2026 International DIRFloortime® cONFERENCE

Conference Description

This 10-day-long live online conference is focused on all things DIR® and DIRFloortime®.  

Through lectures, case studies, research reviews, and discussions, participants will have many opportunities throughout the 10 days to deepen their understanding of DIRFloortime and how to effectively promote development, in particular for individuals on the autism spectrum or with other neurodevelopmental differences and/or disabilities.  ASWB continuing education credit will only be awarded for the sessions listed on this page.

Please CLICK HERE for Presenter Disclosures. 

International Council on Development and Learning, provider number 1967, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 8/1/2025 - 8/1/2028. Social workers participating in this conference will receive up to 40.5 continuing education credits.

Social Workers seeking ASWB-approved continuing education credits must attend any of the below listed presentations. Social Workers are invited to attend any and all presentations in this conference, but ASWB credit will only be awarded for the presentations listed on this page. Social Workers may attend as few as 1 and as many as all 27 of the presentations for 1.5 to 40.5 continuing education credits. 

Attendance is required for the full length of each presentation. 

Social Workers seeking ASWB-approved continuing education credits must complete the feedback survey of each and every ASWB track presentation they attend in order to receive credit. Feedback surveys will be posted for each session on floortime.org. 

Participants may elect to receive a certificate of attendance and/or professional continuing education credit by paying the $25 processing fee during registration. ICDL will confirm your attendance and that you have completed the feedback survey for each ASWB track session attended, and process your eligible credits as requested. Certificates will be available no later than 30 days after the conference ends.

Please note that continuing education credit is only provided for direct seat time. Attendance is tracked using Zoom records. Please be sure to type your name and email address correctly when logging in to each session to avoid errors in your CE credit. You will only receive credit for sessions you attend in entirety. Arriving late or leaving early will result in negating that session from your CE credits. CE credits are not provided for watching a recording. You must attend the live presentation. 

The conference content is focused on a specific product or service (DIRFloortime®) and there will be no mention of other products or services. ICDL does not receive any commercial support for this conference.

ASWB TRACK PRESENTATIONS

Application of DIRFloortime Principles in Psychotherapy with Neurodivergent Adults: Clinical experience

Olena Akulova, MA, Psychology, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals | 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 19, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the main differences between insight-oriented psychotherapy and a developmental DIRFloortime-informed approach when working with neurodivergent adults.

2. Identify key Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities relevant for psychotherapy with neurodivergent adults.

3. List practical strategies for adapting the pace of therapy, communication, and sensory environment when working with neurodivergent adult clients.

Reimagining the "I": An exploration of current praxis and sensory knowledge to support our DIRFloortime practice

Julie Hogg, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 19, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain how praxis relates to a disconnect between the brain and body.

2. Describe 3 ways to adapt to the auditory and visual profile of a client.

3. Describe 3 ways to support praxis through the use of AGILE.

Exploring the Interconnectedness of Ideation, Regulation, and Social Communication: A practical, transdisciplinary application of DIRFloortime in a child with a complex profile

Stephanie Rodzewicz, OTD, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Sara Sullivan Cross, MS, CCC-SLP, DIR-Basic

Level: Intermediate | Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 19, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the connection between ideation, regulation, and social communication as individual differences and their impact on the FEDCs

2. Describe how ongoing, reflective transdisciplinary practice informs a Floortime practitioner's understanding of a child’s individual differences leading to improved therapeutic interactions

3. List at least 5 specific strategies or approaches to support the individual differences in ideation, regulation, and social communication in order to grow in the developmental capacities

Enhancing the DIRFloortime Approach with an Understanding of Developmental Movement Rhythms and Motor Development: Capacities 4,5, 6 and beyond

Michelle Merna, LCAT, BC DMT, DIR Expert

Mary Beth Crawford, MPT, IMC, CEIM, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 19, 2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. List 3 ways motor development and developmental rhythmic movement can enhance the practice of DIR/Floortime.

2. List 3 ways developmental movement rhythms can support body-mind connection and development of sense of self.

3. Explain at least 2 connections between social and emotional development (i.e. the FEDCs) and motor development.

Comfort Connection and Curiosity: The Use of DIR-Informed Feeding and the Possibilities of What Mealtime can be

Erin Forward, MSP, CCC-SLP, CLC, DIR-Expert

Julie Miller, MOT, OTR/L, SWC, DIR-Expert

Bridget Palmer, MA, CCC-SLP, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 19, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Define the principle of comfort in DIR-informed feeding

2. Define what connection means in DIR-informed feeding

3. Define and identify what curiosity looks like in DIR-informed feeding

Levelling Up: Harnessing video games as a therapeutic tool within a DIRFloortime framework 

Reuben Seah, OT, DIR-Advanced

Level: Intermediate | Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify at least two FEDCs that can be targeted through video game-based therapeutic play and describe how each can map onto gameplay interactions.

