The 'Get to Know Me' series is made up of resources aimed at children with additional needs. Developed by child psychologist Dr Louise Lightfoot and illustrated by Catherine Hicks, the series includes activities specific to anxiety, depression and OCD. This book, Draw Along With Silver Matilda, is an activity-based picture book story, in which individual children are encouraged to interact with the story in a creative way - through writing, drawing, scrap booking, collage, activities etc. Active engagement helps children to understand and process information, and aids long-term recall. It has been designed to support the individual child and encourage an empathetic and inclusive environment. In this book, we meet Silver Matilda, a bird with silver feathers known for her beauty and graceful flight. The story follows Matilda as she loses her bright feathers and ashamed, hides away from the world until one day an owl comes and sits with her. The owl shows Matilda empathy and stays with her whilst she recovers and watches as she becomes stronger through her experience. This book was written with children with depression in mind, providing an opportunity to relate to Matilda's thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences. However, children with a range of needs may benefit from the story. The book is written in a narrative style, so it does not use diagnostic labels and is not intended for this purpose. Instead the focus is on creating a common language which children can understand and use to make sense of how they are feeling. A practitioner guidebook is also available (ISBN 9780815349433).

The 'Get to Know Me' series is aimed at children with additional needs and those who support them in the classroom. Developed by child psychologist Dr Louise Lightfoot and illustrated by Catherine Hicks, the resources in this series include activities specific to anxiety, depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This book, Silver Matilda, has been designed to support the individual child but also to be used in whole class teaching, to encourage an empathetic and inclusive environment. In this book, we meet Silver Matilda, a bird with silver feathers known for her beauty and graceful flight. The story follows Matilda as she loses her bright feathers and ashamed, hides away from the world until one day an owl comes and sits with her. The owl shows Matilda empathy and stays with her whilst she recovers and watches as she becomes stronger through her experience. This book was written with children with depression in mind, providing an opportunity to relate to Matilda's thoughts, feelings, behaviours and experiences. However, children with a range of needs may benefit from the story. The book is written in a narrative style, so it does not use diagnostic labels and is not intended for this purpose. Instead the focus is on creating a common language which children can understand and use to make sense of how they are feeling. A practitioner guidebook (ISBN 9780815349433) and draw along version (ISBN 9780815349464) are also available.

At times children are unable or unwilling to access or engage with emotional and mental health support services. Often members of a child's support network are therefore required to provide this emotional guidance and support to them. This resource book is intended to be used as a guide by families and friends, school staff, and any other adults supporting children who have experienced trauma, to help the adults to provide the emotional guidance these children need. Guide to Re-building Trust with Traumatised Children aims to educate the reader about trauma and the impact of an insecure attachment - how it may impact a child, how to support a child - as well as helping the reader to understand different behaviours. The guide suggests many practical ideas and activities designed to help children to build more positive relationships, to feel safe within their world, and to express and explore their emotions. There is a section on self-care for adults, and advice about when a referral to a specialist service may be required. This guide was designed to be used by any person supporting a child who has experienced trauma or an insecure attachment, no matter what their previous understanding of these issues might be. It is specifically written to be as accessible and as user friendly as possible to help rather than hinder the user. It can be used alone or together with the storybook The House That Wouldn't Fall Down.

This book is for parents and professionals who are guiding adolescents and young adult children with high functioning autism or Asperger's toward employment and independence. Employers are looking for employees who are positive. Employers may list specific "hard" or technical skills that they want an employee to have for a particular job, but surveys show that employers most want to hire people who have positive "soft skills." Employers want to hire someone who can work in harmony with others, someone who can communicate and respond socially to customers, coworkers, and supervisors with positivity. Unfortunately for young people with autism/Asperger's, hard skills may come easily but soft skills are much more difficult to learn and use. This book will help you focus on your child's positivity in their interactions with others, and will help you guide him or her to respond positively to the many challenges he or she faces every day.

Explains how schools can establish and sustain a behaviour management approach rooted in values, acceptance and a genuine understanding of children's behaviour. Written by Dave Whitaker, The Kindness Principle: Making relational behaviour management work in schools advocates a behaviour management approach rooted in values, acceptance and a genuine understanding of children's behaviour. In an education system that too often reaches for the carrot-and-stick approach to dealing with poor pupil behaviour, an approach built on kindness and compassion might just provide the cure. The Kindness Principle begins with the idea that relationships should be at the heart of behaviour management and culture, and sets out the ways in which the adoption of relational approaches can help create safer and happier schools. Schools where all staff and learners are valued and understood, where expectations and standards are high, and where kindness and acceptance matter. Dave Whitaker explores why it is so important to understand children - offering techniques and advice on how to work effectively with all children (even the most challenging and troubled ones) without resorting to zero-tolerance, no-excuses and consequence-driven practices. Dave also shares a wealth of real-life experiences from some of the most challenging schools in the country, along with research-informed insights that will help teachers understand children's behaviour in a new light. To this end he provides a wealth of guidance to help develop effective practice and learn from people who have actually walked the walk and don't just talk the talk. Furthermore, the topics covered in the book include: restorative approaches, unconditional positive regard, building personal resilience, structures and routines, and the ins and outs of rewards and sanctions. Suitable for teachers, school leaders and anyone working with children.

