DIRFloortime® Professional Certificate Program Curriculum

ICDL has developed a comprehensive DIR training program that leads to progressively advancing certificates in DIRFloortime. There are three groups of trainings offered.  1) The DIR 101 introductory training, 2) The DIRFloortime Certificate trainings, and 3) DIRFloortime electives that are designed to enhance and expand knowledge and skills in particular areas.  

The DIR 101 course is the introduction to the DIR model and Floortime.  It is a 12-hour course taught both live online and onsite throughout the world. A list of available trainings can be found on our course offerings page. The DIR 101 course is a prerequisite to attend the DIR 201 course. ICDL can arrange for a DIR 101 course for your organization or your community. To learn more about setting up a local course, please click here.   

The DIR 201 – DIR 204 courses are the core of the progressively advancing DIRFloortime Certificate program. The courses are typically designed with weekly interactions, utilizing the concepts of ongoing, applied learning. The convenient and accessible ICDL online courses use our virtual classrooms that allow for live presentations and video discussions. These courses are typically offered as 14-week semester courses, with weekly 2-hour sessions. Participants will have access, for each course, to recorded video lectures and readings in our secure course management system (Moodle). The community-based live trainings utilize the same curriculum, however, the scheduling and exact session lengths may vary depending on the needs of the community and training leader. Furthermore, ICDL also has the ability to create these trainings as “hybrid” online and live session trainings to bring together both the convenience of online training with the real face-to-face experience of a live training.  

The DIRFloortime Assistant (DFA) certificate is designed for DIRFloortime "players” or technicians that are often paraprofessionals, but can also be professionals, whose primary role is to provide fun, engaging, DIR-informed interactions with clients under the supervision of a DIRFloortime® Advanced or Expert level professional.  Click here if you are interested in the DFA certificate.  

DIR 101

Title: DIR 101: An Introduction to DIR® and DIRFloortime®  

Prerequisite: none

This is an introductory course that reviews the theoretical framework, scientific evidence, and scope of application of the model promoting functional emotional developmental capacities, reflective thinking, and overall mental health for all children and adults, including those with developmental disabilities. 

View Learning Objectives for DIR 101

DIR 101 General Course Information with Time Ordered Agenda (pdf) 

Basic Requirements, Evaluation of Knowledge, and Certificate Obtained 

• Certificate of Attendance (by request) and/or Completion

• Attendance is required to complete this course. Students in live online courses must have a device (PC, Mac, Tablet, Smartphone) with a microphone. ICDL provides the software for the course.  

DIR 201

Title: DIR 201: Promoting Basic Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities

Prerequisite: DIR 101

This is a practicum course that helps participants develop competencies to promote the first four functional emotional developmental capacities: regulation, engagement, purposeful reciprocal communication, sense of self, and problem-solving, all based on the child's inner will and motivation. Participants will learn how to apply the principles of Floortime by tailoring their interactions to the individual differences of children or adults with developmental disabilities. 

View Learning Objectives for DIR 201

DIR 201 Terms & Conditions 

Basic Requirements, Evaluation of Knowledge, and Certificate Obtained 

Attendance is required to complete this course. Students in online courses must have a device that has a camera and microphone to fully engage in the course. ICDL provides the software. 

Participants are evaluated on case presentations, class participation, and written responses to forum questions. 

Students must present two cases using video recordings during the course. The individuals being presented (the cases) can be of any age, but should have challenges in FEDCs 1-4. Most typically, younger children on the autism spectrum are presented. The child being presented cannot be a child that the participant is parenting themselves. We ask that participants be prepared to present two different cases, but sometimes trainers will prefer or allow participants to present the same case twice.  If you only have one case to present, please e-mail us at dirfloortimetraining@icdl.com to confirm this will be acceptable (it usually is OK, but depends on the case being presented as well).  Recordings and case presentations of either in-person or virtual sessions are acceptable.  

Students in online courses must have a device that has a camera and microphone to fully engage in the course. ICDL provides the software.  

Participants must achieve a minimum of 80% on each of the four domains listed in the learning objectives as assessed by their Training Leader(s).

This course is an assessment-based course that assesses each student's DIRFloortime competencies.  Successful completion leads to a DIRFloortime® Basic Certificate (DIR-Basic) and a listing in the ICDL registry and listing online.

