Talkabout activities : developing social communication skills

Following many requests by teachers and clinicians, Talkabout Activities has been developed by the author of the successful Talkabout to provide practical activities for social skills training.

Containing 225 group activities, this excellent resource is aimed primarily at people familiar with Talkabout, although it can be used by anyone running social skills groups and will complement other social-skills training programmes.

The first section includes general group cohesion activities that can be used at any stage as starting or finishing activities. The remainder of the resource is divided into six different levels, covering self- and other awareness; awareness of communication; body language; the way we talk; conversational skills; and assertiveness.

Each level is structured so that there are activities that correspond to every skill and worksheet within Talkabout.

These activities can be used to prompt group discussion or to practice relevant skills, but also can be used as starting or finishing activities. Within each group activity, the resource outlines any required materials and preparation and which are the relevant Talkabout worksheets, for those using Talkabout as the framework for their social skills training.

Illustrated by the author, this book can be used with children, adolescents or adults and will be an invaluable resource to anyone running social skills groups. "The attributes of practical, pertinent and well paced apply to both of these resources." (Canadian Association of OTs).

Alex Kelly works in Southampton as a specialist speech language therapist for adults with learning disabilities.

She qualified in 1985 and has worked predominantly with adults and children with learning disabilities.