ACQ Vol 11 No 1 2009

MULTICULTURALISM AND DYSPHAGIA

Overall, this book is simply written and easy to follow. Most activities require common materials, such as butcher’s paper, cotton, a sticker chart, stickers, or noisemakers. Hence, only a short planning time is required prior to the session. An added bonus is the list of frequently utilised materials which is set out in appendix A, and a list of activities that do not require materials (e.g., “read my face” or “how do I move?”), is included in appendix B. The procedure required to carry out each activity is short, well-described and straightforward to follow. This book is therefore a useful resource for the busy clinician working with children with Asperger syndrome. Parsons, S., & Branagan, A. (2005). Language for thinking: A structured approach for young children . Milton Keynes, UK: Speechmark Publishing. ISBN 978 086388 575 4 (spiral bound); pp. 204; AU$107.00. Suze Leitão

emphasis on testing rather than teaching. While there is a section on helping children succeed, it would be useful to have such suggestions on the scenario and question (S&Q) sheets as users may not refer to the tips on a regular basis. This could involve some guidelines (e.g., If the child does not respond, you could simplify the question, model the answer or ask a “prompt” question ). Examples could include: S&Q Sheet 1: Crossing the road.

Level A

Level B

Level C

Where are Lisa and Philip?

Why have Lisa and Philip stopped at the crossing? (Lisa and Philip

Why are Lisa & Philip crossing here and not down the street? (I think it might be

(I think Lisa and Philip are at the main road near

have stopped at the safer here as this is crossing. Why do where the crossing

their house)

you think they

man is!)

This resource, originally published in 2005, outlines a detailed program to develop children’s language and thinking skills along a continuum from the more concrete to the ab­ stract. The content is based on the model devised by Marion Blank with her colleagues Susan Rose and Laura Berlin in their seminal work pub­ lished in 1978. They analysed lan­ guage use in the classroom along a dimension of complexity – the “per­ ceptual – language distance” and

stopped?

What are the children carrying?

What could be

What two things

inside their bags? could Philip do,

if he has forgotten his lunch? (If I forgot my

(In the picture, I

(I think they are school bags. What

can see the

lunch, I would go

children carrying

do you have in your to the canteen!)

some school books) bag when you come to school?)

developed a framework consisting of four levels: matching perception, selective analysis of perception, re-ordering perception and reasoning about perception. These four levels are assessed in their test: the Pre-school Language Assessment Instrument. This program focuses on three language levels, termed A, B and C, which correspond to the Blank levels II, III and IV. Language for Thinking: A Structured Approach for Young Children consists of three parallel assessments that can be used to establish baseline levels and determine where to begin the program for an individual child, and to monitor progress. Clear guidelines are given for administering and scoring the assessments, and allocating a starting point in the program. The program aims to develop oral language thinking skills as a foundation for reading comprehension. The program can be delivered at three levels – called “modules”: picture and talk (oral only), picture and text, and text (child reads). In all cases, the adult discusses the picture or text orally with the child. The manual describes the program, outlines the procedure clearly and provides guidelines on assessment, monitoring progress and moving between the modules. It also outlines procedures (based on the original Blank “simplification strategies”) for helping a child succeed. This resource builds on a solid theoretical foundation based on the role of verbal reasoning in developing language. The detailed manual and procedures allow users to collect data and demonstrate the effectiveness of their therapy to others. A strength of the program is its clarity and simplicity, allowing it to be used by speech pathologists with teachers, teaching assistants, therapy aides and parents. It provides guidelines for using the resource with individuals as well as small groups and whole classes. One concern about the program is the potential to use it solely as a “question-and-answer” approach, with an

One weakness of the resource is the black-and-white line drawings which are not very attractive or appealing. Overall this resource would be most useful for speech pathologists who work collaboratively or at a distance with others such as teaching assistants, therapy aides and parents. References Blank, M., Rose, S. A., & Berlin, L. J. (1978). The language of learning: The preschool years . New York: Grune & Stratton, Inc. Blank, M., Rose, S. A., & Berlin, L. J. (2003). Pre-school language assessment instrument , 2nd ed. Pro-Ed Williams, A. Lynn (2006). Sound contrasts in phonology (SCIP) . Greenville, SC: Super Duper Inc., A$410 (including GST). http://www.superduperinc. com; available in Australia from Super Duper Publications suppliers. Jemma Skeat Sound Contrasts in Phonology (SCIP) is a software program designed to facilitate clinical intervention for children with speech sound disorders (SSDs). The program was developed to provide clinicians with a large array of pictures to use in contrastive phonological therapy – for example, minimal pairs or maximal opposition. SCIP supports an evidence based framework to treatment of SSDs, providing clinicians with useful information about the theory and research behind common treatment approaches for SSDs. SCIP comes as a two CD package, with a detailed user manual. The program can be used in several ways. First, it provides a bank of pictures illustrating over 2000 real words and around 6000 nonsense words for use in therapy.

S p eech P athology A ustralia

60