Dr. Serena Wieder, Co-Creator of the DIR Model, Joins Us in NJ

My journey began with my son, who has significant individual differences that contributed to developmental gaps. As my family was navigating the challenges of providing him the support he needed, I read “The Child With Special Needs”, by Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Serena Wieder. This book described the developmental approach to autism therapy created by these doctors, emphasizing individual strengths and nurturing connections through relationships.

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The book validated my belief that, if we pursued competence while identifying my son’s challenges, we would see a big change — we would see a happy child emerge. Unfortunately, at that time—and for many families today—it was challenging to access and afford the necessary therapy services to achieve this. We felt isolated in our efforts to show the world that there was a better way. However, this book made us feel less alone in our journey.

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I found a small community-based DIR program and a mentor, Monica Osgood, who enabled my son to attend their summer program in exchange for my volunteer services. This was the spark that ignited a flame within me. I was already an occupational therapist, but I pursued further education in the DIRFloortime® model. Ready to put my passion and work into practice, I joined the Positive Development team, which was working on expanding access to the developmental care model in New Jersey after it was approved for Medicaid coverage in 2020.

Connecting with Dr. Wieder

This past May, our New Jersey team hosted a community connection dinner to honor Dr. Wieder for her contributions, which have laid the foundation for our work at Positive Development. At the dinner, we discussed how Positive Development has expanded access to DIR for more families. Traditionally, DIR was restricted to licensed providers with extensive training, making it a lengthy and costly process that limited access. These experts would then train parents to become "attuned play partners," a practice we still support through coaching. Relying solely on highly trained experts made DIR both cost-prohibitive and difficult to access. At Positive Development, we’ve transformed the delivery model by training paraprofessionals to serve as "attuned play partners" and mentoring licensed therapists new to the discipline, all under the guidance of an interdisciplinary team of clinicians.

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As I shared this new delivery approach, Dr. Wieder was eager to learn how we have adapted the DIR model from the 1970s for the 21st century to better serve more families.

An In-Office Visit

To give Dr. Wieder a firsthand look at how Positive Development implements this approach in our daily operations, we invited her to visit our New Jersey location and meet our fantastic team of therapists and paraprofessionals. Welcomed as a hero, she was particularly surprised when she saw one of our team collaboration spaces named "Serena's Spark". This name was based on her book that originally sparked my passion for the DIR model so many years ago. It was an opportunity to demonstrate how she continues to inspire a new generation of therapists and paraprofessionals.

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Dr. Wieder kindly observed sessions, provided feedback, shared stories about her work, and signed books for the staff. I asked a few of our therapists for memories of this special day:

"My favorite part was collaborating with her after observing a parent session and listening to her insights on the development of the DIR approach. We had a thought-provoking discussion about the impact on a child's sense of self and explored different personality types like people pleasers, the angry, and scripters to understand their influence on interactions and independent thinking. Her calm and humble demeanor throughout the conversation stood out the most, making the experience exceptionally valuable and enriching."
– Katy, Speech Therapist

"My Serena moment: hearing her voice and knowing it from workshops and videos. Feeling her presence and the anticipation and then actually sitting with her and talking naturally at our table in the ‘Serena’s Spark’ office made it one of the most magical and momentous moments in my life. Then when she joined our sessions, it was also an honor and I learned many tidbits that will stay with me forever."
– Rachael, Case Manager

"I loved hearing Serena share her perspective on scripting and how it can really show a child’s ability to think in more abstract ways than we realize. I also loved hearing her outlook on IQ testing and how it doesn’t truly show an individual's intelligence. I love her open-mindedness to understanding an individual's differences!"
– Charmaine, Case Manager

"It was an amazing opportunity to learn about the work she's done before our company came to be and hear about the wonderful feedback she had with our clients in the center, as well as have the opportunity to share how our model has been making incredible progress among our clients! Sitting with her and enjoying personal conversations was my favorite part, as we all got the chance to learn about her work but also about her as an individual. Having Serena visit was such an extraordinary experience, strengthening my passion and confidence for our work!"
- Danielle, DCC and program coordinator

"Dr. Wieder was kind, joyful, and open to spending time with each and every one of us. I was lucky enough to have her observe a part of my session and later receive her reflections, which was a big highlight of her visit for me. Serena shared that she could see and felt so much joy and enthusiasm from each and every one of our therapists and more importantly she saw the joy in kids and families as she watched us interact. That observation warmed my heart as our biggest goal is always focused around building relationships and joy." – Lacey, occupational therapist


Our day with Dr. Wieder is one we'll never forget and we encourage any parent, family member, or other interested individual to read her book.