DIRFloortime® Professional Certificate Program Curriculum
DIR Floortime® Training Program
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, 201, 202, 203, and 204 course Curricula
Please see individual course pages for all other course other than identified above. The below courses are the core courses of the DIRFloortime® training program and professional certificate program.
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
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
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
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
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. 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.
This is an intensive leadership course that helps participants develop competencies as DIR® Experts and Training Leaders in their communities and refine their application of the DIR® model and Floortime principles at the expert level. This 14-week course requires at least 4 hours of practicum work every week by participating as co-leaders of other courses (DIR 201-DIR 203) for 2 hours every week, help course participants prepare their presentations (approximately 30 minutes - 1 hour/week), work on their written assessment, supervised by the 204 Training Leader (approximately 30 minutes/week) and participate during the oral feedback sessions for participants (approximately 30 minutes/week). In addition, participants will meet with the DIR 204 course Training Leader for a total of 16 to 20 hours depending upon the specific schedule of the course. In the 204 meetings participants will review readings related to adult education and reflective leadership, as well as demonstrate competencies of using video clips and powerpoint presentations as training tools. Total time commitment for this course 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 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 class participation, written responses to forum questions and mini presentations.
Students must serve as an intern in a DIR 201, 202, or 203 course during their DIR 204 course.
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.
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 students DIRFloortime competencies. 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/or licensing agreement with ICDL - therefore, 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.