James D. MacDonald (1940–)

If you have a child who has speech delays, buy this book. I have found it to be a treasure for our family. The premise is that children need to build social and communicative skills, and language is a development that comes after many foundational communication skills have already been learned. Since children learn through play, the authors recommend that language can best be taught through social interactions in play. The back-and-forth play sessions not only lead to language learned in a non-pressure environment, they also teach children with delays how to be friends and social communicators.

The book recommends arranging play sessions according to five principles: balance, shared control, matching, responsiveness, and playfulness. The authors suggest that if you incorporate these principles in your play sessions you will create an optimal environment for language learning. They also provide assessments that the parent can complete at home, for the child, the parents, and the environments. They list suggested activities for each principle, and have a chapter that talks about categories of activities, such as literacy time and chores and active play, and offer suggestions for specific games in each category. At the end of the book, they dedicate a whole chapter that shows how the program works for one family, including assessments and activities chosen.

I already use many techniques in our own family that I read about in this book, and plan to continue perusing it again and again to refresh myself and get new ideas. Also, the encouraging tone stays far away from judgement, so parents will be inspired without feeling guilty. This is a great find, and I'm thankful to my daughter's therapists for recommending it.… (mehr)