Using Intensive Interaction And Sensory Integration

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.

All humans have an innate need and ability to communicate with others, and this book presents successful approaches to nurturing communicative abilities in people who have some type of communication impairment. The contributors look at a wide range of approaches, including intensive interaction, co-creative communication, sensory integration and music therapy, for a variety of impairments, including autism, profound learning disabilities, deafblindness, severe early neglect and dementia. This wide perspective provides insight into what it feels like to struggle with a communicative impairment, and how those who work with and care about such individuals can and should think more creatively about how to make contact with them. Covering both the theory and practical implementation of different interventions, this book will be invaluable for health and social work professionals, psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, speech and language therapists, as well as researchers, teachers and students in these fields.

Responsive Communication will benefit support staff, professionals and family members supporting autistic adults and children and people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Intensive Interaction is a highly effective approach for communicating and developing social interaction and engagement with difficult-to-reach individuals. This easy-to-use guide steers readers through the practical application of the approach, showing how positive results can best be achieved. The authors explain clearly how to prepare for, carry out and reflect on the use of Intensive Interaction with a client or family member. A multitude of key questions are addressed, including finding the right setting, evaluating progress and disengaging effectively at the end of a session. In the final section they consider some of the wider implications of the approach, such as developing confidence as a practitioner and incorporating Intensive Interaction into long-term care or educational planning. This practical and accessible book is a useful resource for speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, special school or further education teachers, social care professionals and anyone else caring for or working with people with social or communicative impairments. It will also be useful to practitioners already using the approach.

This compendium offers a multidisciplinary perspective to intensive interaction, bringing together the authors' experience and research from different disciplines. Each chapter is devoted to an over-arching concept - including psychological theories of human behaviour, relationship building and maintenance and social inclusion.

Based on many years of working with such people, many of whom have withdrawn into a world of their own, Phoebe Caldwell explores the different sensory reality they experience, showing it to be infinitely more complex and varied than is widely understood.

Intensive interaction is a valuable approach, with the potential to radically enhance the well-being of difficult-to-reach individuals, such as those with profound and severe learning disabilities, autistic spectrum conditions and emotional problems. This highly accessible book will help families and professionals develop a deeper understanding of this highly-successful approach and its associated issues, resulting in improved communication opportunities within a variety of care, therapeutic and educational settings. This compendium offers a multidisciplinary perspective to intensive interaction, bringing together the authors' experience and research from different disciplines. A glossary format and thematic structure are employed to enable readers to quickly access topics of interest, and gradually build on their understanding of the approach. Each chapter is devoted to an over-arching concept - including psychological theories of human behaviour, relationship building and maintenance and social inclusion - and illustrated with case studies to support theoretical assertions and offer practical examples of useful techniques. A useful reference and reflective tool, this book will interest both family and professional carers, support staff, special education teachers, learning disability nurses, social services practitioners, speech and language therapists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, or anyone who is interested in intensive interaction and wants to learn more.