 All participants can request a Certificate of Attendance documenting hours of participation at the time of registration.

DIR 202

Title: DIR 202: Promoting Higher Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities

Prerequisite: Successful completion of DIR 201 and DIRFloortime® Basic Certificate

This is a practicum course that helps participants develop competencies to promote all functional emotional developmental capacities, with an emphasis on the higher capacities: sense of self and problem solving, emotional and logical thinking, multiple cause, triangular, gray area, emotionally differentiated thinking, and reflective thinking based on a growing sense of self and an internal standard. Participants will learn how to apply the principles of Floortime by tailoring their interactions to the individual differences of children or adults with developmental disabilities. 

View Learning Objectives for DIR 202

DIR 202 Terms and Conditions 

Basic Requirements, Evaluation of Knowledge, and Certificate Obtained 

Attendance is required to complete this course. Students in online courses must have a device that has a camera and microphone to fully engage in the course. ICDL provides the software. 

Participants are evaluated on case presentations, class participation, and written responses to forum questions. 

Students must present two cases using video recordings during the course. We ask that participants be prepared to present two different cases, but sometimes trainers will prefer or allow participants to present the same case twice. If you only have one case to present, please e-mail us at dirfloortimetraining@icdl.com to confirm this will be acceptable (it usually is OK, but depends on the case being presented as well).  The case presentations in this course must have at least one case that is different than those presented in DIR 201. Recordings and case presentations of either in-person or virtual sessions are acceptable.  

Participants must achieve a minimum of 80% on each of the four domains listed in the learning objectives as assessed by their Training Leader(s). 

This course is an assessment-based course that assesses each student's DIRFloortime competencies. Successful completion leads to a DIRFloortime® Certificate of Proficiency (DIR-Proficient) and a listing on the ICDL registry and listing online.

Engaging Autism is a required text for this course.  

All participants can request a Certificate of Attendance documenting hours of participation at the time of registration.

DIR 203

Title: DIR 203: Coaching Caregivers, Teachers, or Other Care Providers 

Prerequisite: Successful completion of DIR 202 and a DIRFloortime® Certificate of Proficiency. Participants must have the equivalent of a Bachelor's level university/college degree in occupational therapy, speech therapy, education, psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, marriage and family therapy, medicine, music therapy, or physical therapy. If you have a degree in a related field and want to see if it can be considered, please email training@icdl.com. Degrees in Criminal Justice or Applied Behavioral Analysis do not qualify.  

This is a practicum course that helps participants develop competencies to coach another adult (e.g. caregiver, teacher) on how to interact with a child or adults with special needs, following the Floortime principles, and promoting basic functional emotional developmental capacities. At this advanced-level course, participants will be integrating what they learned in the two previous courses by showing video examples of themselves coaching others. Recordings and case presentations of either in-person or virtual sessions are acceptable.  

View Learning Objectives for DIR 203

DIR 203 Terms and Conditions 

Basic Requirements, Evaluation of Knowledge, and Certificate Obtained 

Attendance is required to complete this course. Students in online courses must have a device that has a camera and microphone to fully engage in the course. ICDL provides the software. 

Participants are evaluated on case presentations, class participation, and written responses to forum questions. 

Students must present two cases using video recordings during the course. We ask that participants be prepared to present two different cases, but sometimes trainers will prefer or allow participants to present the same case twice. If you only have one case to present, please e-mail us at dirfloortimetraining@icdl.com to confirm this will be acceptable (it usually is OK, but depends on the case being presented as well).  The case presentations in this course must have at least one case that is different than those presented in DIR 201 and DIR 202. Recordings and case presentations of either in-person or virtual sessions are acceptable.  

Students in online courses must have a device that has a camera and microphone to fully engage in the course. ICDL provides the software.  

Participants must achieve a minimum of 80% on each of the four domains listed in the learning objectives as assessed by their Training Leader(s). 

This course is an assessment-based course that assesses each student's DIRFloortime competencies. Successful completion leads to a DIRFloortime® Advanced Certificate (DIR-Advanced) and a listing on the ICDL registry and listing online.

All participants can request a Certificate of Attendance documenting hours of participation at the time of registration

DIR 204

Title: DIR 204: Becoming an Expert DIRFloortime® Provider and Training Leader.  

