DIRFloortime® 101
The DIR 101 Introduction to DIR® and DIRFloortime® course is for professionals, paraprofessionals, parents, and anyone else that wants to join. Professionals then can continue to progress through the professional certificate courses to become DIRFloortime® practitioners. Paraprofessionals and professionals alternatively can earn a certificate as a DIRFloortime® Assistant (DFA). Parents that complete DIR 101 are welcome to take DIR 201 and DIR 202 as audit students.
ICDL: The Home of DIR® & DIRFloortime®
The International Council on Development and Learning (ICDL) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting each person's development to its fullest potential. Through the genius and leadership of Dr. Stanley Greenspan, ICDL was formed 33 years ago and became the official home of DIR® and DIRFloortime®. DIRFloortime® is used to help children, young adults, and even adults with a wide range of emotional, sensory, regulatory, motor, learning, and developmental challenges. DIRFloortime® is recognized as a leading evidence-based approach to helping individuals on the autism spectrum and others with neurodevelopmental differences flourish.
Course Description
This is an introductory course that reviews the theoretical framework, scientific evidence, and scope of application of the model promoting functional emotional developmental capacities, reflective thinking, and overall mental health for all children and adults, including those with developmental disabilities.
Learning Objectives
Identify at least three common features of autism and other challenges of relating and communicating.
Identify at least four key features of relationship-based approaches.
Describe all 6 Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs) in the DIR® model and potential challenges that children face at each capacity.
Describe at least three characteristics of how individual differences (the "I" in DIR®), including health, sensory processing, and regulatory challenges, can impact a child's development.
Identify at least three key principles and basic strategies of Floortime.
Describe at least three characteristics of relationship and family in the DIR® model.
Describe the essential role of affect as it is related to the D, the I, and the R.
Expert in Lines...
Nagwa Khedr is a dedicated specialist in child and family mental health with nearly 15 years of experience. She holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Infant, Child, and Family Mental Health and Development from Fielding Graduate University, a postgraduate certification in Sensory Integration from Sheffield Hallam University, and a Bachelor's degree from the American University in Cairo (AUC), where she graduated in 2009.
She is a Certified DIRFloortime®️ Expert Training Leader and Provider (since 2017) and a DIRFloortime®️ Trainer. Passionate about professional education and advocacy in child development, she has trained and mentored professionals globally in the DIR® model. In 2023, she co-founded Etwasel Center for Child Development Services in Cairo, a center dedicated to providing specialized support for children with developmental needs.