The interdisciplinary council on developmental and learning disorders diagnostic manual for infants and young children - an overview.

Objective: To describe the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (ICDL-DMIC) created by representatives of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders.

Method: A description of the rationale of the different sections of the ICDL-DMIC dealing with infants and young children, focusing on a classification system which integrates all components of development and functioning which have been traditionally addressed by different disciplines.

Results: A description of an in-depth approach to mental health diagnosis for infants and young children that goes beyond simply a description of symptoms and captures the qualities of the individual.

Climbing the symbolic ladder in the DIR model through floor time/interactive play.

The developmental, individual-difference, relationship-based model (DIR), a theoretical and applied framework for comprehensive intervention, examines the functional developmental capacities of children in the context of their unique biologically based processing profile and their family relationships and interactive patterns. As a functional approach, it uses the complex interactions between biology and experience to understand behavior and articulates the developmental capacities that provide the foundation for higher order symbolic thinking and relating. During spontaneous 'floor time' play sessions, adults follow the child's lead utilizing affectively toned interactions through gestures and words to move the child up the symbolic ladder by first establishing a foundation of shared attention, engagement, simple and complex gestures, and problem solving to usher the child into the world of ideas and abstract thinking.