Communicating Partners: 30 Years of Building Responsive Relationships with Late-Talking Children including Autism, Asperger's Syndrome (ASD), Down Syndrome, and Typical Developement [Paperback]

James D. MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1843107589 | ISBN-13: 978-1843107583 | Publication Date: April 15, 2004

Children with autism and their life partners - their parents, families, peers and educators - who are not on the autism spectrum can feel as though they live in separate, and even incompatible worlds. Communicating Partners, the result of over thirty years of clinical practice, research and professional teaching, offers an innovative approach to working with children with ASDs that focuses on developing these relationships through mutual understanding.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James D. MacDonald was Professor of Speech and Language Pathology and Developmental Disabilities at Ohio State University. He currently directs the Communicating Partners Center and publishes the national newsletter, Communicating Partners, which provides updated guidelines for parents and professionals. He has written six books and over fifty professional papers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Pub (April 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843107589
• ISBN-13: 978-1843107583
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #429,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has been the MOST helpful!, March 15, 2005

By 

Dawn E. Evans - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Communicating Partners: 30 Years of Building Responsive Relationships with Late-Talking Children including Autism, Asperger's Syndrome (ASD), Down Syndrome, and Typical Developement (Paperback)

After reading this book, and I have previously read other books by Dr. MacDonald, I must say that the techniques in it are the most family friendly ideas I've ever heard of! The viewpoint is so refreshing, to think that we as families CAN be the most influential people in our child's social development is a new approach. This book has shown me how to incorporate very do-able ideas into our everyday life. The techniques included in it are something the entire family can learn and can supplement any professional's course of therapy. Professional therapists would also find this valuable...it concentrates on the social aspect of development, and really, that is the basis for all communication. To get into the child's world and to be able to match his abilities, without judgement or correction, has unbelievable, immediate results! I highly recommend this book, to families, educators, therapists, and physicians!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful, January 13, 2006

By 

Linda Sebek "Mama to four and a teacher" (Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Communicating Partners: 30 Years of Building Responsive Relationships with Late-Talking Children including Autism, Asperger's Syndrome (ASD), Down Syndrome, and Typical Developement (Paperback)

When we started doing the things suggested in this book our sons language and communication started to grow much more than before. The method is very easy, and yet so hard. The point is that to help our son develop, we have to change to fit him. This book covers all you need to get started right away (without even reading the whole book). It's great both for parents and professionals. My son has Down syndrome.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes a good partner with Floortime, December 11, 2007

By 

Tara Marshall "Tara" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Communicating Partners: 30 Years of Building Responsive Relationships with Late-Talking Children including Autism, Asperger's Syndrome (ASD), Down Syndrome, and Typical Developement (Paperback)

If you like Stanley Greenspan's DIR/Floortime approach, but need help applying it to teaching your child communication and language skills, this is probably the book for you.

Dr. MacDonald's approach is a developmental approach, where you get down on the child's level and try to get him/her up onto the next step with you. (For anyone who has read any Greenspan, this should sound familiar). Unlike ABA, it does not teach skills in isolation, and does not skip developmental steps to reach a desired "eventual" goal, something I've seen harm children many times.

To give a fairly common example, a lot of schools push children from crawling into walking before the child is ready. Just because a child is 5 physical years old does not mean they are developmentally ready to walk, and most of these children suffer from problems with trunk stability and fine motor control that are directly linked to this skipping of developmental steps. I've seen ABA programs that push for language too early in the child's development leaving kids knowing a lot of labels for things, but still having no idea of how to use words to communicate with others. Saying "red truck" doesn't mean anything if all the child is doing is labelling an object, that is, it is not COMMUNICATION. It may be somewhat meaningful if it is used as a request (for example, the child wants to actually play with that toy).

As a person with High Functioning Autism myself, I believe in Floortime and Communicating Partners as developmentally sensitive alternatives to ABA that are more meaningful to the child. As a Habilitation worker and Speech Assistant, I use a combination of these approaches with most of the children I work with.

Good luck helping the children in your life, autistic and otherwise, learn how to communicate better.