This inventive colour picture book uses the metaphor of a train to teach basic conventions of conversation to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Engines are like greetings; they get the train going. Freight wagons are like different speakers' turns; it is good to have at least a few when you are in conversation. A set of points guiding a train from one track to another is like a tactful change in the topic of conversation. When a conversation veers off-topic it is like a derailed train. As well as attractive colour photographs of trains, the book contains engaging photocopiable worksheets and colouring pages to help promote skill generalisation. This highly visual approach to conversation is ideally suited to children with ASDs aged approximately 5-13.

This book presents original, empirical research that reframes how educators should consider autism and educational inclusion. Rebecca Wood carefully unpicks common misapprehensions about autism and how autistic children learn, and reconsiders what inclusion can and should mean for autistic learners in school settings. Drawing on research and interwoven with comments from autistic child and adult contributors throughout, the book argues that inclusion will only work if the ways in which autistic children think, learn, communicate and exhibit their understanding are valued and supported. Such an approach will benefit both the learner and the whole classroom. Considering topics such as the sensory environment, support, learning and cognition, school curriculums, communication and socialisation, this much needed book offers ideas and insight that reflect the practical side of day-to-day teaching and learning, and shows how thinking differently about autism and inclusion will equip teachers to effectively improve teaching conditions for the whole school.

Takes autistic children step by step through such activities as using the toilet, brushing their teeth, and wearing a safety belt in the car.

Sexual health and sexuality can be difficult subjects for parents and caregivers to broach with autistic children, made more challenging when children are at the severe end of the autism spectrum. Some parents may even question the validity of teaching sexuality to those who are severely autistic. This practical handbook guides you through the process of teaching about sex and sexuality, answering all of the most crucial questions, including: Why is it necessary to teach this subject to my severely autistic child? When is the right time to start talking about these issues? How detailed and explicit should I be? What methods are most appropriate? It addresses male and female issues separately and covers public and private sexual behaviours, sexual abuse, cross-gender teaching and liaising with school, in addition to the more obvious areas such as physical changes and menstruation. This will be the ideal guide to teaching about sexual issues for any parent, caregiver or health educator caring for a person on the severe end of the autism spectrum.

The STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) attract many students with autism, ADD, affective disorders and related invisible disabilities who are highly intelligent and analytical, but who, upon entering higher education, may find that they struggle with independent living and a different way of learning. This is a preparation guide for students and their families that explains everything they need to know about the university experience including classroom behavior, study skills, self-reliance, accessing support services, and when parents should and shouldn't get involved. Offering practical advice and strategies, this is a useful handbook that students can refer to again and again throughout their college years guiding them on their paths to becoming the inventors, scientists, engineers, and computer entrepreneurs of the future.

Drawing on her extensive practical experience, Liz Williams provides a highly accessible and much-needed guide to promoting positive behaviour in early years settings. In this book, she explains why children may act in the way that they do and how behaviour should be understood differently in children of different ages. She demonstrates that social and emotional capacities differ greatly in these crucial development years and how this impacts on the support needed at each stage. The book considers a host of factors influencing positive behaviour, such as environments and the importance of planning, and looks beyond the child to show the vital role that staff and parents have in promoting appropriate behaviour. Written in clear and understandable language, this book is full of ideas that early years workers can easily implement in their day-to-day work.

There is a behavioural nirvana: one that is calm, purposeful and respectful. Where poor pupil behaviour is as rare as a PE teacher in trousers and where relationships drive achievement. Annoyingly and predictably, the road is hard and the ride bumpy and littered with cliches - but it is achievable. And when you get there it is a little slice of heaven. A revolution in behaviour can be exciting, dynamic and, at times, pleasantly terrifying. But revolution is short-lived. In After the Adults Change Paul shows you that, after the behaviour of the adults has changed, there is an opportunity to go wider and deeper: to accelerate relational practice, decrease disproportionate punishment and fully introduce restorative, informed and coaching-led cultures. Paul delves into the possibilities for improvement in pupil behaviour and teacher-pupil relationships, drawing further upon a hugely influential behaviour management approach whereby expectations and boundaries are exemplified by calm, consistent and regulated adults.

