Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success [Paperback]

Marshall P. Duke (Author), Elisabeth A. Martin (Author), Stephen Nowicki Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1996

Scientific studies show that up to 90% of any message is communicated nonverbally, and that nonverbal skills relate directly to academic achievement and social success. Only 10% of the population is truly deficient in these skills; 80% of us have room for improvement. Fortunately, nonverbal communication can be both taught and learned, just like any other language. Clinical psychologists Nowicki and Duke have devoted their careers to this groundbreaking research. Now they have joined with educator Elisabeth Martin to create a valuable book which shows parents and teachers how to improve children's nonverbal communication skills, offering the tools children need to communicate ideas and establish and maintain relationships. Using case studies, exercises, and illustrations, the authors outline the six channels of nonverbal communication and show adults how to access a child's strengths and weaknesses. *Does she sense how close to stand to another person? *Does he understand the unspoken rules about touching people? *Does he know the types of appropriate posture for approaching a group? *Does she recognize variations in tone of voice, and the meaning they add to the verbal message? While not prescribing conformity, the authors offer readers the opportunity to help children acquire the skills which will lead to their future happiness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Steve Nowicki and Marshall Duke's work with children is state-of-the-art in the teaching of the basic and critical emotional intelligence skills." -- Daniel Goleman, author of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

About the Author

MARSHALL P. DUKE received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Indiana University. He is Charles Howard Candler Professor of Personality and Psychopathology and chair of Emory University's department of psychology. He has published over fifty scholary articles and coauthored Helping the Child Who Doesn't Fit In and Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success.

STEPHEN NOWICKI, JR. received his Ph.D. from Purdue University. He is the author of over 150 publications and presentations and the coauthor of Helping the Child Who Doesn't Fit In and Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success. He lives in Atlanta.

ELISABETH A. MARTIN received her B.S. and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and her M.Ed. with specialization in Special Education (Dyslexia) from the University of Kingston upon Thames, England. Ms. Martin has taught learning disabled students at the Dyslexia Institute in England and at several specialty schools in the United States.

Product Details

• Paperback: 181 pages
• Publisher: Peachtree Publishers; 1 edition (January 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561451266
• ISBN-13: 978-1561451265
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally hands-on guide to help your child, October 8, 2001

By 

asocialb (Beverly Hills, MI United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success (Paperback)

I am a school social worker and after buying several disappointing books on the topic I was delighted to find this. The format is laid out in an easy to read manner and thank goodness for the real photographs they use. (I also cut out pictures from magazines to talk about non-verbal cues and body language...then have the kids make a collage.)

Separating the areas of non-verbal communication into chapters allows me to focus on one area per session. The speech and language pathologist at my school is doing a group with me called "social communications" and we intend to squeeze everything we can out of this book.

Parents-you don't need to rely on the professionals to teach your child social skills! Have fun with it, make a date with your child weekly to practice these skills. Just don't put me out of business with this book!

77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for parents with ADD children, August 12, 2001

By 

Kate McMurry "Young Adult Author" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success (Paperback)

Marshall Duke received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Indiana University. He is a professor of personality and psychopathology and is chair of Emory University's Department of Psychology in Atlanta. He has published over 50 scholarly articles and co-authored with Stephen Nowicki, Jr. a textbook of abnormal psychology and a guide for parents and teachers, Helping the Child Who Doesn't Fit In.

Stephen Nowicki, Jr. received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Purdue University. He is a professor of psychology at Emory University. He is the author of over 150 publications and presentations in addition to the books he has co-authored with Dr. Duke.

Elisabeth Martin received a Bachelor of Education from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and her M.Ed. with specialization in Special Education (dyslexia) from the University of Kington upon Thames, England. Ms. Martin has taught learning disabled students at the Dyslexia Institute in England and at several specialty schools in the United States.

This 184-page trade paperback is clearly written in an easy to follow style. It provides a list of references, a page of recommended resources, multiple appendices and covers the following topics: (1) What is nonverbal communication? (It is more than just body language, which is only a part of nonverbal communication.) (2) Assessing and teaching nonverbal language to your child at home. (3) Teaching nonverbal language at school.

This book is an excellent resource for both parents and teachers, particularly for the two to use to work together as a team to guide special-needs children (in particular those with attention deficit disorder) to improve their nonverbal social skills. These include: facial expressions, use of personal space, touch, gestures, postures, rhythm and timing. This training is vital because when a child's inaccurate nonverbal language conflicts with his verbal message, the people around him will almost always believe nonverbal messages over verbal ones.

Very often, special-needs children do not pick up adequate nonverbal skills in the course of everyday life as "normal" children do. This means that consciously teaching them to "speak" and "listen" nonverbally is vital in order to increase their chances for social success (getting along with peers and teachers, making friends), as well as enhancing their feelings of personal competence and self-esteem.

I highly recommend this guide both professionally, as a teacher and therapist, and personally, as a parent of two ADD children. I believe any parent, teacher or therapist of special-needs children will find the information it contains invaluable.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teaching Your Child The Language of Social Success, December 30, 2000

By 

Anne B. Jones (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teaching Your Child the Language of Social Success (Paperback)

Does nonverbal language affect your child's success? Ask any teacher. They can list a hundred ways. Nonverbal clues have led to miscommunication, even to fights. Many children are unaware of their body language, and its impact. This book explains how nonverbal clues lead to social and academic success and failure. The book begins with a guide for its readers, followed by three main parts. In the first, the authors define nonverbal communication and give examples of its affect. Part two includes paralanguage. Part three is particularly for teachers and includes instructional methods. Chapters discuss how emotions are reflected and projected in posture, expression and tone of voice. There is an interesting analysis of appearance and dress. The volume ends with an exercise for measuring childern's understanding of nonverbal behavior and a list of related descriptive emotions. (Peachtree publishers).