Communication Issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome: Do we speak the same language?

Providing a theoretical foundation for understanding communication and language impairments specific to autism, Olga Bogdashina explores the effects of different perceptual and cognitive styles on the communication and language development of autistic children. She stresses the importance of identifying each autistic individual's nonverbal language - which can be visual, tactile, kinaesthetic, auditory, olfactory or gustatory - with a view to establish a shared means of verbal communication. She offers an explanation of why certain approaches, for example PECS, might work with some autistic children but not others. Offering real insights, the `What They Say' sections enable the reader to see through the eyes of autistic individuals and to understand their language differences first hand.

`What We Can Do to Help' sections throughout the book give practical recommendations on what to do in order to help autistic individuals use their natural mechanisms to learn and develop social and communicative skills. The final chapters are devoted to assessment and intervention issues with practical recommendations for selecting appropriate methods and techniques to enhance communication, based on the specific mode of communication a person uses.

Professor Olga Bogdashina, MA, PhD, DEd, CO-founder of and Programme Leader (Autism courses) at the International Autism Institute, KSPU and co-founder of the International Consortium of Autism Institutes.

She has worked extensively in the field of autism as a teacher, lecturer and researcher, with a particular interest in sensory-perceptual, cognitive and communication problems. She is a Visiting Professor in Autism Studies at universities around the world, develops university (Autism Study) courses and training programmes for professionals and parents, presents at national and international autism conferences and is an autism consultant for services for children and adults.

Olga has an adult son with autism and lives in Yorkshire, UK.