Historically, research on spoken language testing dates back to the late 1920s with the majority of work starting around the time of World War II. In contrast, signed language assessment research is a young area, nested within signed language linguistics, deaf education, and applied linguistics. To this day, very few signed language tests that can be used in applied contexts are available for learners of a signed language. This volume addresses issues that are inherent to language assessment development, regardless of the modality of the language. Comprised of 36 chapters, the book takes a new approach to exploring theoretical and practical issues related to assessment of signed and spoken languages by bringing together well known experts from both fields to engage in stimulating discussions about key issues related to language assessment. Grouped around twelve topics, the volume editors present different perspectives to emphasize the points of similarity and chart a path for future interdisciplinary collaborations .

Not everyone with autism is the same. This workbook will help teenagers recognise their own individual spectrum of autistic behaviours, and reflect on the specific challenges they face, their own strengths and how they relate to other people. Using creative writing activities, this book helps teenagers to identify connections between events and their emotions - which can be difficult for people with autism - while improving their writing skills through fun activities. A range of examples of poetry and short stories are included to make each activity accessible to all levels and to show how writing narrative and poems can help support personal reflection. The book encourages the reader to explore the core aspects of autism including social communication, executive function, and sensory processing, and then allows the teen to create a template of their own spectrum of abilities within autism. This unique understanding of autism can then be used to develop individual strategies and encourage self-advocacy. Using this book collaboratively with teachers or parents means the teen can be supported in a way that is specific to them.

Packed with photocopiable lesson plans and tried and tested strategies, this illustrated guide is the ideal companion for teachers and therapists wishing to help kindergarten and elementary school children to self-regulate. It contains everything you need to integrate the successful, research-based 'Awesome and In Control' program, which focuses on empowering children to regulate their own emotions and senses and helping them to develop excellent coping strategies. Explaining how the popular, universal 'Awesome and In Control' program works, the guide enables you to help children to keep calm and in control during everyday tasks including reading, writing and paying attention to others.

In these games, the prize is success in school-and life. Having good social skills doesn't just affect classroom behavior-it's the key to making learning stick. When students improve their self-regulation, social communication, and perspective-taking competencies, they are better prepared to challenge themselves academically, take on tough tasks, and collaborate with teachers and classmates to achieve real, lasting school success. And since these skills also improve life outside school, the benefits come full circle. Designed for both explicit instruction and "learning by doing," this practical guide provides hands-on activities that are easily adapted into any curriculum and can be used in general education, special education, after-school settings, and in the home. The design of each game keeps kids engaged and motivated, while educators benefit from clear, thorough explanations that unpack the complexities of social learning. Other behind-the-scenes features include: Evidence-based, teacher-tested lessons Anecdotes and real-world examples Links to relevant research Expansion ideas for applying learned skills to broader situations Templates and reproducibles for easy implementation This curated collection of activities puts social-learning theory into practice, helping even the most challenging children develop the social skills necessary for real success in school-and beyond.

* A unique introduction to the brain, for children, with a charming, character-led story explaining fight, flight and freeze * An accessible resource with clear lesson / session plans including activities and discussions, making anxiety OK and a host of self-calming strategies * Ideal for both whole class PSHE and for individual children

In All My Stripes, Zane the zebra feels different from the rest of his classmates. He worries that all they notice about him is his "autism stripe." With the help of his Mama, Zane comes to appreciate all his stripes - the unique strengths that make him who he is! Includes a Reading Guide with additional background information about autism spectrum disorders and a Note to parents and caregivers with tips for finding support. Foreword by Alison Singer, president Autism Science Foundation

- A unique resource to explore the internal world of feelings and thoughts and the external world of behaviour - An inclusive resource proven to appeal to mixed ability children with activities to develop empathy and original thinking - Children's book and adult resource with clear, detailed, accessible lesson / session plans and photocopiable activity sheets all together

