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This direct guide supports practitioners in nurturing personal, social and emotional development (PSED) in young children by demystifying brain development research. Condensing a wealth of recent research and theory around PSED into practical guidance, it gives professionals the knowledge and understanding they need to critically evaluate their own practice and find the best course of action to support PSED in young children. From the perspective of neuroscience, it explores what can help or hinder development, considers why some children bite and why toddlers have tantrums, and questions how well-intentioned actions, such as reward systems or putting new foods on a plate for children to 'just try', may be misguided.

All humans have an innate need and ability to communicate with others, and this book presents successful approaches to nurturing communicative abilities in people who have some type of communication impairment. The contributors look at a wide range of approaches, including intensive interaction, co-creative communication, sensory integration and music therapy, for a variety of impairments, including autism, profound learning disabilities, deafblindness, severe early neglect and dementia. This wide perspective provides insight into what it feels like to struggle with a communicative impairment, and how those who work with and care about such individuals can and should think more creatively about how to make contact with them. Covering both the theory and practical implementation of different interventions, this book will be invaluable for health and social work professionals, psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, speech and language therapists, as well as researchers, teachers and students in these fields.