2. Apply at least 2 Floortime strategies e.g. including following the child's lead and expanding circles of communication within a video game play context.

3. Evaluate whether video game-based therapeutic play is appropriate for a given client using a clinical reasoning framework presented in the session.

Affect Tolerance: Getting a “feel” for feeling feelings 

Kathy Platzman, PhD, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the central role of affect awareness and tolerance as it applies to developmental capacities

2. Identify three signs of affect intolerance or distress

3. Explain how the concept of individual differences applies to affect tolerance in individuals, families, and community.

Listening to the Body: Interoception, trauma, and regulation in DIRFloortime practice

Maude Le Roux, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate | Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate the roles of sensory processing, interoception, and relational factors in contributing to dysregulation in children with trauma histories

2. Analyze child behavior using a DIRFloortime-informed framework to identify underlying interoceptive and trauma-related contributors

3. Apply at least three DIRFloortime-based strategies to support interoceptive awareness, co-regulation, and functional emotional engagement in clinical practice

War Trauma and Development: A DIRFloortime perspective on regulation, relating, and healing

Danah Al-Khatrash, MSc., GMBPsS, MBACP, DIR-Expert

Zaineb Ghlayem, MEd, DIR-Expert

Level: Advanced| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Analyze the impact of war-related and intergenerational trauma on Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs), particularly regulation, engagement, and symbolic thinking.

2. Examine how caregiver nervous system states and trauma histories shape parent–child interaction patterns and co-regulation capacity.

3. Evaluate culturally responsive approaches to implementing DIRFloortime in war-affected contexts, with attention to therapist self-awareness and relational safety.

Good Girls Don’t Stim: Gendered masking and the developmental cost of lost affect in DIRFloortime

Zaineb Ghlayem, MEd, DIR-Expert

Nagwa Khedr, MA, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe masking and camouflaging behaviors commonly observed in autistic girls and women.

2. Explain how chronic masking may impact Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs), particularly regulation, engagement, and emotional thinking

3. Examine how cultural gender expectations shape the suppression of affect and sensory expression, and apply DIRFloortime principles to foster relational environments that support authentic emotional and sensory expression.

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle

Gil Tippy, PsyD, DIR-Expert

Level: Advanced| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify moments in a play session where connection at FEDC 2 are happening.

2. Identify moments in a play session where contingent back and forths are occurring at FEDC 4

3. Identify subtle non-contingent moments in caregiving relationships that might lead to ruptures of the developmental relationship.

From Diagnosis to Development: Clinical lessons in DIRFloortime parent coaching in the Philippines

Angel Belle Dy, MD, MBA, MA, PhD-C, DIR-Expert

Audrey Michelle Lim, OTRP, OTC, CIMT, CPMT, DIR-Proficient

Level: Advanced| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Thursday, October 22, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how developmental formulation in the DIR model can guide both developmental consultations and therapy-based parent coaching.

2. Identify language strategies clinicians can use to support caregiver reflection and partnership in DIRFloortime practice.

3. Apply developmental and relational perspectives to reframe children’s behaviors when collaborating with parents and therapy providers.

Organizational DIRFloortime: Exploring the relationship between DIRFloortime and the workplace cultures in which it thrives

Andrew Klein, MS, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Thursday, October 22, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify workplace cultural elements that align with, and support, Floortime practice.

2. Reflect upon obstacles to Floortime aligned culture in their workplace and in their own actions.

3. Take actions that support a Floortime aligned workplace culture.

Quiet Does Not Mean Disengaged: Cultural interpretations of emotional expression in DIRFloortime with Mandarin-speaking families

Naomi Wong, SLP, DIR-Expert

Qinyi Shi, OT, DIR-Expert

Wu Ting-Yen, SLP, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Thursday, October 22, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate between culturally normative quiet engagement and clinically significant social disengagement in children from Mandarin-speaking family environments.

2. Explain how language-mediated cultural values—such as emphasis on academic achievement, family hierarchy, and emotional restraint—may influence caregiver perceptions of Floortime and children’s progression through FEDCs, particularly FEDC 2, 4, and 5.