This comprehensive ground-breaking southern African-centred collection spans the breadth of disability research and practice. Reputable and emerging scholars, together with disability advocates adopt a critical and interdisciplinary stance to prove, challenge and shift commonly held social understanding of disability in traditional discourses, frontiers and practices in prominent areas such as inter/national development, disability studies, education, culture, health, religion, gender, sports, tourism, ICT, theatre, media , housing and legislation. This handbook provides a body of interdisciplinary analyses suitable for the development of disability studies in southern Africa. Through drawing upon and introducing resources from several disciplines, theoretical perspectives and personal narratives from disability activists, it reflects on disability and sustainable development in southern Africa. It also addresses a clear need to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives and narratives on disability and sustainable development in ways that do not undermine disability politics advanced by disabled people across the world. The handbook further acknowledges and builds upon the huge body of literature that understands the social, cultural, educational, psychological, economic, historical and political facets of the exclusion of disabled people. The handbook covers the following broad themes: * Disability inclusion, ICT and sustainable development * Access to education, from early childhood development up to higher education * Disability, employment, entrepreneurship and community-based rehabilitation * Religion, gender and parenthood * Tourism, sports and accessibility * Compelling narratives from disability activists on societal attitudes toward disability, media advocacy, accessible housing and social exclusion. Thus, this much-awaited handbook provides students, academics, practitioners, development partners, policy makers and activists with an authoritative framework for critical thinking and debates that inform policy and practice in incomparable ways, with the view to promoting inclusive and sustainable development.

Building Language using LEGO (R) Bricks is a flexible and powerful intervention tool designed to aid children with severe receptive and expressive language disorders, often related to autism and other special educational needs. This practical manual equips you for setting up and adapting your own successful sessions. Downloadable resources enable you to chart progress in the following key areas: - The use of receptive and expressive language - The use and understanding of challenging concepts - Joint attention - Social communication Help children with complex needs to communicate with this unique tool, derived from the highly effective LEGO (R)-Based Therapy.

Animals, Disability, and the End of Capitalism is a collection of essays from the leaders in the field of eco-ability. The book is rooted in critical pedagogy, inclusive education, and environmental education. The efforts of diverse disability activists work to weave together the complex diversity and vastly overlooked interconnections among nature, ability, and animals. Eco-ability challenges social constructions, binaries, domination, and normalcy. Contributors challenge the concepts of disability, animal, and nature in relation to human and man. Eco-ability stresses the interdependent relationship among everything and how the effect of one action such as the extinction of a species in Africa can affect the ecosystem in Northern California. Animals, Disability, and the End of Capitalism is timely and offers important critical insight from within the growing movement and the current academic climate for such scholarship. The book also provides insights and examples of radical experiences, pedagogical projects, and perspectives shaped by critical animal studies, critical environmental studies, and critical disability studies. Contributors include Sarah R. Adams, Marissa Anderson, Judy K. C. Bentley, Mary Fantaske, Amber E. George, Ava HaberkornHalm, John Lupinacci, Hannah Monroe, Anthony J. Nocella II, Nicole R. Pallotta, Meneka Repka, and Daniel Salomon.

Introducing sandtray play and storying into mainstream and special education classrooms can have an extremely enriching impact on the learning experience. When used effectively, it creates the climate for social, emotional and behavioural growth, incites creativity, and provides a high-interest context for the development of academic skills. Build a world in your sandtray; tell its story; record it; listen to your partner's story - these are the invitations to students in a sandtray play/narrative workshop. The approach gives children a therapeutic means to process inner thoughts and feelings through kinaesthetic play and provides an ideal platform for the development of essential speaking, listening and writing skills as children are taught to share and record the imaginative stories developed in their sandworlds. With detailed case studies, this accessible and classroom-friendly book explains the psychological and educational theory behind the approach and answers all the nuts-and-bolts questions of sandtray/narrative workshop setup, offering a wealth of practical methods that can be applied to a wide spectrum of the student population. This book is an invaluable handbook for teachers and school counselors looking to use play and storying as a way to develop core competencies in children with special educational needs and in the mainstream, and will also be of interest to play therapists, speech and language therapists and educational psychologists.

A growing number of parents are considering part time or 'flexischooling' as an option that might benefit their child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but face concerns such as: Is it possible? Has anyone tried it? How can it be set up? Above all, does it work? This book answers all these questions, and many more. Covering both the home and school angle, it explores ways to evaluate whether the option is right for your child, organising the arrangement effectively with the school and ensuring that curriculum and examination goals are met, and also includes case examples of successful part time schooling at both primary and secondary level. This is the first resource of its kind to bring together all of the information needed for both parents and schools to consider the merits and disadvantages of this approach, and to evaluate it as an option for individual children.

Visual dysfunctions can limit children's concentration, self esteem and school success as they struggle to understand fundamentals such as colors, letters and how to judge distance. With the right help, these obstacles can be overcome, allowing children to reach their full potential and see the world clearly. This accessible book explores how visual problems develop and how they can be reversed through effective and efficient visual therapy. It breaks down myths surrounding visual dysfunction and explains in straightforward terms the various conditions that could be impacting a child's perception, even if they have perfect sight. The visual therapy used in behavioral optometry retrains the brain to perform visual skills more effectively. In these pages there is clear guidance on the array of therapies, techniques and aids available, all of which can make a profound difference to a child's life. This introductory guide to behavioral optometry will be a welcome resource for parents and professionals in search of options to help a child who is experiencing visual problems.

