FRIDAY 15TH AND SATURDAY 16TH  MAY, 2026 –  8:30 – 17:00

PRESENTED BY – KERRY WALLACE

Day 1 – Foundations of DIR®: Floortime™

Introduction to the DIR® Model

Overview of the DIR® framework: origins, core concepts, and evolution
Introduction to the six Functional Emotional Developmental Levels (FEDLs)
Core principles of Floortime™ as the practical application of DIR®
Summary of current evidence-based research supporting the model

Understanding the “I” – Individual Differences

Exploring Greenspan’s Learning Tree: the foundational “root” system
How sensory, motor, affective and cognitive profiles shape development
Emphasising strengths-based practice: identifying and building on individual capacities
Applying clinical reasoning to identify unique regulatory and processing profiles

Understanding the “R” – Relationships

The role of affective relationships in supporting developmental progression
“Serve and return” interactions: co-regulation, shared attention and emotional signalling
Social referencing and emotional attunement, as tools for connection
•Reflections from Harvard’s Centre on the Developing Child: how relationships shape brain architecture

Functional Emotional Developmental Levels 1–3

Level 1: Self-regulation and shared attention
Level 2: Engagement and emotional connection
Level 3: Intentional communication through reciprocal interaction
Practical implications for clinical observation and early intervention

 Day 2 – Applying the DIR® Model in Practice

Functional Emotional Developmental Level 4

Complex social behaviours and emotional flexibility
The development of a sense of self and agency
Introduction to shared social problem-solving within therapeutic play

Functional Emotional Developmental Levels 5–6

Level 5: Emotional thinking and symbolic play
Level 6: Logical thinking and abstract reasoning
Facilitating symbolic expression and meaning-making in play and social contexts

Language, Communication & the Transdisciplinary Approach

Integration of Speech and Language goals within the DIR® framework
Understanding how FEDL’s and sensory profiles inform communication support
Co-designing therapy environments to meet sensorimotor needs
Aligning OT and SLP strategies within a shared intervention plan

Generalising DIR®: Floortime™ Across Environments

Strategies for implementing DIR® principles at home, in classrooms, and on playgrounds
Coaching parents, educators and peers as active partners in therapeutic success
Tools for creating continuity across settings and embedding Floortime™ principles in daily routines

About the presenter :-

Kerry Wallace is an experienced paediatric Occupational Therapist and Clinical Director of TherapySPOT in Perth, specialising in early intervention for neurodevelopmental disorders. With over three decades of clinical, supervisory, and educational experience across South Africa and Australia, Kerry brings expertise at a Trainer’s level in DIR®: Floortime™ through Profectum Foundation, USA, sensory integration (SAISI), South Africa, and has training in neurodevelopmental therapy (NDTA), USA.

She formerly led the multidisciplinary Polkaspot Early Intervention Centre in Cape Town and was a senior trainer for the South African Institute for Sensory Integration. Kerry is qualified in NDT for infants and children with cerebral palsy and has advanced training in attachment theory through the Psychoanalytic Society of South Africa and the Tavistock Clinic (UK).

Kerry has contributed to research and practice development internationally, including her Master’s dissertation on OT-SI efficacy with autistic preschoolers and worked as a Research Assistant at the Telethon Kids Institute on the Assessment of Functioning project for young people with autism. She is a contributing author to the 5th and 6th editions of Occupational Therapy in Psychiatry and Mental Health (Crouch & Alers), the chapter on “Early intervention in children at risk of mental health disorders”, and has authored several journal articles. Kerry founded SPOTlight Trust SA, a not-for-profit providing training in relationship-based intervention models to professionals and caregivers in South Africa.