DIRFloortime and Data Collection
A medium close-up, shallow-depth-of-field photograph shows a person seated in the foreground, facing away and looking toward a room activity. The seated person, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with their dark hair pulled into a ponytail, is positioned behind a laptop on a table. The laptop screen is visible and displays some kind of data or work interface. In the middle ground, slightly out of focus, a long blue couch or piece of equipment spans the center, with a small black television mounted high on the wall behind it. To the right, another person in a dark top stands partially obscured by a black curtain or divider, facing away from the camera. A third person is vaguely visible further in the blurred background on the left. The scene suggests a therapy or observation room.
Let's be real. When you're a DIRFloortime agency playing by the EIDBI rules, the phrase "data collection" probably makes you want to scream into the abyss. (Too far? Okay, maybe that’s just me then 🤷)
As Floortimers, we live for relationships, feelings, and functional emotional development—that gorgeous qualitative stuff. But that required quantitative data? That's the headache. Data is non-negotiable, though; it’s the proof that our highly personalized, relationship-driven work is effective and keeps the funding flowing.
So, how do we gather those numbers without losing our Floortime soul?
🎯 What We Measure: Focusing on Function (Not Just isolated "Behaviors")
In DIRFloortime, our data has to respect the developmental nature of the work. We're not just measuring individual behaviors; we’re measuring big, functional changes.
Our entire treatment plan is built around the Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDCs). This means every single goal must align with the FEDCs we’re targeting. We track progress in two essential ways:
Individual Goal Progress: We track the client’s progress toward each specific goal using that dreaded percentage data required by EIDBI policy.
FEDC Mastery: More importantly, we track the client’s overall shift in their FEDC profile, looking for a move toward mastery in the capacities we are targeting. This is how we ensure we’re fostering real developmental growth, not just isolated skills!
I know it can feel really hard—and even "icky"—reducing our clients' complex growth to numbers. That’s why we balance that quantitative requirement with tons of rich, meaningful qualitative data collection. We stay true to our roots!
FEDCs are Our Map: We track how consistently a client demonstrates a specific capacity across different settings and partners. For example, instead of just counting "number of times a client initiated an interaction," we measure the quality and duration of shared attention and engagement.
Relationship & Co-Regulation: The relationship drives the bus! We make sure that we are monitoring how well we are driving that bus by collecting data on the client’s affective range and the provider's ability to co-regulate and facilitate engagement.
Regulation & Affect: Every client has a regulation goal. We track the frequency and intensity of dysregulation events (meltdowns, shutdowns) and—this is key—the client’s use of established regulation strategies and the time it takes to bounce back.
🧐 The Trial-by-Trial Dilemma: A Floortime Twist
EIDBI requires percentage-based reporting generated from trial-by-trial data collection. What is that, exactly?
Trial-by-trial data collection is when you record the outcome (successful/unsuccessful, level of support) immediately after every single time the client has an opportunity to perform a skill. You then calculate the percentage of successful attempts.
The Floortime Conflict
Here’s the rub for us: in Floortime, we don’t get to say, "Let's work on this goal now," and demand a response! We meet the client exactly where they are. The environment and the client's current FEDC dictate what we work on at any given moment.
To maintain fidelity to DIRFloortime, our provider's priority must be keeping the flow, staying responsive, and supporting development. They simply cannot add high-level, nuanced data logging to their already full plate (seriously, if you throw one more flaming stick at them, they'll drop everything and probably set you on fire—and they’d be right!).
Our Solution: Defining Success and Using Observers
To get that EIDBI-required data, we have to get seriously good at two things before the session even starts:
Define Success (Uniquely): What does success look like for this client? A "listening body" looks different for everyone, right? Based on their unique brain and needs, we figure out exactly what it looks like for them to successfully perform the goal skill. (We don't care about how they do it, unless it’s unsafe.)
Define the Opportunity: Since we don't use direct prompts, we have to get good at identifying when a naturally occurring or therapist-created opportunity has been presented. For example, if the goal is about setting a boundary, we have to be sure the client genuinely wanted to set a boundary at that moment, which means deeply understanding their unique profile and communication style.
Now, repeat this process for every goal. (Are you ready to give up? I feel you. That's why my treatment plans don't have 20 goals!)
📸 The Data System: Juggling Flaming Sticks Safely
Since the provider can't collect the data and run the session simultaneously (that just isn’t possible if we want to stay true to the DIRFloortime model), we need a separate system for the "who" and the "how."
Who Collects the Data?
This requires a second person. At Infinity that second person is often one of our phenomenal data specialists. (Shout out to Cassidy and Lauren!)
In-Session Observer: This is what we do most of the time for logistics reasons. We often have another provider join the session specifically to observe and collect data in real-time.
Video Review: We record client sessions, and a supervisor, QSP, or data specialist later reviews the video to collect the data. I love this method because I can pause, rewind, and really think about whether that moment counted as a true opportunity and a success. It gives me the most accurate data, even if it means analyzing 15 minutes of session footage for 30–45 minutes! To me, this is gives me the most accurate data.
Setting Up the System
Once we decide who is collecting the data, we figure out the "how." Are we going old-school with pen and paper, or using a modified electronic system like ABAdesk or Catalyst? (Heads up: Since no system is built specifically for DIRFloortime, be ready to modify!)
Finally, because the personalized nature of our goals leaves a ton of room for error, we must develop a system to ensure reliability among data collectors. Video review is amazing for this, too, as it offers a controlled environment to ensure everyone is scoring the opportunities and successes the same way.
🔄 Data: The Continuous Feedback Loop
So, that's the nuts and bolts of quantitative data collection in DIRFloortime. But remember, we don't rely solely on those numbers! We stay true to our roots and collect qualitative data too, viewing it as equally important. Data collection isn't a one-time thing; it's a continuous feedback loop that constantly informs our weekly planning and treatment modifications.
At Infinity, we have dedicated data specialists whose job it is to collect this complex data by joining sessions. To ensure consistency, we also make sure other providers, like our Level 1 staff and the QSP (me!), randomly collect data as well. I set a base frequency for data collection for each client and adjust the schedule as needed when I analyze the results to ensure we're always getting consistent and accurate snapshots of progress. Critically, when I review the numbers, I always cross-reference them with the qualitative data sessions. These notes are invaluable for catching progress that might not show up in the percentages or for pinpointing barriers that could be impacting the quantitative results.
Hopefully, seeing our system helps you build one that works for your agency and keeps you from screaming into that abyss! It takes work, but it is 100% possible to be a Floortimer and meet those quantitative requirements.
