This handbook shows how we can engage with people who are non-verbal or semi-verbal and sometimes even those who have speech but lose the power to process it when they are in crisis. We can help them to make sense of the world.

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People with severe autism experience the sensory information they receive from the world completely differently to those not on the spectrum. They feel cut off and overwhelmed, and their behaviour can become very distressed. This handbook shows how we can engage with people who are non-verbal or semi-verbal and sometimes even those who have speech but lose the power to process it when they are in crisis. We can help them to make sense of the world.

Intensive Interaction uses a person's own body language to make contact with them and Sensory Integration develops the capacity of an individual to receive, process and apply meaning to information provided by the senses through targeted physical activities. These techniques can be used to develop an environment tailored to the particular sensory needs of the person with severe autism, reducing factors that cause distress.

With illustrations, case examples and a wide range of tried-and-tested techniques, this practical guide provides indispensable tools for parents, carers and other professionals supporting people with severe autism and other learning disabilities.

Phoebe Caldwell has worked for over 30 years as a practitioner with people whose severe learning disabilities are linked with behavioural distress. She was a Rowntree Research Fellow for four years, trains practitioners, parents and carers in her successful approach to Intensive Interaction and is employed by the NHS Social Services and Community and Education Services to work with difficult-to-provide-for individuals.

Jane Horwood is a Paediatric Occupational therapist with a special interest in the use of Sensory Integration.

234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 112pp

About the Authors.