ASD is one of the severe human diseases that have serious consequences as it causes verbal, social, and repetitive behavior difficulties. ASD has diverse symptoms and severity. Thus, each case needs a different treatment. Early intervention helps with autism skills and quality of life. Early ASD treatments include DIR/Floortime and ABA. Through constructive play, DIR/Floortime develops children’s emotions and cognition using their gifts and interests. Develop personal connections with the child and help them learn basic social and communication skills at their speed. However, ABA systematically decreases negative and encourages beneficial behaviors. ABA rewards excellent behavior and simplifies tasks. This approach monitors and adjusts treatments using individualized therapy and data. ABA and DIR/Floortime are used in early ASD therapy; however, their efficacy varies. Some suggest blending the two ways based on the person’s requirements and preferences. Interventions should include each person’s skills, weaknesses, and family preferences to maximize progress. Thus, the present study examines numerous autism therapies for efficacy and appropriateness.
Description of the Two Interventions
Floortime/DIR
Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s DIR/Floortime honors children’s individuality in supportive relationships to improve emotional and cognitive development. Individual diversity, relationships, and developmental theories are DIR/Floortime’s emphasis (Divya et al., 2023, p. 132). Therapists use floortime to monitor kids’ interests, preferences, and growth. The fun, colorful sessions with kids are unlike therapy. Therapists enjoy crucial responsibilities. Fantasy, toy tinkering, and creative play boost communication, emotional regulation, and socializing. A child and therapist or caregiver must bond emotionally for DIR/Floortime. This connection determines future advancement. Therapists’ genuine attention and compassion let kids explore, express, and interact in a secure and supportive atmosphere. Therapists may customize floortime for kids. A dynamic approach makes therapy fun and developmental. DIR/Floortime recognizes each child’s individuality and encourages meaningful interactions to build emotional resilience, social skills, and cognition.
(ABA) Applied Behavior Analysis
Behaviorist-applied behavior analysis is scientifically validated. Promotes behavioral change in numerous circumstances. ABA therapists work with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental challenges, and others to improve behavior (Wilkenfeld & McCarthy, 2020, p. 31). Behaviors are increased or decreased by reinforcement. Positive reinforcement encourages good behavior via praise, incentives, or hobbies. Negative reinforcement promotes behavior without negative stimuli. ABA practitioners observe and collect data to determine behavior causes and effects and devise treatments. ABA simplifies complex skills. Task analysis helps therapists teach skills gradually, understanding each level first. ABA discrete trial training uses clear prompts, quick responses, and timely feedback and reinforcement. This strict, repetitive approach helps academics, language, and mimicking. Goal-oriented ABA is employed. Therapy occurs in therapist-run homes or clinics. One-on-one ABA improves learning and client-therapist relationships. Beyond socialization and adaptability, ABA teaches additional functions. Socializing, perspective-taking, and problem-solving promote meaningful interaction in many circumstances. Maintaining and generalizing skills helps ABA pupils learn. Targeted intervention, skill breakdown, and reinforcement-based learning define ABA. This flexible, coordinated framework may help all ages and abilities grow behaviorally.
Comparative Analysis
Similarities
Focus on Skill Development
ASD therapies like DIR/Floortime and ABA are popular in society, and their initiatives improve skills. Functional skill development and deficit eradication are DIR/Floortime priorities. Cognitive, communication, sociability, and emotional regulation improve. DIR/Floortime engages individuals at their developmental level in growth-promoting activities. Therapists teach holistic development via kid-directed activities. Through emotional connections and shared experiences, DIR/Floortime helps individuals connect with their environment and build meaningful relationships.
The ABA targets various ASD adaption abilities such as behavior, social, intellectual, self-help, and communication skills. ABA programs are challenging and build skills. Learning new skills and practicing with positive reinforcement may improve independence and quality of life. Shape, fast, and discrete trial training matched to the individual’s requirements and learning style provides practical and personalized intervention. DIR/Floortime and ABA teach autistic people. Child-directed play and emotional connections improve DIR/Floortime development, whereas ABA stresses rigorous instruction and reward (Fannin & Watson, 2022, p. 197). Both therapies assist ASD persons to grow and function by improving basic abilities and addressing underlying difficulties. Personal preferences may choose DIR/Floortime or ABA. Depending on their requirements and talents, many prefer a blend of the two,
Individualized Approach
ABA and DIR/Floortime are prominent autism therapies. They agree that each ASD person has distinct needs and qualities. Both methods customize therapies to children’s strengths, limitations, and preferences. DIR/Floortime evaluates infant development thoroughly. This comprehensive test assesses communication, sensory, and social-emotional skills. Therapy includes observing and engaging kids to identify strengths and shortcomings. Assessments aid child-specific therapy. Therapists motivate kids and improve problems by finding and developing their abilities and interests.
