TPP 280a: Occupational Therapist Rosemary White Talks about DIR / Floortime
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
42 min
1 speaker
7 chapters
transcribed 21 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is DIR/Floortime and why is it important for neurodivergent children?
Hey, it's Debbie. This month on Playback Fridays, we're diving into the archives to revisit some of my favorite conversations about occupational therapy and the many ways OTs can support neurodivergent kids. Whether you're new to these conversations or you're listening again with fresh ears, I hope you'll find insights you can put to use right away. Welcome to Till Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. I'm your host, Debbie Reaver. My guest this week is Rosemary White, an occupational therapist trained in neurodevelopmental therapy, sensory integration, and DIR floor time. Rosemary owns and operates pediatric, physical, and occupational therapy services in Seattle, Washington, where we were lucky enough to cross paths as Asher went to Rosemary's practice for a number of years.
And I just have to say, I look back on that time as a truly magical one of learning and growth for our family. During this conversation, Rosemary explains what DIR floor time therapy is and what it looks like in practice, the involvement of parents in their child sessions, why some kids just need to move and what is really going on when they do, and how we can push to get DIR floor time into more schools. Thanks so much and now here is my conversation with Rosemary. Hey Rosemary, welcome to the podcast.
Hi JB, it's uh wonderful to be here.
I've been wanting to do this for a couple of years. I'm just realizing I think we saw each other at the Profectum conference maybe three, two and a half years ago. Two thousand and nineteen. Wow. Well, anyway, I'm so happy this is happening. You are someone who has been in my life peripherally um for a very long time. But I would love if you could take a few minutes. So I've already read your bio, but if you could just tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do, and maybe your personal why for the work that you do.
Well, I'm an occupational therapist and um have always had a passion of working with children and their families. And um so even at a very young age I I wanted to become an OT and really was fascinated by the forming relationships with with children and their families or even when I was in training with adults, um who had strokes and other neurological disorders. So I think I've put relationships in the forefront. But I also really am passionate about neurobiology. And so really trying to understand how we um take in the world and what it makes and contributes to us being the unique beings who we are. And so, you know, as a very young therapist, I um when I graduated, I went to the UK and did a graduate course in the treatment of children with cerebral palsy.
How did Rosemary White become an occupational therapist and develop her passion for relationships?
And so I was passionate about that. And then I discovered discovered, became more and more well versed in sensory integration and had the good fortune to work with both of the individuals who developed those theoretical models. And so what was really powerful about that was it sort of gave me a th a theory and and a something solid behind just the work and um And playing with children and their caregivers. And so, you know, as I moved on and uh started working more and more, I started to sort of see how when we work, we were really supporting children and their families, not just to um coordinate their bodies better or take in the world, but really it was a platform to move forward into social interaction.
And so for the last 20 years, 21 years, um, I've become involved with the with perfectum and the work of Stanley Greenspan and Serena Weeder, which really sort of pulled the motor and sensory development into what I think is the most important thing, and that's really how we are able to be individuals who have successful relationships with one another. So because it's through relationships that we really learn and grow. No matter what you're you're trying to learn, we never really learn in isolation. We learn in relationships with others. And we sometimes that relationship might be just a one-on-one relationship or it might be in a you know a group.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is DIR/Floortime and why is it important for neurodivergent children?
0:00–3:06
2
How did Rosemary White become an occupational therapist and develop her passion for relationships?
3:06–10:53
3
What does a typical DIR/Floortime session look like and how are parents involved?
10:53–17:49
4
Why is movement essential for sensory‑motor integration in DIR/Floortime?
17:49–30:10
5
What tools and sensory activities support children’s development in DIR/Floortime?
30:10–38:36
6
How can DIR/Floortime be integrated into schools and what are the insurance challenges?
38:36–41:33
7
What training and resources does Perfectum offer for families and professionals?
41:33–42:55
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids