Abstract:

The DIR/Floortime model is a holistic framework developed to promote social-emotional and intellectual development in children with developmental disabilities. This quasi-experimental study with a one-group pre-test/post-test design was conducted to examine the effects of DIR/FloortimeÒ intervention on the improvement of language abilities and the functional emotional development of 22 school children with impaired language ability, aged 6-7 years, at a public elementary school in a central province of Thailand. The intervention focused on training 15 parents, 7 primary caregivers and 8 teachers through a process of modelling, coaching and feedback. The intervention included group and individual sessions conducted over a three-month period. After implementing the intervention, the semantic development scores and proportion of children with normal Functional Emotional Assessment milestone increased significantly. The number of children at narrative development Stage 4: abbreviated episode (can describe character, setting, a kick-off event and a list of actions and a conclusion to the story/direct consequence of events) was also markedly increased. This study provides supporting evidence that training using DIR/FloortimeÒ approach will help parents, primary caregivers and teachers create emotionally meaningful learning that promotes the functional emotional development and language abilities of children with impaired language ability, both at home and at school.

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