Priya James - Böcker

"Comprehensive Intervention for Children with Developmental Delays: Program Manual and Checklists" describes an early intervention program for children with communication disorders such as specific language impairment, developmental verbal dyspraxia, pervasive developmental disorder, and autism spectrum disorder. The program provides multidisciplinary intervention to children, in the age range of 0-6 years, with the goal of integrating them into regular school by the school entry age of 6 years. This manual describes this process, the underlying rationale and what the program is all about.The complete program is contained in nine additional intervention manuals for toddlers and preschoolers that target skill building in children across the domains of motor skills (gross, fine and activities of daily living), communication (receptive and expressive language as well as Alternate and Augmentative Communication) and cognitive, social and emotional development. Lesson plans for each skill are described with clear targets, materials required and simple instructions along with illustrations.Also included in this manual are developmental checklists for assessing a child's proficiency of the target skills prior to intervention.A review of the checklists was carried out by experienced clinicians and the resultant checklists and the format for the composite profile are given. The checklists were administered to children with communication disorders of the types that the program specifically caters to and sample profiles of some of these children are provided.Ideally the checklists should be administered to the primary caregiver of the child and their observation on each of the items recorded. The profile provides a representation of the child's mastery of skills across domains at the time of profiling. This simple user friendly profile is intended to provide a baseline for intervention that enables planning of subsequent targets in intervention towards enabling the child to perform at levels that are more appropriate for his or her chronological age.

"Intervention for Toddlers using Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Practical Strategies" was created out of concern for the increasing number of children identified with developmental language disorders, including those with autism spectrum disorder, and the lack of adequate resources for them. This manual addresses the use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) modes for toddlers between the ages of 0-3 years old who have difficulty with communication skills in the verbal mode. The activities can be used in a wide variety of settings. They can be used in the therapy rooms of speech-language pathologists (SLPs), preschool classrooms, daycare settings, and children's homes. The activities are especially ideal for SLPs who conduct home visits to provide intervention in children's natural, daily settings.This manual is intended to guide the therapist or caregiver in selecting the target skills that a child should be trained in. The lesson plans outline the activities that need to be undertaken to elicit specific responses from children and establish a range of developmental skills.The simple lesson plans are intended to get the therapist or caregiver started on the process of stimulating the child in each of the domains that he or she needs help in, at their current level of functioning.The focus of the lessons is primarily the enhancement of language expression through alternate modes (expressive language skills), though lesson plans for enhancing understanding of language are also included (receptive language skills). The goal of the activities is increasing successful communication using various materials such as communication boards. Communication boards are boards with symbols on them, which the child uses to communicate his or her needs by indicating the appropriate symbol. The symbols can be written words, pictures, or even objects. Within the lessons is information about the individual boards that are necessary to build particular skills.Also included are "Tech Tips" with recommended YouTube videos, websites, Pinterest sites, and other online resources.These online resources provide the therapist or caregiver with excellent ideas for products and practical intervention strategies that can be used for a variety of purposes when serving young children with special needs.