Prerequisite: Participants must have earned a DIRFloortime Basic Certificate at least 12 months prior and an Advanced DIRFloortime® Certificate at least 3 months prior to enrolling in DIR 204. For the participants that have taken DIR 204 course previously, but did not complete it successfully, there is a mandatory waiting period of at least 3 months prior to re-enrollment into the course during which time they are expected to actively engage in DIR-related work and/or mentoring per the recommendations of their prior 204 feedback.

Participants must have the equivalent of a Master's level university/college degree in occupational therapy, speech therapy, education, psychology, social work, counseling, nursing, marriage and family therapy, medicine, music therapy, or physical therapy. If you have a degree in a related field and want to see if it can be considered, please email training@icdl.com. Degrees in Criminal Justice or Applied Behavioral Analysis do not qualify.  If you do not have a Master's or Doctorate degree, but have a Bachelor's degree with at least 7 years of professional experience, you may be eligible to waive the Master's degree requirement.  You can click here for more information. 

Participants must be proficient in the language in which DIR 204 is taught. For DIR 204 classes conducted in English, English proficiency is required. Participation with an interpreter is not permitted. ICDL is able to offer DIR 204 in languages other than English. Please email dirfloortimetraining@icdl.com to indicate the languages in which you are proficient and in which you would be able to take DIR 204. 

Overview of 204 and becoming a DIR-Expert: 

This is an intensive leadership course that helps participants develop competencies as DIR®  Experts and refine their application of the DIR® model and Floortime principles at the expert level. This 14-week course requires at least 3 hours of practicum work every week by participating as an intern in an online course within the Training Program  (DIR 201-DIR 203) including: 

• Attend all class meetings

• Join participant mentoring and feedback meetings

• Be familiarized with technical and administrative responsibilities of teaching ICDL courses

• Lead or co-lead content delivery, case presentation discussions, and course discussion posts

• Contributing to participant feedback, mentoring, and assessments

In addition, participants will have their DIR 204 seminar for a total of 16 to 20 hours depending upon the specific schedule of the course. In 204 seminar meetings, participants will review readings related to adult education and reflective leadership, do a “mini-presentation” and lead discussion on a DIR concept of their choosing, as well as practice and strengthen competencies of using video clips and powerpoint presentations as reflective learning tools. Total time commitment for this course (204 seminar and internship) is approximately 5 to 6 hours per week. 

For questions about this internship, please contact dirfloortimetraining@icdl.com

View Learning Objectives for DIR 204

Basic Requirements, Evaluation of Knowledge, and Certificate Obtained 

Attendance in both seminar and internship courses are  required to complete this course. Students in online courses must have a device that has a camera and microphone to fully engage in the course. ICDL provides the software. 

Students must serve as an intern in a DIR 201, 202, or 203 course during their DIR 204 course, assigned by the Training Program.  

Students will prepare a mini-presentation on a DIR-related topic that is geared towards a 201 student/course. It is a student’s responsibility to obtain a signed video permission form, if needed, for this assignment. All the presentations created in the DIR 204 course become property of ICDL. 

This is an assessment based course that evaluates  each student’ DIRFloortime competencies, teaching and presentation skills, course management capacities and other areas listed in the assessment rubric (the full list of DIR 204 learning objectives can be found here).

Participants must achieve a minimum of 80% on each of the four domains listed in the learning objectives as assessed by their Training Leader(s) in order to complete the course successfully.

 This is a pass/fail course. Participants that do not meet the 80% requirement for each section of the assessment rubric mentioned above, will need to retake the course (doing both an internship and seminar) after a waiting period of at least 3 months. No “Incomplete” grades are given for this course.  

Successful completion leads to a DIRFloortime® Expert Certificate (DIR-Expert) plus a listing on the ICDL registry and listing online. 

The Expert certificate makes the expert a candidate to serve as an Expert Training Leader for ICDL and to teach official DIRFloortime® Training Program certificate courses. Teaching is dependent upon attending a Training Leader orientation and having a fully executed professional service agreement and, if applicable,  licensing agreement.  Therefore, serving as an Expert Training Leader with ICDL is contingent upon being employed by ICDL or serving as an Independent Contractor or Licensee of ICDL.

 All participants can request a Certificate of Attendance documenting hours of participation at the time of registration.