For effective use, this book should be purchased alongside the storybook. Both books can be purchased together as a set, Feel, Think and Do with Ruby, Rafa and Riz: A Storybook and Guide for Understanding Behaviour and Emotions, 978-1-032-05939-6. Written as the adult accompaniment to the Feel, Think and Do with Ruby, Rafa and Riz storybook, this resource explores behaviour with strategies for supporting children who struggle to manage their responses and behaviours; and the role of the adult in recognising signs, de-escalation, connection and reflection. Designed to assist adults in introducing children to their inner world and connecting that world to the world around us in an emotionally safe space, this guidebook contains six sessions that can be delivered to children in a large group, as a class, in smaller groups or individually. These sessions provide the context and landscape of the emotional health of children and what can affect their wellbeing, such as: risk factors and protective factors principles - emotional intelligence, emotional regulation emotions and learning creating emotionally safe spaces the imaginary iceberg - our feelings and thoughts are hidden; our behaviour is on show. Full of opportunities for children to talk about and discuss both the events in the story and their own feelings, thoughts, opinions and ideas, this book enables teachers, support staff and all those working directly with children to expertly cover topics such as the hidden nature of feelings and thoughts, the fact that behaviour is the bit on show, and how talking about feelings and thoughts can help to explain and understand behaviour.

This beautifully illustrated storybook and guide have been created to teach children about safeguarding in its broadest sense: that being safe from harm is the most important right they have, and that the trusted adults around them will always take action to protect, believe and respect them. Covering all of the fundamental aspects of safeguarding, the Protective Behaviours (PB) process, and teaching children about the safety continuum, networks of support and persistence, the invaluable lessons in this resource help children develop their own internal measure of safety and will teach them how to ask for help if they ever feel unsafe. The set includes: Something Has Happened: Supporting Children's Right to Feel Safe - An engaging storybook, offering opportunities for discussion throughout, helping children learn about difficult feelings, who they can go to for help and what do to when it feels like nobody is listening A Practical Resource for Supporting Children's Right to Feel Safe - A practical resource that includes session plans and activities to accompany the story and fundamental guidance around safeguarding for the adult This is a must-have resource for teachers, support staff and other professionals working with primary and lower-secondary aged children.

This book takes a fresh look at approaches to teaching reading, writing and communication skills. It presents a wealth of innovative ideas specifically designed to support visual learners, including those with autism spectrum conditions and special educational needs. Some children are more responsive to visual stimulation than spoken words, and this book shows how to engage these children in literacy lessons by using strategies that cover everything from the latest assistive technology to getting creative on a limited budget. There are tips for sharing stories with children who find it hard to sit still, supporting reluctant writers, enabling the pre-verbal child to answer questions and helping the child who never stops talking to develop listening skills. The strategies are supported by practical resources, examples and case studies, to show how to instil in children the confidence to create and share their thoughts. This is a must-have resource for special education teachers and coordinators, as well as speech and language therapists, looking for new strategies for teaching literacy.

A practical guide to the innovative Autism Movement Therapy (R) (AMT) approach - structured movement and music classes designed to stimulate the brain, aid sensory processing and decrease problem behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorders. Reflecting a growing interest in the body-brain connection, and incorporating the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, the AMT approach uses music and movement to develop audio, visual, gross motor and spatial awareness skills in children with autism. The book breaks down the components of the typical 45 minute session, from circle games to story dances, and explains how the reader can create their own AMT program. This exciting new approach will complement other therapeutic techniques for children on the autism spectrum and can be used by a wide range of professionals, such as teachers, arts therapists and dance instructors, as well as parents and carers.

For effective use, this book should be purchased alongside the guidebook- Guide for Safeguarding and Supporting Children's Right to Feel Safe. Something has happened to Joe. Now he doesn't feel safe; he feels sick, wants to cry and can't even concentrate on his computer games. This carefully and sensitively written storybook has been created to enable conversations around safeguarding, teaching children about their right to feel safe, and what to do if, like Joe, they ever need help. With colourful and engaging illustrations, the story offers opportunities for discussion throughout, using Joe as a tool to help children understand their difficult feelings, who they can go to for help, and what they can do when it feels like nobody is listening. This storybook: Teaches children about the right to feel safe, the safety continuum, networks of support and persistence Offers advice that can be used by children in any situation, from disclosing abuse to talking about smaller worries Can be used with both primary and lower-secondary aged pupils as a whole class, in small groups or in one-to-one sessions Designed to be used alongside the professional guidebook, A Practical Resource for Supporting Children's Right to Feel Safe, this is an essential tool for teachers, support staff and other professionals who want to teach children that being safe from harm is the most important right they have, and that the trusted adults around them will always take action to believe and protect them.

For effective use, this book should be purchased alongside the storybook - Something Has Happened: A Storybook. This programme of activities, created to be used alongside the storybook, Something Has Happened, has been designed to help children develop their own internal measure of safety, and teaches them how to ask for help if they feel unsafe. The sessions and activities in this book directly correlate to episodes in the storybook Something Has Happened, covering the fundamental aspects of safeguarding as well as elements of the Protective Behaviours (PB) process. Taking adults and children through a wide range of discussion points and activities, all underpinned by clear guidance, it acts as a starting point to help children understand that being safe from harm is the most important right they have and that the trusted adults around them will always take action to believe and protect them. Key features of this resource include: Session plans that directly link to events in the Something Has Happened storybook Clear, detailed and accessible activity plans that can be used with whole classes, small groups or with individual children Photocopiable activity sheets With a concise and accessible introduction to the right to feel safe and Protective Behaviours, this is an invaluable resource for teachers, support staff and other professionals working with both primary and lower-secondary aged children.