Does your child struggle with brushing their teeth? Is it difficult to get them dressed and undressed each day? Do they struggle to understand their body's relationship to the world? This book is brimming with simple ideas, activities and exercises to address these daily challenges that young children with autism face. Easy to carry out and to fit into your routines, they will help improve a child's sense of body awareness, coordination and motor skills, and address key tasks such as eating meals and healthy sleep. There are also ideas for tackling social challenges, including playing with friends, going on holiday and staying calm at school. The final chapter of the book explains the different support professionals parents of a child with autism are likely to encounter and how each can help their child. This jargon-free book shows how occupational therapy techniques can be used to help your young child with autism to live life to the full, and will be an essential tool for parents and carers.

Containing life-changing strategies and solutions, this book will enable everyone who knows, lives with or works with an individual with autism to achieve a positive relationship that fosters cooperation and mutual respect. The author has dedicated over 20 years to studying, observing and implementing communication strategies that help him, his wife, their three children and his clients experience positive relationships. His immediate family are all on the autism spectrum and they work together to understand one another, resolve misunderstandings, and help each other feel important, loved and respected. Sharing their inspirational personal experiences and interweaving every chapter with practical hints and tips, the book looks at how to get communication working for everyone and emphasizes the importance of laying down ground rules and building confidence. This book will be essential reading for family, friends and professionals who wish to communicate more effectively with those on the autism spectrum.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is recognized as one of the most effective ways to teach children with autism and studies have shown that the earlier the interventions take place the more likely they are to have a profound, positive impact on a child's later development. Using the latest research into best practice for children with autism, this curriculum gives a clear outline on what to teach and how to teach it utilizing the principles of ABA. The book is divided up into three sections, each with built-in data collection, and features a CD with all the material in the book so you can print off the section you are working on. The Assessment section allows you to initially measure the child's level of learning and then track their progress over time. The Curriculum section covers nearly ninety crucial steps in a child's development spread over twelve chapters that each focus on a different pivotal area, such as 'Motor', 'Expressive' and 'Academic' Programs. These are broken down into simple tasks that can be taught and monitored easily. The final Mastered section guarantees that progress can be maintained by checking that learnt skills continue to be retained. Generalization assessment is included throughout to make sure the child has adapted to using the skills in a variety of settings. This book will equip teachers, therapists and parents with a thorough and comprehensive program to help ensure the young learners in their care are achieving developmental goals and are able to reach their full potential as they grow.

This Brief addresses the causes, assessment, and treatment of ADHD in Lebanese schoolchildren. It details how the disorder is currently defined in Lebanese elementary schools and examines schoolteachers' understanding of and conceptions about ADHD across three domains: general knowledge; symptoms and diagnosis; and treatment. This concise volume presents the authors' research into Lebanese schoolteachers' knowledge of ADHD and their ability and readiness to address the psychological and academic needs of their students who have been diagnosed with the disorder. In addition, the Brief explores the teachers' ability to identify ADHD subtypes in relation to a student's gender within the Lebanese context, emphasizing the differing sociocultural expectations in the behaviors of boys and girls. Current procedures for identifying ADHD in Lebanon. Lebanese teachers' knowledge about ADHD, their misconceptions, and factors that influence their opinions. Biases toward and confusion about disorders on the basis of perceived gender differences. ADHD assessment and implementation strategies for Lebanese special education professionals. Research questions, design, and methods as well as data collection and analysis procedures used in the study. ADHD in Lebanese Schools is an essential resource for researchers, professionals and policymakers, and graduate students in such interrelated fields as school psychology, educational psychology, and social work.

This easy-to-use tool provides an observation checklist which enables staff to identify behavioural patterns in children with social and emotional difficulties, analyse the underlying emotional difficulties and establish what kind of help and support the children need. Behavioural responses are categorised within clearly outlined topics, including: * behaviour and relationship with peers * attachment behaviours * emotional state in the classroom * attitude to attendance Checklists and diagrams identify different 'styles' of relating, to help school staff to respond appropriately to the individual needs of each child. A range of handouts include activities designed to provide emotional support, to focus and regulate behaviour and enable the child to develop important social and emotional skills. Suitable for use with children aged 11+, this tool will be an invaluable resource for teachers, teaching assistants, learning support staff, school counsellors and educational psychologists.

