AW Sunday Review | Body Talk: Teaching Students with Disabilities about Body Language

Disclaimer: Woodbine House provided me with a complimentary copy of  Body Talk: Teaching Students with Disabilities and Body Language  for review purposes.  The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

Ever since The Boy was diagnosed with autism, doctors and therapists have told me that The Boy has no sense of personal space. (Neither do most of the folks on the New York subway, but that’s for a different blog…)

As The Boy gets older, personal space has become more of an issue. People are more likely to laugh off a two or three-year-old touching their face. A big seven-year-old touching an adults face? Probably not. The older The Boy gets, the more worried I become. Living in a city like New York, getting in someone’s personal space is the kind of the thing that could lead to serious trouble.

Working on personal space has become a goal at school and at home.

I was really excited about reviewing Body Talk: Teaching Students with Disabilities about Body Language by Pat Chrissey. It’s the kind of book that I know I will return to again and again.

Children and teens with autism and other developmental disabilities can be taught the language of nonverbal communication with the practical strategies developed by veteran special education teacher Pat Crissey. More than 100 activities break down elements of body language into teachable components.

What I appreciate about Body Talk is that it really goes step by step and breaks down all forms of body language: emotions, facial expressions, posture, body orientation and eye gaze, personal space and touching and gestures.

However Body Talk just doesn’t tell you what to do – it shows you. The activities and games are great ways to make learning fun. It’s simple enough to be done at home one on one or in a group setting at school. What’s especially helpful about this book is that it comes with a CD so you can easily print out all the activities. I printed out the personal space activities for The Boy's teacher. 

The activities vary in age and functioning levels and you can easily modify activities to suit your needs. Body Talk is a must have book if you have a child with autism. And it's a book that will grow with your child from the early childhood years to young adult.

Body Talk: Teaching Students with Disabilities about Body Language is available on Woodbine House for $23.99.

Disclaimer: Woodbine House provided me with a complimentary copy of  Body Talk: Teaching Students with Disabilities and Body Language  for review purposes.  The opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.