This choose your own adventure story is a unique, illustrated resource and a compelling mystery, focused on developing the social skills of children on the autistic spectrum. Trapped in Tudor England in 1535, in a world very different from their own, the reader must take on the role of the main character and work out why horses are mysteriously dying. Confronted by challenging social situations and decisions that will either help or hinder the narrative, they need to solve the mystery in order to get home. The story provides a springboard for children to test out different actions and to experience a range of possible consequences and pathways. Decisions the reader must make tackle challenges such as working together and overcoming conflict, processing information and managing emotions and anxiety. This book: is an engaging interactive story to enable discussion and create moments for deeper thinking and self-reflection; can be used either in small groups or 1:1 intervention; links directly to worksheets from the accompanying teacher resource, providing a personalised development tool that can be flexible according to the child's needs. Although created with girls in mind, positioning the reader as the main character allows all children to become fully immersed in the narrative. This is an invaluable resource to develop social skills and build confi dence among children aged 8-12.

This teacher resource is filled with worksheets, tasks and activities focused on developing the social skills of children on the autistic spectrum aged 8-12. It has been created to be used alongside the story Finding Kite: A Social Skills Adventure Story, although activities can stand alone as a programme of intervention. Each task encourages young people to think about their own experiences, challenges and goals, building self-esteem and confidence along the way. Suitable for use in small groupsor 1:1, the worksheets are flexible in design, allowing the facilitator to respond to the needs of each child. Key features of this resource include: * engaging activities divided into sections focused on 'making sense of my world' and 'connecting with others'; * photocopiable and downloadable worksheets, filled with opportunities for reflection and discussion; * the option to use it alongside the engaging, choose your own adventure story, Finding Kite, which immerses the reader in a sensory adventure. Designed for students aged 8-12, this resource provides an invaluable opportunity to build an understanding of the complexities of social dynamics. Although created with girls on the autistic spectrum in mind, it can be used with students of different genders and adapted for their needs.

The Silent Selkie describes a character who is unable to communicate in words and whose only way of communicating is through the weather, which leads to disastrous consequences not only for the Selkie, but also for everyone around her. But behind her golden scales, the Selkie hides a secret wound that even she is unaware of, and it is only when the Selkie's skin becomes uncovered by the force of the sea that she remembers the terrible story of what caused her hurt, long ago. Only then can the Selkie come to terms with her wound and begin a journey of healing that will bring her face-to-face with what she has needed all along. Beautifully illustrated and sensitively written, The Silent Selkie deals with the effects of trauma on a young person - including hypersensitivity and emotional reactivity. The story uses the metaphor of trauma as a 'hidden wound', which in reality is an emotional or psychological pain that needs both acknowledgement and expression, within the context of a safe, supportive environment, in which to begin to heal. This colourful storybook: Helps adults provide a safe environment for children to use non-verbal expression to communicate experiences that may be difficult to talk about. Uses creative metaphors and symbols to offer children a supportive way to communicate, whilst maintaining a safe distance from the source of their emotional pain. Inspires and empowers children to begin their journey of healing. The Silent Selkie encourages young people who may have adverse childhood experiences or trauma to develop greater understanding of how this can affect them and is ideal reading for those working with vulnerable children and young people seeking to use the expressive arts to develop greater emotional literacy in children with a background of trauma. For effective use, this book should be purchased alongside the guidebook. Both books can be purchased together as a set, Supporting Children and Young People Who Have Experienced Trauma, 978-0-367-63944-0

Anxiety can be overwhelming for children with autism. It doesn't need to be. The anxiety levels commonly found in children with autism affect social skills, memory, learning, and attention span-and often lead to meltdowns. Those who live or work with kids on the spectrum are acutely aware of how disruptive anxiety can be. However, we are rarely provided with clear guidance on how to manage this anxiety. This book bridges that gap. Through his twenty-plus years as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Lynch has devoted his career to relieving distress in kids with autism and related disorders. Lynch identifies five factors that are commonly known to elicit anxiety in children with autism and breaks down how to tackle each topic in a manageable and effective way. These factors include: Rigidity Sensory Sensitivities Social Challenges Communication Barriers Task Frustration With this clear and comprehensive guide, parents, teachers, and therapists can take the first crucial step towards managing anxiety, relieving distress, and unlocking potential.