Like ABA, customized treatment is crucial. Conduct analysts assess children’s abilities, preferences, and conduct. We assess the child’s functional and developmental potential. Behavioral analysts tailor treatment to test findings. These programs suit each child’s learning, preferences, and functioning. Behavior reduction, skill development, and functioning improve with ABA. Though distinct, ABA and DIR/Floortime help autistic people flourish. They prioritize tailored care since each child’s needs are different. Both methods improve child development interventions.
ABA and DIR/Floortime encourage family-caregiver interaction. Active DIR/Floortime treatment strengthens caregiver-child bonds. ABA parent education provides behavior management to help kids flourish outside of treatment. Different caregivers help children grow in both scenarios.
Parent Involvement
Developmentally impaired kids benefit from ABA and DIR/Floortime. These strategies recognize parents’ and caregivers’ role in teaching children outside treatment. DIR/Floortime treatment requires parental involvement for child development. Therapists help parents increase kids’ touch, communication, and emotions; hence, parents know floortime and DIR (Hess, 2020, p. 141). This collaborative approach helps parents meet their child’s development requirements.
ABA therapies stress parent training and engagement to maintain learning. Parents get significant training in discipline, motivation, and real-world skills. Parents may help by establishing effective learning environments. Working with parents and therapists simplifies skill transfer. Parent-therapist interaction improves child development and skill transfer outside treatment in all modalities. By including parents, DIR/Floortime and ABA use the child’s natural support. Family interactions help kids develop. This complete approach supports the kid and integrates treatment ideas into daily living. The best intervention includes parents and experts helping the kid grow. This concentrated care enhances child growth and helps families overcome developmental difficulties.
Differences
Philosophical Approach
ABA and DIR/Floortime see child development differently. DIR/Floortime emphasizes child-led interactions, supportive relationships, and emotional connections based on developmental psychology. This strategy fosters kids’ mental health and connections. DIR/Floortime needs therapist-child bonding. Meaningful connections and growth need this link. DIR/Floortime follows the child’s environment. Emotionally rich spontaneous relationships boost social-emotional growth. Emotional connection builds child-therapist trust and learning. DIR/Floortime respects kids’ autonomy. Therapists customize treatment to each child’s preferences, interests, and communication style. Kids may lead and encourage initiative in DIR/Floortime to improve self-esteem and competence.
ABA stresses observation and reinforcement and uses signals, prompts, and reinforcements to teach and reinforce skills. Environmental modification may encourage virtue and discourage evil. ABA’s rigorous training and external control may not address the child’s emotional and social needs. Opponents argue that ABA decreases child involvement and emotional bonds.
Structure Vs. Flexibility
ABA and DIR/Floortime are common autism treatments with different frameworks and flexibilities. These strategies demonstrate autism spectrum disorder treatment options. ABA is precise and organized. These treatments address skills and habits with a coherent curriculum. Data and prompts help therapists measure progress. Sessions usually include well-designed trials with consistent and repetitive learning opportunities to enhance skills. ASD individuals learn and grow with ABA. Therapists encourage creativity and follow the child’s lead, not a strict curriculum. The child and therapist customize activities and treatments to fit the emotions as they interact. Response and individualization foster child involvement, curiosity, and problem-solving. Child-led interactions boost ASD patients’ autonomy and self-expression. Therefore, DIR/Floortime appreciates them (Aithal, 2020, par 1). Different in structure and flexibility, ABA and DIR/Floortime help ASD patients succeed.
Targeted Skills
ASD skill development improves with ABA and DIR/Floortime treatment. Their values, aspirations, and strengths differ. DIR therapies focus on emotional and social development for higher-order skills. Therapist priorities include abstract thinking, social interaction, emotional management, and symbolic play. Therapists may exchange experiences with children. DIR/Floortime fosters creativity, inquiry, growth, and partnerships.
