8 year old girl with regular meltdowns, poor independence skills and who could not play

Child with aggression to parents, teachers and peers and frequent melt-downs. Did not respond to psychology treatment. Overly dependent on parents for all self-cares.

8 year old girl with level 2 autism. Lived with her mother and brother and saw her father every 2^nd weekend.

Limited executive function skills, sensitive to sensory information, some learning difficulties and no desire for independence. Her imaginative play involved stabbing the toys with the toy knife for the first few sessions.

Therapist started with sensory strategies for regulation and then did Learn to Play therapy (Karen Stagnitti) and DIR Floortime based therapy to help this child learn to play.

1^st year: Learned to play with toys in repetitive sequences eg. going to Disneyworld with broken rides. No more destructive play. She re-engaged with her psychologist successfully.

2^nd year, Moved into complex themes and sequences, emotional exploration, perspective taking and guiding the toys.

Now seeking independence in self-care such as washing her own hair and cleaning her teeth.