This handbook shows how we can engage with people who are non-verbal or semi-verbal. 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.

In this handbook aimed at carers, parents, and other professionals, Caldwell explains how to work with people with severe autistic spectrum disorder by using their body language to make contact and establish emotional engagement. She also describes a technique to help develop the capacity of an individual to receive, process, and apply meaning to sensory information provided through targeted activities. The handbook does not compare different educational systems used to teach those who are autistic to deal with the world. Caldwell (NHS Social Services and Community Education Services, UK), who is joined by a pediatric occupational therapist, works as a practitioner with people whose severe learning disabilities are connected to behavioral distress.