Review: Promoting Social Interaction for Individuals with Communicative Impairments

Promoting Social Interaction for Individuals with Communicative Impairments: making contact

★★★★★

Edited by M Suzanne Zeedyk Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN 9781843105398

This book seeks to provide a framework for engaging individuals with communicative impairments. It does so in 11 thematically arranged chapters written by various professionals.

Taking its starting point from the premise that all human beings seek to share meaning with others through communication, a foundation for communicative intervention is developed. This is based upon an initial period of getting to know how an individual tries to communicate by observation and imitation leading to a period of intensive interaction during which a shared vocabulary is created. This relies on the participants having the necessary time to commit to this process.

This is a well researched book building on the expertise of a range of professionals. A consequence of this is that some of the chapters are easier to access then others. Overall the book is not designed for quick reference but rather as a guide and aid to practice to meaningfully engage with individuals. As such it may be of more immediate use to those working in a therapeutic environment.

Iain McDonald is a temporary social worker at Edinburgh Council

This review is published in the 26 February issue of Community Care magazine