About ICDL

The History of ICDL

ICDL was originally incorporated in 1990 as the Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Developmental Disorders in Children. In 1997 the name was changed to the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and in 2004 a slight, but meaningful, alteration to the name was registered as Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning.  Most recently in 2022, to reflect the broad international impact the organization is having, ICDL is now doing business as the International Council on Development and Learning.  

The organization was originally formed with the following mission: "To engage in, conduct, support and disseminate programs, research, seminars, and publications on the prevention and treatment of emotional and developmental disorders in infancy and childhood." The focus of the organization has grown over the years with the specific focus on training professionals and parents on DIR® emerging as central to much of the work of ICDL. As such, ICDL's current mission statement is "To make a positive impact in people’s lives by promoting and championing transdisciplinary, developmental, relationship-based, respectful, and effective approaches to human development and learning."

Following the name change in 1997, Dr. Serena Wieder partnered with Dr. Greenspan to lead the development of conferences, trainings, and materials to more formally train professionals and parents in DIR and Floortime.  Dr. Serena Wieder co-authored many publications with Dr. Greenspan including Engaging Autism and The Child with Special Needs.  She played a key role in the development of Floortime and is a valued leader in the field of infant and early childhood development with unique expertise in addressing developmental challenges in children.  

In addition to Drs. Greenspan and Wieder, many of the predominate leaders in the field have been a part of, advised, or trained with the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning over the years.  This includes, but is not limited to, Dr. Stuart Shanker who co-authored the First Idea with Stanley Greenspan and is the founder of the Self-Reg Initiative; Dr. Barry Prizant who is the author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism and a developer of the SCERTS model; Dr. Richard Solomon who is the author of Autism: The Potential Within: The PLAY Project Approach to Helping Young Children with Autism and founder of the PLAY Project; Dr. Stephen Porges who has authored numerous articles and publications and is the originator of the Polyvagal Theory; Dr. Gil Tippy who co-authored Respecting Autism with Stanley Greenspan and was a founder of the Rebecca School in New York City; Virginia Spielmann who is the Executive Director of the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing; Dr. Gerard Costa who has authored many publications, was the founder of the Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health at Montclair State University, and a past president of the ICDL Board of Directors; Dr. Andrea Davis who is the co-author of Floortime Strategies to Promote Development in Children and Teens: A User's Guide to the DIR® Model; and many other names you may recognize like Ron Balamuth, Margaret Bauman, Jackie Bartell, Amanda Binns, Cecilia Breinbauer, Daria Brown, John Carpente, Gene Christian, Mili Cordero, Mona Delahooke, Barbara Dunbar, Joshua Feder, Sima Gerber, Ira Glovinsky, Galina Istkovich, Barbara Kalmanson, Amanda Kriegel, Maude LeRoux, Karen Levine, Tina McCourt, Dave Nelson, Kathleen Platzman, Cindy Puccio, Molly Romer Witten,  Rebecca Shahmoon Shanok, Maria Tersa Sindelar, and many, many more. (Again, this is not an all inclusive list.  It is just a sampling of the thousands of people that have engaged with ICDL.)  

ICDL was created to be a change agent to help the world better understand child development, human development, developmental disabilities, and autism.  ICDL was also created to be the home of DIR® and DIRFloortime® (AKA Floortime®).  ICDL is proud of our history and the invaluable role the organization and the members of the council have had on positively impacting the field and the lives of countless children and families.  While we continue to serve a leadership role, we are proud that DIR is much broader than just ICDL.  We celebrate and cherish the incredible network of DIR-based programs, trainings, organizations, and professionals that carry the torch forward into the future.  

DIR®, DIRFloortime®, and Floortime® Registered Trademarks

ICDL has been leading the development of DIR® and the DIRFloortime® (AKA Floortime®) and as such holds registered trademarks in the United States and/or many other countries throughout much of the world for the above names. Learn more...