Heather Jones's son, Jamie, has Asperger Syndrome and severe speech and language impairments. When Jamie was 10, Heather stumbled across a way of getting through to him. Over the years she developed this methodology in more detail, calling it conversational therapy, and has never looked back. Jamie is now 19 and can hold a conversation, which has enabled him to go on to achieve much more, including passing his driving test and getting a job. Heather is the Director of Milkwood Educational, which publishes ESL textbooks in the Far East. She lives in Queensland, Australia.
Preface. Part I: Conversational Therapy (10-15 years). 1: At the Speech Therapists. 2: How to Get Your Child Talking. 3: Demanding aConversation from your Child. 4: It's Never too Late to Start Conversational Therapy. 5: When and How You Should Tell your Child He's Autistic. 6:Finding a Reward System that Works. 7: The Importance of Keeping a Diary. 8: Teaching Your Child How to Ask Questions. 9: Turn-Taking inConversation. 10: Teaching Your Child to be an Active Listener. 11: Teaching the Importance of Staying on Topic. 12: What is Phatic Communicationand Why Is It Important?. 13: The Importance of Eye Contact and How to Get It from Your Child. 14: The Importance of Names. 15: How to Get Othersto Talk to your Child. 16: Talking about Body Language with your Child. 17: The Importance of Story-Telling. 18: Emotions. 19: Mind-Maps to ImproveConversation. 20: Shopping and Language. 21: Idioms and Incorrect English. Part II: Behavioural Matters (10-13 years). 22: Giving Praise. 23: Warnings,Reprimands and Encouragers. 24: Encouraging. 25: De-stressing Breakfasts. 26: Anger Management. Part III: Education (10-16 years). 27: Choosing aSchool. 28: Dealing with Crises at School. 29: Reading and Writing. 30: Money. 31: Games for the Car. 32: The Value of Projects. Part IV: Social Skills(13-15 years). 33: Friends. 34: Dealing with Authority Figures. 35: Becoming Responsible. 36: Organising Daily Life. 38: The Importance of Games. PartV: Life Skills (15-17 years). 40: Getting Your Child into a Routine. 41: Preparing Your Child to Organise his Life. 42: The Value of Chores?. 43:Preparing Your Child for Shopping. 44: Preparing Your Child for Cooking. 45: Making a Recipe Book. 46: Becoming Resilient. 47: How to UseMind-Maps to Improve Life Skills. Part VI: Into the Workplace. 48: Job Interviews. 49: Preparing Your Child for Driving. 50: Preparing for the First Dayat Work. Afterword: Where are we now? Appendix 1: Charting your Child's Progress.
Talk to Me provides an array of strategies which aim to provide confidence in children whose conversational skills are limited. The chapters are short, easy to read and cover a variety of topics... A must read for parents.
