Product Description

Provides parents of children diagnosed with Downs Syndrome, autism and other forms of developmental delay with the information they require and a range of ideas to encourage their child's development. The text suggests games and activities using toys and materials which most children will already have, involving no special preparation. The author divides skills into five areas - social, physical, intellectual, emotional and linguistic - for convenient reference. She deals with general issues, such as behaviour management, toilet-training and sleep-management, which may be encountered by parents of children with any form of disability - physical, learning or sensory. She provides the outline of child development so that parents can place their child's progress. Advice on coping with the stress of having a child with special needs, and information on support parents can expect from health, education and social services is also given. The author includes a comprehensive resources section, which incorporates a bibliography and a list of useful addresses.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #217734 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Author
This book is written by a parent for other parents or carers
When I found out that my son was severely developmentally delayed at one (later diagnosed as autistic), I looked round desperately for a book which would help me understand very early child development and give me ideas for games I could play and things I could do which would help him. I could not find such a book. A few years later I decided to write it myself (Small Steps Forward: Games and Activities to Play with your Pre-school Child with Special Needs). This book is written without jargon and in an accessible style. It is written by a parent for other parents and carers of pre-school children with special needs. It breaks down child development into the areas of language, physical, cognitive, sensory, social and emotional skills and describes normal development in the early years. It then gives lots of examples of games to play to encourage development in each case. I also describe behaviour management techniques, sleep and toilet training as these are common problems. I give guidelines on playing with children generally, strategies for coping with the stresses of being a parent of a child with special needs, information on financial support and the statutory assessment, a bibliography and a list of useful addresses. As a mother of 3 children under 5 years old I know how limited time and resources are, so this book is designed to be instantly appealing and accessible and the games require no special preparation and can be played with the toys and things we all have to hand.

Customer Reviews

An comprehensive and practical resource for parents.
Excellent for parents of very young children with communication / learning disabilities (including autism). Lots of information on the course of normal child development to use as a guage to work out what your child is struggling with ; split into separate areas of cognitive, emotional, social, language, physical and sensory development . Full of suggestions to help your child yourself without specialist therapies and equipment and lots of practical tips on sleep management, toilet training , dealing with professionals, and coping with the stress of a special child in the family. An empowering book for parents and Grandparents!

Brilliant resource
As a speech and language therapist working with children with special needs, I have found this to be one of the most helpful texts I have encountered in a long time. The language of the book makes it ideal for parents and it is brilliant at providing practical support and advice for parents. The ideas given are practical and easy for most people to carry out. Another plus for this book is that it provides a good overview of support services and agencies, and practical help in accessing this support. Highly recommened

small steps forward
This book is escellent and a great resource for any parent with a special needs child. I bought this when my daughters problems started and it helped me accept not having a diagnosis for her but to move on. I have turned to this time and time again for help in moving her forward and just to read for my own benefit. I find it gives me the inspiration to carry on at low times. If you purchase one book this one has to be the one. My daughters therapists were also impressed with it and were going to obtain copies.