Activity Schedules for Children With Autism: Teaching Independent Behavior (Topics in Autism) - Softcover

Lynn E. McClannahan; Patricia J. Krantz

Softcover

ISBN 10: 093314993X ISBN 13: 9780933149939

Publisher: Woodbine House, 1998

Synopsis

Activity schedules-simple, yet revolutionary teaching tools-enable children with autism to accomplish activities with greatly reduced adult supervision.

An activity schedule is a set of pictures or words that cues a child to follow a sequence of activities. When activity schedules are mastered, children are more self-directed and purposeful in their home, school, and leisure activities-doing puzzles, interacting with classmates, and preparing food with minimal assistance from adults. In Activity Schedules for Children with Autism, parents and professionals find detailed instructions and examples to help them: assess a child's readiness to use activity schedules; prepare an activity schedule; understand graduated guidance; monitor progress; expand social skills; and progress to written schedules.

Based on a decade of research conducted at the Princeton Child Development Institute, Activity Schedules for Children with Autism offers a proven teaching tool to help children with autism make effective use of unstructured time, handle changes in routine with more ease, and choose among an established set of activities independently. It can be used successfully with young children, adolescents, and adults, rewarding them with more control over their lives.

About this title

About the Author

Drs. McClannahan and Krantz are Executive Directors of the Princeton Child Development Institute, a community-based, nonprofit program that offers science-based services to children, youths, and adults with autism.

Reviews

Aarons and Gittens are London speech therapists who have taught autistic children for 25 years. Their book is a thorough introduction to autism, covering diagnosis, assessments, history, prognosis, and methods of education. Still, while the background and history are helpful, the intended readership is British. Sections on educational alternatives, British sign language, British education acts, and therapy options in Britain will be of little use to U.S. readers, who need immediate, close-at-hand help. Temple Grandin's Thinking in Pictures (LJ 1/96) and Emergence might be better choices. The McClannahan/Krantz book covers one method of helping autistic children learn: using activity schedules. These schedules teach autistic youngsters to follow words, pictures, or other nonverbal prompts to complete all varieties of tasks. Autistic children, often seen as antisocial, can benefit from a self-motivated plan to complete jobs at home, enjoy leisure time, or simply perform the daily activities of dressing and preparing for school. The book details how to set up activities, relate prompts to action, and follow through so that autistic children can become independent of verbal commands that parents or teachers might give. Illustrated with charts, photos of children, and examples of visual prompts; for larger public libraries.ALinda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Woodbine House
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 093314993X
• ISBN 13: 9780933149939
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 117