explaining the approach to us. The proposed therapist did not have any Floortime certifications or credentials, was with the center for only 3-4 months at that time and did not prev. experience with ASD or kids (she had an active OT license but was previously a rehabilitative OT with older adults). None of this inspired a lot of confidence.

We went to a more traditional OT 1:1 and ended up finding a very good match, and later we added a Floortime/DIR based paygroup from another reputable practice which we loved, with very experienced OTs who gave us great insights on our child.

Something I wish I was told when we first got the diagnosis, and feel free to ignore as you wish - with any providers: very good practices have names and bios of therapists on their web. If you don't see that, it could mean that there is a lot of turnover or even that they are using part time contractors to fill the hours. Always ask for a blurb/paragraph of experience of the therapist/provider that's proposed for your child, don't go on "oh, it's a great match" - good signs are several years in the same practice, previous experience with pediatric populations of same profile as your child, certifications and continuing education beyond the basic license. For 2-3 y.o. it's perfectly reasonable to ask to observe some early sessions in order to understand if the method and therapist are a good fit for your child. Be picky, don't be afraid to change if it doesn't feel great. Many good places may have a waitlist - put yourself on, even if you find something more immediate. We found that our dev. ped at childrens and our regular ped were able to give us lists of excellent providers locally.

Do you mind sharing the place you loved?

TTLC.

All I'm seeing are LA locations, anything in the DMV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi all,

My 3.5 yr old ASD level 1 (Asperger’s) was specifically recommended for DIR Floortime. I’ve seen mixed reviews, but can anyone who have gone through either Floortime (ran by Greenspan’s sons) or Positive Development (DIR approach), provide any concrete feedbacks as to what they liked or didn’t like about either of these providers?

Thanks so much in advance.

We were referred to and went to Floortime center (ran by the son) by a very reputable psychological practice that diagnosed our child at 2. Went for a visit and did not like the center, the approach, the kiddo reaction to the tryout or the proposed therapist, ended up not going there. A few details: the center is run by 2 guys and it shows - we were there in the morning and many areas looked like they could use a vacuum. The child ended up crying when the owner was demonstrating/explaining the approach to us. The proposed therapist did not have any Floortime certifications or credentials, was with the center for only 3-4 months at that time and did not prev. experience with ASD or kids (she had an active OT license but was previously a rehabilitative OT with older adults). None of this inspired a lot of confidence.

We went to a more traditional OT 1:1 and ended up finding a very good match, and later we added a Floortime/DIR based paygroup from another reputable practice which we loved, with very experienced OTs who gave us great insights on our child.

Something I wish I was told when we first got the diagnosis, and feel free to ignore as you wish - with any providers: very good practices have names and bios of therapists on their web. If you don't see that, it could mean that there is a lot of turnover or even that they are using part time contractors to fill the hours. Always ask for a blurb/paragraph of experience of the therapist/provider that's proposed for your child, don't go on "oh, it's a great match" - good signs are several years in the same practice, previous experience with pediatric populations of same profile as your child, certifications and continuing education beyond the basic license. For 2-3 y.o. it's perfectly reasonable to ask to observe some early sessions in order to understand if the method and therapist are a good fit for your child. Be picky, don't be afraid to change if it doesn't feel great. Many good places may have a waitlist - put yourself on, even if you find something more immediate. We found that our dev. ped at childrens and our regular ped were able to give us lists of excellent providers locally.

Do you mind sharing the place you loved?

TTLC.

All I'm seeing are LA locations, anything in the DMV?

https://ttlc.org/services/occupational-therapy/ (look under groups)

[Anonymous]

Using positive development in MD for about six weeks and so far it’s very good.