Understanding Intensive Interaction: Context and Concepts for Professionals and Families

Intensive interaction is a valuable approach, with the potential to enhance radically the well-being of difficult-to-reach individuals, such as those with profound and severe learning disabilities, autistic spectrum conditions, institutionalisation and emotional problems. This highly accessible book will help practitioners develop a deeper understanding of this highly-successful approach and its associated issues, resulting in improved communication opportunities within a variety of care, therapeutic and educational settings.

This compendium offers a multidisciplinary perspective to intensive interaction, bringing together the authors' experience and research from different disciplines. A glossary format and thematic structure are employed to enable readers to quickly access topics of interest, and gradually build on their understanding of the approach. Each chapter is devoted to an over-arching concept - including psychological theories of human behaviour, relationship building and maintenance and social inclusion - and illustrated with case studies to support theoretical assertions and offer practical examples of useful techniques.

A useful reference and reflective tool for professionals and parents, this book will interest carers and support staff, special education teachers, learning disability nurses, social services practitioners, speech and language therapists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, and anyone familiar with the basic principles of intensive interaction who want to explore the related issues further.