When Dr. Greenspan created Floortime back in the 1980s, he first presented it in his book, “The Essential Partnership”, which he co-wrote with his wife, Nancy Greenspan. In this book, he first used the term floortime to refer to the process for all parents, encouraging them to get on the floor to spend time with their child. Getting down on their child’s level and following their lead were two important aspects of floortime.
When first explaining the technique, following the child’s lead, he had a broad definition of what it entailed. Today, many people use this term to describe their developmental intervention, but when Dr. Greenspan started describing it and using it with children with special needs and delays, his definition became more specific. In the world of Floortime and other developmental interventions, this technique has unfortunately taken on different identities, some more effective than others.
What Does it Mean to “Follow the Lead”?
When you watch some people following a child’s lead, they’re literally following the child. The child isn’t actually leading them. The child is being aimless, wandering, distracted, and/or fragmented. They are moving around the space, not necessarily engaging in any one activity, but certainly showing an interest in a number of objects, windows, or activities. Simply following a child around will not lead to any true beneficial developmental progress. Unfortunately, this happens frequently in “floortime” sessions because most people are undereducated in regard to what this technique actually means. Only in The Greenspan Floortime Approach® does the definition maintain Dr. Greenspan’s ideals and effectiveness.
Following the lead does not mean following the child, nor does it simply mean commenting and pointing at what the child is doing. Unfortunately, this is the definition utilized by some Floortime organizations in their training. While commenting and pointing can be part of following the lead, to make following a child’s lead effective and beneficial its more complete definition needs to be utilized.
Following a child’s lead means a number of things. It means…
- Understanding what the child is doing and why they are doing it.
- Counter Regulate- Give them what they need.
- If the child is being aimless, passive, or withdrawn, use your understanding of their profile and give them what they need, even if they don’t initiate the need for it.
- If the child is showing intent and purpose with their behavior, show an interest in what they are doing. This is more than just commenting and looking at what they’re doing. Participate in what they’re doing, join them and do it with them or help them do it.
- Showing a real interest in the child and having fun within their interest. This requires us to use affect in the form of facial expressions, sounds, and words.
If a child is rolling a ball along the floor or down a slide, then we are either helping them roll that ball, joining them and rolling the ball, or even grabbing our own ball to roll down that slide. If a child is spinning in circles, we don’t just stand there looking and pointing and saying, “Wow, what a good spinner you are.” We actually spin with them. We might offer our hands, and now we’re dancing with them. We might help them spin faster because they want more of that circular movement, i.e. vestibular stimulation. We become part of the activity, an important and inseparable part of it. If we effectively follow the child’s lead and join them in the activity, then we become more important than the activity or object. We become the focal point. We become the main target for their engagement.
In The Floortime Manual™, there are three main types of play: sensory play, object-based play, and symbolic play. It’s important to know why a child is utilizing an object, performing an action, or doing anything in order to follow their lead. If a child is looking at their fingers, well, we can look at their fingers too, but nothing really is going to happen from that. However, if they’re looking at their fingers move, then they like watching them move. This often means that they often need more movement themselves. We can follow their lead by touching their fingers, sure, but they probably need to actually move their body and get more vestibular input at that moment.
This is a more advanced understanding than many parents and caregivers may have. But this is also why it’s so important to work with your therapist to understand your child and their individual profile to start to develop an understanding of where their behaviors and interests come from. For many children, this understanding is a necessity to effectively follow their lead.
What is the Purpose of Following a Child’s Lead?
It shows that you are interested in them and what they’re doing. When they become aware that you’re truly interested in them, they become more interested in you. Most therapists try to get a child to do what they want. They bribe them or force them to perform the adult’s interest. These children are being pulled out of their interest and into ours. In multiple studies, forcing a child out of their ‘comfort zone’ has been shown to lead to long-term learning issues. Instead, if we show an interest in their world, let them be the leader, let them be the teacher, let them be the director, they will show that same interest in us and in our world.
This helps the child feel that we trust and respect them and their decisions. Within the guidelines of safety and health, we want to let them lead and only take control or set boundaries when absolutely necessary. We are allowing the child to explore with our support and our openness, and the security of our boundaries. We are listening to them, respecting them, and trusting them. Over time, if we consistently do this, a child will provide us with those things in return.
One of the most important ideals that. Dr. Greenspan always talked about is the principle that you must Give Before you Expect. If you want a child to listen to you need to listen to them. If you want a child to respect you, you need to respect them. If you want a child to let you be in control, you have to first let them feel and be in control. While there are a number of other techniques to The Greenspan Floortime Approach®, this is where we start.
**When we begin to follow the child’s lead, sometimes with certain children, as we follow their lead, we simultaneously challenge them to communicate and think.**