Let's Talk ― Navigating Communication Services and Supports for Your Young Child With Autism

Communication is often a parent’s number-one concern when a young child is diagnosed with autism. With so many interventions available, how can families be sure they’re choosing the best option for their child? This accessible, straightforward book gives you the practical knowledge that you need to evaluate communication therapies and treatments—and make sound decisions rooted in evidence-based practice. A parent-friendly resource from trusted experts on autism and communication, this book covers everything from autism fundamentals to the specifics of developing an individualized treatment plan for children birth to five. With the research-based knowledge and real-world guidance in these pages, you will be well-informed advocates ready to provide the best support for your children on the spectrum.

HELPS PARENTS:

• arm yourselves with essential knowledge about autism and how it’s diagnosed
• understand the range of social communication behaviors you might see in your child
• learn the how and why of developmental assessments
• choose evidence-based treatments and interventions that address your childa€?s specific communication needs
• support your childa€?s development of key skills, such as motor imitation, joint attention, play, and spontaneous communication
• make the most of available educational services, including IEPs and IFSPs
• partner effectively with SLPs, OTs, special educators, and paraprofessionals
• navigate the complex emotions associated with a childa€?s autism diagnosis

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: A sample Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA) Form, a Setting Events-Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence Chart (SABC), helpful glossaries of educational terms and evidence-based practice terms, sample Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

Rhea Paul, Ph.D., received her bachelor's degree from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1971, her master's degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1975, and her doctorate in communication disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981. Dr. Paul has published more than 90 journal articles, 40 book chapters, and 8 books. Her research on language development in toddlers with delayed language acquisition was funded by the National Institutes of Health. She has also held grants from the Meyer Memorial Trust, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Foundation, the Medical Research Foundation, and the National Association for Autism Research.

Dr. Paul has been a fellow of ASHA since 1991 and received the 1996 Editor's Award from the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. In September 1997, she accepted a joint appointment in the Communication Disorders Department at Southern Connecticut State University and the Child Study Center at Yale University. She spent the summer of 1998 as a visiting professor at the University of Sydney in Australia. Dr. Paul received a Yale Mellon Fellowship for 1998-1999 and the Southern Connecticut State University Faculty Scholar Award for 1999. She was recently awarded an Erskine Fellowship to spend a semester as a visiting scholar at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand. The second edition of her textbook, Language Disorders from Infancy Through Adolescence: Assessment and Intervention, was published in 2001 by Mosby in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Paul has been teaching child language development and disorders courses for 20 years.

Donia Fahim, Ph.D., is Senior Consultant for the ASD Nest Project at Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human at New York University, and adjunct Assistant Professor at Hunter College, where she was Program Coordinator for the Early Childhood Special Education Program from 2008 to 2013. She is also the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Autism Friendly Spaces, Inc. and founder of the first dual language ASD public school program in New York City. She obtained her B.Sc., M.A and Ph.D. from the University of London. She is a certified member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. For the last twenty years she has worked as an international consultant in speech and language pathology. From 1998 to 2007 she served as Clinical Director and founding member of The Egyptian Society for Developing Skills of Special Needs Children focusing on work with individuals with ASD and early intervention, where her focus was on developing organization-specific educational curriculum, clinical procedures and guidelines for special education for young children with special needs (e.g. Egypt: Advance Society, Learning Resource Center, Nida Center, Caritas; Saudi Arabia: Saudi Autistic Society; Nigeria: Patrick Center, Jordan: Early Years Center, Monetessori School of Amman). As a Global Master Trainer for UNICEF in Early Childhood Development in Emergency, she has provided and consulted on speech-language pathology services throughout the world, most often in the Middle East and Africa. She has appeared on national and international radio and television in the US, Africa and Asia. She has been an invited speaker at many leading international conferences and events hosted by both governmental and non-governmental organizations. Such as the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood in Egypt, UNESCO EFA (Education for All) conferences (Beirut); the Annual Autism Conference in Egypt, World Autism Congress and Exhibition in South Africa, the Stockholm Annual Autism Conference, the Saudi Autism awareness campaign. She was a Key Note Speaker at the 2014 Saudi International Occupational Therapy Conference, and has also received awards from the Saudi ministry of health for her contribution to parent training for families of children with ASD.