Why Play Is Powerful: How DIR/Floortime Therapy Supports Child Development

At Express Yourself Therapy, all of our therapists are trained in the DIR/Floortime® model, a relationship-based, play-centered approach to supporting children’s development. We use purposeful play as the foundation of our therapy sessions because research consistently shows that children learn best through meaningful interactions and play.

Play is not “just play.” It is how children build language, social skills, emotional regulation, executive functioning, and problem-solving abilities.

Play is so powerful it can be used as an intervention to close achievement gaps for children between the ages of 3 to 6 (Parker & Thomsen, 2019).

What Is DIR/Floortime® Therapy?

Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning developed the DIR/Floortime® model to support children with developmental differences, including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, sensory processing challenges, and language delays.

DIR stands for:

• Developmental – Understanding where a child is developmentally

• Individual Differences – Respecting each child’s unique sensory and motor profile

• Relationship-Based – Using connection and engagement to promote growth

Floortime involves joining the child in play at their level and expanding interactions to build communication, thinking, and emotional regulation skills.

At Express Yourself Therapy in Palatine, IL, our therapists use DIR/Floortime principles across occupational therapy, speech therapy, and developmental services.

How Play Builds Language Skills

Play Is Language-Rich

Through interactive, imaginative play, children:

• Apply and expand expressive and receptive language

• Develop perspective-taking skills

• Practice problem solving

• Build storytelling abilities

• Learn predicting and inferencing skills

• Strengthen conversational turn-taking

Children often demonstrate their most advanced language skills during play, and these abilities are strongly connected to emergent literacy and academic readiness.

In DIR/Floortime therapy, we follow the child’s interests and use emotionally meaningful interactions to encourage spontaneous communication.

Play Promotes Reading Comprehension

Strong reading comprehension begins long before a child reads independently.

Pretend play helps children:

• Imagine settings, characters, and events

• Classify and compare objects

• Organize semantic knowledge

• Recognize emotions in others

• Infer thoughts, intentions, and motivations

These skills are foundational for understanding stories and developing literacy.

DIR/Floortime therapy strengthens these capacities by encouraging symbolic thinking and shared problem-solving during play.

Play Builds Perspective-Taking and Theory of Mind

Theory of Mind refers to understanding that others have thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that may differ from our own.

Pretend play requires children to:

• Take on different roles

• Consider another person’s emotions

• Shift perspectives

• Engage in shared imagination

The foundation for perspective-taking develops through interactive, relationship-based play experiences — which is central to DIR/Floortime therapy.

Play Strengthens Executive Function Skills

Executive functioning includes:

• Cognitive Flexibility – Thinking about something in multiple ways

• Working Memory – Holding and manipulating information

• Inhibitory Control – Managing impulses and distractions

Higher-order thinking skills essential for school success are best developed through unstructured, social, and imaginative play.

Through DIR/Floortime therapy, children learn to:

• Problem solve collaboratively

• Sustain attention

• Transition between activities

• Manage frustration

• Develop flexible thinking

Children are not born with executive functioning skills — they are born with the potential to develop them through experience and relationships.

Play and Decontextualization: Preparing for Kindergarten

Decontextualization refers to talking, thinking, and imagining beyond the present moment.

For example:

• Pretending to be at a grocery store

• Talking about events from yesterday

• Imagining future experiences

Research shows that preschool children who use decontextualized language demonstrate stronger kindergarten readiness skills.

DIR/Floortime therapy encourages imaginative, symbolic play that supports this higher-level thinking.

The Research Behind Play-Based Therapy

Research consistently supports play as essential for brain development and academic success:

• Children who engage in decontextualized play develop stronger vocabulary and more complex syntax in elementary school (Nicolopoulou, 2007; Rand, 2021; Stagnetti & Lewis, 2015).

• A child’s brain triples in size during the first three years in response to interactions with people and the environment (Gilmore et al., 2007; Rakic, 2006).

• Play and learning are inseparable — children who engage in playful learning perform better academically (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2008).

• Play supports planning, organizing, creativity, language, and overall academic success (Berk, 2002).

When children play, they are building neural connections that support lifelong learning.

How DIR/Floortime Therapy Helps Children with Autism and Developmental Differences

DIR/Floortime is especially effective for children with:

• Autism spectrum disorder

• Social communication challenges

• Sensory processing differences

• Emotional regulation difficulties

• Executive functioning delays

Rather than focusing solely on behavior, DIR/Floortime emphasizes:

• Emotional connection

• Engagement and shared attention

• Expanding circles of communication

• Building flexible thinking

• Supporting meaningful relationships

At Express Yourself Therapy, our DIR-trained therapists meet children where they are developmentally and build skills through connection and play.

Learn more about our autism and developmental services here:
https://www.expressyourselftherapy.com/service/autism

DIR/Floortime Therapy in Palatine, IL

If you are looking for DIR/Floortime therapy in Palatine, IL, Express Yourself Therapy provides relationship-based, play-centered interventions designed to support the whole child.

We proudly serve families in:
Palatine, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights, Barrington, Rolling Meadows, and surrounding communities.

If you have concerns about your child’s social, emotional, or developmental growth, our team is here to help.