Training Materials: Getting IT: Using Information Technology to Empower People with Communication Difficulties.

Getting IT: Using Information Technology to Empower People with Communication Difficulties.
Dinah Murray and Ann Aspinall,
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN 1843103753,
£12.99

STAR RATING: ★★

The aim of this book is to enable people with communication difficulties to expand their lives through technology, writes Sue Stevens. The authors have a great deal of experience and enthusiasm, and the book is full of useful information and ideas. But it is so badly presented and edited that it is difficult to follow. Informative sub-chapter  headings and summaries would have helped, plus use of bold type for information. Bullets points or numbering for instructions should have been used. Chapters need summaries and the help sheets should have been included in the chapters. The text is too dense and the print small.

The three case histories are interesting and cleverly linked, but difficult to follow. It is also disappointing that “communication difficulties” are limited to autism, Asperger’s, learning difficulties and moderate dementia. What about those who have problems following stroke or head injury or as a result of cerebral palsy or Parkinson’s disease?

The role of speech therapists has been overlooked. It is a great shame that an opportunity has been missed, as this informative book could have been made so much easier to use.

Sue Stevens is an experienced speech and language therapist