3. Apply culturally responsive DIRFloortime strategies to support Mandarin-speaking families in contexts where emotional expression, child-led interaction, and open discussion may initially feel unfamiliar or counterintuitive.

From Banging to Storytelling: Understanding the developmental stages of play and their relationship to FEDCs in DIRFloortime practice

Naomi Wong, SLP, DIR-Expert

Andrea Snyder, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Friday, October 23, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify key developmental stages of play—including sensory-motor, functional, symbolic, dramatic, and collaborative play

2. Analyze how specific characteristics of play (e.g., shared attention, reciprocity, intentional communication, problem solving, and symbolic thinking) correspond to different Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs).

3. Apply observation of play themes, interaction patterns, and play complexity to inform neurodiversity-affirming, relationship-based clinical decision-making within DIRFloortime® practice.

The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of... DIRFloortime: Harnessing parallel process in neurodivergent coaching dyads

Kelly Penny, MA, CCC-SLP, DIR-Advanced

Bridget Palmer, MA, CCC-SLP, DIR-Expert

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Friday, October 23, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Define parallel process within a DIRFloortime framework and describe its role in coaching interactions.

2. Identify how neurodivergent traits (e.g., ADHD, ASD, AuDHD) influence both caregiver and clinician regulation, pacing, and engagement across FEDCs.

3. Apply coaching strategies that harness parallel process to support reflection, emotional regulation, and skill generalization in neurodivergent dyads.

Meet Them Where They Are: Nurturing meaningful relationships from a developmentally based psychotherapy

Gabriel Marra e Rosa, PhD, DIR-Expert

Level: Advanced| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Friday, October 23, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the DIRFloortime® principle of “meeting them where they are” and describe its significance for establishing meaningful therapeutic relationships that honor individual differences and functional emotional developmental capacities.

2. Identify and describe the therapist’s roles as empathizer–clarifier and regulator–engager–interactor in supporting emotional integration, reflective capacity, and the gradual expansion of self-awareness and autonomy.

3. Apply the principle of meeting individuals at their current developmental and emotional level to clinical situations, using relational strategies that support the development of higher Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs 6–9), including reflective functioning, emotional integration, and self-awareness.

Reframing the Approach: Why and how "social" behaviors may signal distress in children with Autism, A Case Study

Kingkaew Pajareya, MD, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Saturday, October 24, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Assess secure-base dynamics and caregiver–child–clinician interactions to support emotionally meaningful engagement across sessions.

2. Identify how eye gaze, facial expressions, and communication quality can diverge from a child’s internal state in stressful pediatric encounters.

3. Apply DIRFloortime principles and semi-structured problem-solving to interpret apparent happiness and unhappy smiles within relevant relational contexts.

The Importance of Complex Reciprocity and Our Role In It: Supporting the development of capacity four

Mary Beth Stark, MS, CCC-SLP, DIR-Expert

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Saturday, October 24, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe one aspect of conversational breakdown and repair

2. Explain three pragmatic abilities seen in complex reciprocity

3. Explain the practitioner's active role in complex reciprocity

Individual Differences Through the Lens of  Sensory- Affective-Motor integrative Processing

Tracy Stackhouse, MA, OTR/L

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Sunday, October 25, 2026 5:00pm - 6:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the role of Sensory-Affective-Motor (SAM) differences as individual differences that influence the unfolding of the Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs), as originally described by Greenspan.

2. Describe Stackhouse’s elaborated SAM model and how sensory, affective, and motor processes map onto integrated neural networks involved in regulatory capacity, affective processing, and motor capacities (including foundational postural as well as goal-directed action).

3. Apply the SAM framework to clinical reasoning, identifying how disruptions in sensory, affective, and motor integration impact participation, co-regulation, and developmental progression, and how this informs interdisciplinary intervention planning.

This is How We Do It- OT department MAPs students using the SpIRiT ©

Toni Tortora, MS, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Lindsay Altman, MS, OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Colleen Gabbert MS OTR/L, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate | Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Sunday, October 25, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the relationship between sensory affective motor systems and DIRFloortime.

2. Identify the benefits of using a transdiciplinary model when discussing clinical cases.

3. Identify the use of clinical reasoning tools prior to development of therapeutic programming.

The Power of Two: Enhancing DIRFloortime with dual adult engagement

Samantha Mulvey, MA, CCC-SLP, DIR-Proficient

Kaitlyn Darbe, MOT, OTR/L, DIR-Proficient

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 26, 2026 12:00pm - 1:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify benefits of supporting individual differences of cognition, motor learning, and sensory integrative processing at various FEDCs with two trained DIR professionals.

