Abstract
Intervention for Toddlers with Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Delays: Practical Strategies was created out of concern for the increasing number of children identified with developmental language disorders, including those with autism spectrum disorder, and the lack of adequate resources for them. This manual addresses cognitive, social, and emotional skills for toddlers between the ages of 0 and 3 years. Learning is often defined as a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences. Changes and enhancement of knowledge, skills, values, and worldviews are often based on these experiences and the learning that results from them. The lesson plans in this manual have been developed on the basis of such associative learning. The activities can be used in a wide variety of settings. They can be used in the therapy rooms of speech-language pathologists (SLPs), preschool classrooms, daycare settings, and children's homes. The activities are especially ideal for SLPs who conduct home visits to provide intervention in children's natural, daily settings.
This manual is intended to guide the therapist or caregiver in selecting the target skills that a child should be trained in. The lesson plans outline the activities that need to be undertaken to elicit specific responses from children and establish a range of developmental skills. The simple lesson plans are intended to get the therapist or caregiver started on the process of stimulating the children in each of the domains that they need help in, at their current level of functioning. The first section of this manual addresses the cognitive skills that children acquire. These are the basic skills on which the further cognitive growth of the child rests. The second section deals with social skills development. The lesson plans included here sensitize the therapist or caregiver to the basic social skills that a child needs to learn at this stage and will help in eliciting these skills in the child. The lesson plans in the third section show how to teach the child to express emotions appropriately. It is important to teach children to express their emotions in a manner that can be identified and interpreted accurately by others.
Also included are "Tech Tips" with recommended YouTube videos, websites, Pinterest sites, and other online resources. These online resources provide the therapist or caregiver with excellent ideas for products and practical intervention strategies that can be used for a variety of purposes when serving young children with special needs.