TalkAbility

We are very excited to announce that we have finally received our copies of the new Fern Sussman book, TalkAbility: People Skills for Verbal Children on the Autism Spectrum. This book is a fantastic follow up to her exceptionally popular More Than Words: Helping Parents Promote Communication and Social Skills in Children.

TalkAbility focuses primarily on promoting social communication skills in children with ASD who already have verbal skills. Its writing is aimed specifically at parents, though certainly practitioners will find it useful as well, and it contains many concrete examples and practical strategies. Chapters 1-9 focus on parent-child interactions, showing parents in detail how to support and increase their child's communicative efforts and social understanding. Chapters 10-13 focus on peer interactions, with advice on how to prepare the child for a play date, and also how to facilitate a play date most effectively.

One of the things I personally enjoyed about this book was actually a rather minor detail: the accompanying illustrations are extremely multicultural. Though it would have been quite easy for the illustrations to have shown the same family throughout the book, but instead they depict many different families, of many different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. It also shows both moms and dads interacting with their children. A subtle touch, but one that makes the book feel like it really is aimed at everyone.

Needless to say, this book is highly recommended for its ease of use, clear explanations, and practical strategies, as well as its lovely illustrations.