Finding a way of simultaneously addressing the sensory, motor, emotional, communicative, cognitive and social needs of children on the autism spectrum can be a real challenge, and choosing from the vast array of options available is a daunting task. This book provides a blueprint for an educational intervention program that is evidence-based, comprehensive in scope and integrative in its approach. Grouping techniques into five categories for discussion, the book examines autism spectrum disorders within a developmental context, and shows that interventions with autistic individuals are not only possible, but can be really successful. Specific intervention strategies and program examples for developing competencies in areas such as joint attention, sensory integration, motor functioning, impulse control, memory, self-awareness, theory of mind and empathy, abstract thinking, problem-solving, social skills and community engagement, are presented. Techniques for dealing with specific behavior problems are also examined, including toileting delays, temper-tantrums, and eating and sleeping problems, amongst many others. This book will be essential reading for families, teachers, and other professionals working with children with autism.

Searching for the right school for a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) opens up a huge and complicated world, and it can be difficult to know where to begin. What should you look out for in a school? What questions should you ask? How do you choose between different educational approaches and programmes? This accessible guide cuts through all of the jargon surrounding special educational needs (SEN) and walks parents and professionals through the entire journey of securing appropriate educational provision for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The author explains the implications of having, or not having, a diagnosis; how to obtain a Statement of SEN; how to find and secure an appropriate school; and how to work effectively with outside agencies. She provides clear explanations of all of the legal aspects of the process, including SEN law, the SEN Code of Practice and the new guidelines for SEND tribunals. Recognising that mainstream schooling is not the best option in every case, she also shows that independent schools and home-schooling can be viable options in some cases. A multitude of useful resources, websites and other sources of further information are also included. Whether you are the parent or carer of a child with ASD, or a professional working with children with autism, the ideas and information in this book will steer you through the complex maze of issues surrounding how to secure appropriate education provision for children with ASD.

Can you imagine not being able to recognize those you know if they wore glasses, changed their hairstyle, or perhaps put on a hat? Prosopagnosia is a severe facial recognition disorder that is thought to impact around two per cent of the population. Frequently found in children on the autism spectrum, those with the condition have difficulties distinguishing between one face and the next, meaning that they may not recognize even those who are closest to them. Nancy L. Mindick provides parents, teachers, and other professionals with an accessible explanation of the different types, causes, and characteristics of prosopagnosia. Providing an insider's perspective on the condition, she suggests ways to recognize the signs of facial recognition difficulties in children, and offers specific ideas for ensuring that they are properly supported in their learning and social development. The issues of diagnosis and disclosure are explored, and the author offers practical management strategies for helping children to cope with the condition and to navigate the many different social situations they will encounter at home, at school, and in the community. This book offers specific, practical information for parents, teachers, child psychologists, and anyone else who wishes to support the learning and development of a child with a facial recognition disorder.

The Revelations of Asher: Toward Supreme Love in Self is an endarkened, feminist, new literacies event. It critically and creatively explores Black women's terror in love. With poetry, prose, and analytic memos, Jeanine Staples shows how a group of Black women's talk and writings about relationships revealed epistemological and ontological revelations, after 9/11. These revelations are presented in the context of a third wave new literacies framework. They are voiced and storied dynamically by the women's seven fragmented selves. Through the selves, we learn the five ways the women lived as lovers: Main Chick, Side Chick, Bonnie, Bitch, and Victim. As an alternative-response to these identities in love, the author presents a new way. She introduces the Supreme Lover Identity and illuminates its integral connection to social and emotional justice for and through Black women's wisdom.

Why start a social skills program? The question is not why, but why not? With inclusive education becoming the norm in schools nationwide, teachers often struggle to address students non-academic needs, but teachers need ready-to-use lessons that won't interfere with their curriculum. Quest Program II is a social skills program created to help middle school students with autism who struggle with social skills and pragmatic language. Developed by a school social worker and speech language pathologist, the program uses an intensive, proactive approach to teaching social skills, combining written instruction with games, activities, and student interaction. Six helpful units: School Survival Basics, Understanding and Managing Emotions, CommunicationSkills, Making Friends and Interacting with Peers, Personal Safety, Vocational Readiness can be implemented either chronologically or on their own. Evidence-based research supports the methods used and students have a great time learning-by-doing,through role-play and real-world experience. Parents are kept in the loop with email updates and evaluations. Everyone wins with this program! Best of all, the book includes a CD of printable worksheets, letters, forms, and more! QUEST Program II covers: Greetings, Paying Attention, Daily Hygiene, Asking for Help, Understanding Feelings, Getting Angry/Calming Down, Managing Stress, Starting a Conversation, Making and Keeping Friends, Gossiping, Bullying, and Teasing, Resisting Peer Pressure, Dating, Internet and E-mail Safety, and many more!