Joshua Levy - The Creative Outlet Method: At-Home Activities for Children with Special Needs

The Creative Outlet Method is an amazing assortment of activities to make group participation (and skill-building!) fun and exciting for all children, including those who need structure and guidance to successfully interact with friends and peers. Step-by-step instructions, lists of needed items, and supplemental materials are included, making it super-easy for families and caregivers to create successful performances at home or anywhere!

Kathy Brill, M.Ed., M.P.S., Co-Founder of Parent to Parent USA, disability advocate, and consultant

Developing the creativity of children with disabilities is often overlooked when focused on other essential life skills. Joshua recognizes the benefits of living a creative life, and his book provides a comprehensive, user-friendly guide for families and professionals to nurture children's creativity while simultaneously growing their communication, social skills, positive behavior, and joy.

Kristina R. Berzina, veteran special education teacher

Parents, teachers, therapists, and caregivers will be thrilled to add these unique, theatrical activities to their toolbox for engaging with children. Joshua's method is a collaborative, fun way for kids to build skills, and utilizes a strengths-based approach. This method not only applies to special needs and neurodiverse children and adolescents, but it can also be used with neurotypical and combined groups!

Sarah B. Silverman, PsyD, licensed psychologist

Joshua Levy has woven aspects of explicit instruction, applied behavior analysis, and social skills training into a book that parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children with special needs can use proactively to improve interactions and positive outcomes. His experiences and passion for storytelling and theater provide a unique gestalt for learning. The activities in this book include many parts yet the totality of experiences and benefits goes beyond their individual combinations.

Dr. John W. Maag, Larry & Sharon Roos Professor of Special Education at the University of NebraskaLincoln, author of Parenting Without Punishment, a Parents' Choice Award recipient

BY JOSHUA LEVY, MED, MBA

With a Foreword by Elizabeth Hampton, MA, CCC-SL, Associate Director, The University of Texas at Austin Michael and Tami Lang Stuttering Institute

Austin, TX 2022

Copyright 2022 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Creative Outlet Method. Copyright 2022 by Joshua Levy. Reproduced by permission of John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:

ISBN 9781119873495 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781119873501 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119873518 (ePub)

Cover Design: Paul McCarthy
Cover Art: Getty Images: (Children on Stage): Adam Taylor
(Wheelchair): Design Pics/Ron Nickel

This book is dedicated to

Mom and Dad for believing in me well beyond The Spaceship of the Rain.

My sister Jenny for all that Shazz.

My wife, Lori, daughter, Shayna, and son, Noah, for putting up with the world's best Dad jokes of all time, around the clock.

Like most families, between soccer games, dance classes, birthday parties, and keeping up with the household, Saturdays in our house are jam-packed. Therefore I know my meeting with Joshua Levy was meant to be. The universe had to be in perfect alignment for us to be available and seeking out an activity on a Saturday morning. This is how my husband and I found ourselves with our (then) six-year-old-daughter at the Barrel O' Fun event space, taking part in a Joshua's Stage improv class led by Joshua. As I observed him at work, engaging the children of all ages in puppet making, improv, and role play, I was struck by his enthusiasm, his connection with the children, and the clear intentions of each activity that he presented to his active, participatory, young audience. As a practicing speech-language pathologist, it was apparent to me that while he ensured the children were having fun, he was simultaneously helping them grow their confidence as communicators,