Play to Grow!: Over 200 games to help your child on the autism spectrum develop fundamental social skills - Softcover

Berman, Tali Field; Rappaport, Abby

Softcover

ISBN 10: 069252911X ISBN 13: 9780692529119

Publisher: Berman Autism Treatment Center, 2008

Synopsis

Parents often often feel stuck when it comes to inspiring social and communication development in their child diagnosed on the autism spectrum.  Since 1997, Tali has been working with children with autism and she has seen that games that are both based on a child's motivation and target a very specific social or communication goal are the key to a child's growth. 
"Play to Grow!" gives parents and professionals clear, fun and targeted games for children on the autism spectrum that both promote relationship building and develop specific skills at the same time, such as:

• Social skills- taking turns, following games with simple rules and working together.
• Communication skills- using words/sentences to get needs met, answering and asking questions and sharing opinions and ideas.
• Flexibility -a willingness to play games that others suggest, playing a larger variety of games and playing games in different ways.
• Gross and fine motor skills- jumping, clapping, drawing, etc.

The games are divided into five stages of development and each game addresses a very specific goal within each stage. In addition to the 235 games listed in this new edition, you will also get clear instruction in how to most effectively facilitate games with your child and his/her peers as well as a rich appendix filled with strategies addressing key challenges, such as: autism and anxiety, challenging behaviors and other key ways to boost your child's social skills (not to mention a very important section on how to prioritize your own self-care along the way!).

About this title

About the Author

Tali Berman is an autism specialist  who has been serving the autism community since 1997. She is also the founder/leader of the annual "Autism Empowerment Telesummit", where she has gathered top autism experts on her elite panel. She has contributed regularly to some of the most well-read autism publications, including the Generation Rescue blog and The Autism File magazine.Abby Rappaport is a certified child facilitator and, having grown up with a special needs brother, brings a unique insight into the creation of these games.

Review

Play to Grow! should be a staple in the library of any parent seeking to assist their child in developing social skills.This revised edition is packed with games and ideas for helping kids develop social skills while enriching and strengthening the parent/child bond.  The authors lead parents through a step-by-step process for each of the games in the book in an upbeat and easy to follow manner.  The wide variety of activities presented allows parents to immediately immerse themselves and their kids in engaging games designed to develop and bolster fundamental social skills. The appendices provide additional insights and strategies for addressing  behaviors such as hitting, biting, and throwing, as well as tips for parents to truly "care for the caregiver". ~ By: Rita Shreffler, Executive Editor of The Autism File Magazine
Voted Top 5 Resource by the Special Needs Book Review!The team at Special Needs Book Review was very impressed with the first edition of  "Play to Grow!". The revised edition has all the great features you loved about their first book and a lot more.This resource will bring hope and help into the lives of families whose children have special needs. This revised edition  includes more than 30 new games and is designed to be as simple and user-friendly as possible. The games are designed to be fun and simple-to-prepare. The goal is to make your interaction with your child fun and exciting so your child is asking for more play time with you. The purposefully designed games will help your child grow to his fullest capacity in the area of social development. ~ By: Special Needs Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Berman Autism Treatment Center
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 069252911X
• ISBN 13: 9780692529119
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 206