Facilitation of Language in Autism using a Floortime approach

The College of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ziauddin University, arranged a three day workshop on the topic, “Facilitation of Language in Autism using a Floortime approach”. The workshop commenced on the 16th of July and ended on the 18th of July 2018. The workshop was conducted by Ms. Mehnaz Maqbool, a Speech and Language Pathologist currently practicing in USA.

The first day of the workshop was on the 16th of July i.e. a Monday. It was held at the auditorium of the Rehabilitation Sciences campus, Ziauddin University. Students and faculty of the College of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences as well as alumni and other professionals were also in attendance. The workshop started at 10:00 a.m and ended at 1:00 p.m with a lunch break at 12:00 p.m. Ms. Mehnaz ‘s lecture included an explanation of the term “Floortime”, the steps of implementation and who to implement it. The audience and others remained thoroughly engaged throughout the lecture and interacted with the speaker by asking questions. It was a good learning experience for all present.

17th July 2018 was the second day of the educational workshop carried out by CCC-SLP Ms. Mehnaz Maqbool. It was a five hour workshop where the attendees observed a hands-on demonstration of using the floortime approach for facilitation of language.

It consisted of three individual therapy sessions, approximately one and a half hour each. Each one was followed by a Q&A session. The attendees were able to gain an in-depth insight into how one can use the floortime approach with children of different temperaments and individual personalities.

18th July 2018 marked the last day of this instructional workshop. The day was divided into three sessions and the layout was the same as day one.

The attendees observed three different patients, witnessing instantaneous effectiveness of this approach in some cases. The attendees also learned the importance of having a multidisciplinary approach to therapy. The instructor often effectively combines SLP techniques with some techniques used by Occupational Therapists to aid the process of language acquisition and multi sensory stimulation.

The arrangement of Video conferencing made by IT department of ZU between the CSLHS college and clinic Campuses. This facilitated observation of the floor time therapy sessions conducted at the clinic campus by Mehnaz; in the college classrooms for all enrolled in the workshop.