2. Utilize video examples to process the why and how dual relational partners can support FEDCs.

3. Apply collaborative “dual relational partners” to design play opportunities that honor the child’s developmental individual differences, using case examples to demonstrate integrated language and motor/sensory supports in naturalistic contexts.

From Goals to Groove: Where treatment team goals meet relational and creative musical dialogue through voice, rhythm, and clinical improvisation in school-based music therapy, inspired by Stanley Greenspan

Stacey Hensel, MA, MT-BC, LCAT, DIR-Advanced

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 26, 2026 6:00pm - 7:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how interdisciplinary team goals can be translated into relational and creative musical interactions within school-based music therapy to support functional emotional developmental capacities

2. Identify how voice, rhythm, and clinical improvisation support sustained circles of communication, shared problem solving (FEDC 4), and emerging symbolic emotional expression (FEDC 5).

3. Formulate a DIRFloortime® goal that supports the development of reciprocal interaction, shared problem solving, and symbolic emotional expression within a music therapy context.

In Search of Perspective, Nuance, and Shades of Grey: The evolution of political and cultural attitudes in two Autistic men and the impact of DIRFloortime

Dave Nelson, LPC, ACS, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Monday, October 26, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify a range of experiences and influences that can impact political thinking over time.

2. Explain the possible effects of individual processing differences and constrictions in developmental capacities on the emergence of perspective-taking and critical thinking.

3. Identify a range of techniques, rooted in the DIR Model, for strengthening the perspective-taking, self-reflectiveness, and shades-of-grey thinking in people across the lifespan.

Applying DIRFloortime to Clinical Practice: Evidence-informed strategies for emotional dysregulation and aggression

Nadia Emanuella Gideon, Clinical Psychologist, DIR-Expert

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Tuesday, October 27, 2026 8:00am - 9:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe childhood aggression as a manifestation of emotional dysregulation and developmental vulnerability rather than intentional misbehavior

2. Identify the role of the nervous system and individual differences in emotional dysregulation, and use this understanding to guide developmentally appropriate, compassionate interventions for children and their caregivers

3. Apply DIR®Floortime informed, relationship based strategies to support co-regulation, reduce emotional escalation, and expand a child’s capacity for emotional regulation in daily interactions

Using Cultural Awareness and Cultural Humility in our DIRFloortime World

Mahnaz Maqbool, MS, CCC-SLP, DIR-Expert

Level: Foundational| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Tuesday, October 27, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Differentiate between cultural sensitivity and cultural humility, and explain how each impacts clinical decision-making in Floortime Practice

2. Identify at least three ways Western cultural norms influence interpretations of communication, play, and parent–child interaction in Floortime interactions.

3. Apply at least two culturally responsive strategies (e.g., modifying interaction style, asking open-ended questions, reframing nonverbal behaviors) to better align Floortime strategies with diverse family values and goals.

Beyond Intervention: The Impact of DIR on Identity and Leadership

Jeffrey Guenzel, EdD, LPC, DIR-Expert

Katya Sidor, PhD, DIR-Expert

Level: Intermediate| Professionals| 1.5 Credits, General

Tuesday, October 27, 2026 8:00pm - 9:30pm US ET

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how integrating DIR into professional practice can influence practitioners at an identity level, with potential effects on professional growth and well-being

2. Explain how DIR principles can be applied beyond direct intervention, including in leadership practice and organizational culture.

3. Identify at least one concrete way to embody DIR values beyond direct intervention ​ - in their professional practice, leadership, or organizational culture.

Target Audience

This conference track was created to offer to Social Workers, many of whom are connected to the international DIRFloortime community. This track will also benefit professionals from a range of fields including but not limited to: Speech and Language Pathologists, Counselors, Physical Therapists, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Expressive Arts Therapists, and Educators. Level: Various

Cancellations/Refunds/Grievances

Cancellations are accepted up to 30 days prior to the event less a $50 processing fee. Cancellations are not accepted less than 30 days prior to conference and no refunds are provided less than 30 days prior to a conference. For detailed information please click here.

Please click here to view our grievance policy.

Accessibility

Aligned with the DIR model, continuing education offered by ICDL works to be responsive to a range of individual differences in processing, communicating, and regulating; learning differences, learning disabilities, and other forms of disability. Please click here to read more about accessibility and accommodations.