Corinda Presley - Speak, Move, Play and Learn with Children on the Autism Spectrum: Activities to Boost Communication Skills, Sensory Integration and Coordination Using Simple Ideas from Speech and Language Pathology

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Byron Roy James came into this world early, at three pounds, in a rural Russian hospital, where he stayed for his first 15 months. He was adopted by American parents, Jann and Nathan James, whom Byron made very proud and happy. Byrons talents presented themselves quickly, one of many being his artwork. His specialty was drawing in three-dimensional perspective at the age of five, without any instruction. Byron has never stopped drawing. His parents discovered his Asperger gifts and challenges early, and Byron has grown into a healthy, fun-loving, kind, talented, and very social young man. Currently, Byron is pursuing his varied interests and hobbies, including electric guitar, cooking, drawing cityscapes, studying modern transportation systems, road biking, racquetball, turtles, and just having a good time with family. He currently lives in Pleasant Hill, California, with his parents, his 13-year-old brother and sister, and a menagerie of family pets. He entered his Sophomore year of high school in the fall of 2011.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Loiss

A huge thank you goes to America who went above and beyond the call of duty to make this book the wonderfully robust finished product that it is. Thanks a bunch to Gary who skillfully managed the household allowing me the time to get my thoughts and experiences down on paper. Thanks also to my teenagers, Ian and Stephanie, for pitching in and fixing my dinner for a change.

Big-time thank you to Rachel Menzies and all the wonderful folks at Jessica Kingsley Publishers for making this book a reality, and for all the wonderful work they do for the Special Needs community.

Last but not least, thanks Mom! My biggest cheerleader.

Americas

I want to thank everyone from Jessica Kingsley Publishers for their dedication to our labor of love. I am very happy to have had the chance to work with such an imaginative, creative, and hard working individual like Lois; thanks for being my partner and friend. I would also like to thank my sister Citlalli Gonzalez for spending her time to help me when I was freaking out. Thanks to Isis Gonzalez and Rosa Zavala for their wonderful ideas when I was stumped, and to my love, Larry, who was there for me through a very rough year of losses. I send a special thank you to my mom and dad for their support throughout the years. And finally I would like to dedicate this book to my other dad, Fernando, who passed away this year and didnt get to see this book published. I love you all.

Maciejs

This book would not be possible without the open-mindedness of my students, who participated in the often difficult trial-and-error process of altering activities to make them better and more fun. I would like to thank all of you for your flexibility and understanding. Also, I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone who never stopped believing that this book would see the light of day and supported me during those months. Thank you, Mom.

Corindas

Thank you God for blessing me with the opportunity to serve you in this way. Even on the most challenging of days, the kiddos I work with give me some reason to smile, either with their simple humor or with their quirky reasoning. Many, many thanks and much love to my wonderful husband, Jason, and beautiful daughter, Londyn. I would not be who I am without you. Thank you to Mom for your endless sacrifice, and thank you to Dad for showing me how to follow my passion. You always told me, If you find something that you love to do and youre excited to get up in the morning for, you are a very lucky person. Guess I should go play the lottery.

APPENDIX

Descriptors for the five senses

Girl outline