However, ABA facilitates skill development, and ABA programs emphasize behavior control, self-help, communication, and academic preparedness. These treatments break desired behaviors into tiny bits and retrain them. By rewarding good behavior, students repeat it. Math from ABA is beneficial in many situations. Although their aims and techniques vary, both systems teach skills. DIR/Floortime increases emotional and social skills for learning and socializing. Therapists use children’s abilities and interests to connect. ABA systematically teaches and reinforces behavior and function. Practical life skills are emphasized for learning. Repetition and consistency are stressed.
Analysis of Effectiveness
Recent research suggests that ABA and developmental, individual differences and relationship-based approaches are essential to autism therapy. ASD patients’ skills and results improved with both. Age, disease severity, and co-occurring illnesses may reduce effectiveness. Fun activities at DIR/Floortime help kids develop emotionally, socially, and communicatively. The technique stresses child development and function. Research suggests that DIR/Floortime may promote social communication, emotional control, and development in younger children with milder symptoms (Boshoff et al., 2020, p. 153). AABA reinforces skills and behaviors using learning theory. Positive reinforcement and breaking down desirable behaviors increase repetition and mastery in ABA therapy. Research demonstrates that ABA improves language, adaptive functioning, and problematic behaviors in many ASD individuals.
DIR/Floortime and ABA have perks and downsides. Critics of ABA say its emphasis on rote learning and compliance may impair children’s emotional and developmental needs. DIR/Floortime emphasizes child-led interactions and needs more scientific evidence. Hence, it may not work in formal education. Many scholars and practitioners propose combining DIR/Floortime with ABA because they complement each other. This hybrid approach combines ABA’s systematic approaches with DIR/Floortime’s ASD development emphasis. Combining techniques improves autistic outcomes for children with complicated profiles or various requirements.
Thus, early autism treatments include ABA and DIR/Floortime. Previous therapies have merits and downsides and assist autistic persons. Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s DIR/Floortime method stresses social and emotional growth. Therapists may teach kids communication, problem-solving, and emotional regulation through play. Benefits include closeness and honoring children’s viewpoints. According to critics, the adaptive framework may need to deliver systematic and measurable intervention results. Systematic, data-driven ABA changes behavior with rewards. Dr. Ivar Lovaas devised ABA to break down activities and reward positive behavior to break bad habits and teach new abilities. Evidence-based results are quantifiable and repeatable. According to critics, it may prioritize obedience and memory above social and emotional development. ABA and DIR/Floortime must be understood while selecting an autism intervention. DIR/Floortime stresses emotional connections and child-led interactions, whereas ABA emphasizes behavioral results and rigorous teaching. Consider the child’s learning, communication, and sensory styles.
References
Divya, K.Y., Begum, F., John, S.E. and Francis, F., (2023). DIR/Floor Time in Engaging Autism: A Systematic Review. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 28(2), 132–138.https://journals.lww.com/jnmr/fulltext/2023/28020/DIR_Floor_Time_in_Engaging_Autism__A_Systematic.2.aspx
Wilkenfeld, D.A. and McCarthy, A.M., (2020). Ethical concerns with applied behavior analysis for autism spectrum” disorder.” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, 30(1), 31–69.https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/753840/summary
Fannin, D.K. and Watson, L.R., (2022). Social communication in individuals on the autism spectrum. In Social Communication Development and Disorders (pp. 197–238). Routledge.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003197096-10/social-communication-individuals-autism-spectrum-danai-kasambira-fannin-linda-watson
Hess, E., (2020). DIR®/Floortime™: A developmental/relational play therapy model in treating infants and toddlers exhibiting the early signs of autism Spectrum disorder. In Infant play therapy (pp. 141–156). Routledge.https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429453083-10/dir%C2%AE-floortime%E2%84%A2-esther-hess
Aithal, S., (2020). Dance movement psychotherapy for the wellbeing of children on the autism spectrum and their caregivers: a mixed-methods study (Doctoral dissertation, Edge Hill University).https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/36750170/Supritha_Aithal_PhD_Thesis_11.12.2020_.pdf
Boshoff, K., Bowen, H., Paton, H., Cameron-Smith, S., Graetz, S., Young, A. and Lane, K., 2020. Child development outcomes of DIR/Floortime TM-based programs: a systematic review. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 87(2), pp.153-164.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0008417419899224
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