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More Than Words: Helping Parents Promote Communication and Social Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
More Than Words presents a step-by-step guide for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder in an extensive, practical, and user-friendly format. Strategies are drawn from current research to help children develop more advanced communication skills, focusing on helping the child reach the following four 1) improved two-way interaction, 2) more mature and conventional ways of communication, 3) better skills in communicating for social purposes and finally, 4) improved understanding of language. Wonderfully illustrated and with chapters divided into four color-coded stages of communication, this book was developed for The Hanen Program For Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Highlights Of More Than
- How your child communicates and the next steps to take
- How your child learns best
- What motivates your child to communicate
- How to turn everyday activities into opportunities for learning to communicate
- How to use pictures and print to help your child's understanding
- How to talk so your child can understand you
- How to develop your child's play skills
- Why your child behaves in certain ways and what you can do about these behaviours
- How to help your child make friends
- How your child communicates and the next steps to take
- How your child learns best
- What motivates your child to communicate
- How to turn everyday activities into opportunities for learning to communicate
- How to use pictures and print to help your child's understanding
- How to talk so your child can understand you
- How to develop your child's play skills
- Why your child behaves in certain ways and what you can do about these behaviours
- How to help your child make friends
424 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 8, 2016
Very useful book as I am currently doing the Hanen More than Words Program. Very helpful and insightful.
August 25, 2016
Very effective approach to increasing communication of children with little means or skills to. It is reassuring to also note that communication is not all about the verbal.
May 31, 2011
Wow. A book that combines all the useful tidbits I picked up with early intervention, special preschool, and helpful advice. This book covers how to improve communication no matter where you are starting out. Non-verbal? Mostly independent communicator? Somewhere in between? Excellent informative read.
June 3, 2026
La filosofía de este hermoso libro, escrito por la autora canadiense Fern Sussman, se basa en la premisa transformadora de que los padres y cuidadores son los mejores profesores para sus hijos. A lo largo de toda la obra, la autora dota a las familias de herramientas que convierten las rutinas diarias, tales como las horas de comida o de juego, en oportunidades naturales de aprendizaje.
En esa línea, debo decir que una de las cosas que me encantó de este libro es la claridad con la que Sussman explica que la comunicación es mucho más que pronunciar palabras. La autora enseña a valorar e incentivar la interacción del niño con su familia, sus pares, maestros, a mantener contacto visual, los gestos y la intención de compartir un momento con la otra persona.
Asimismo, el lenguaje utilizado en el libro es muy claro, accesible y está repleto de ilustraciones explicativas, proponiendo el uso de apoyos visuales, como por ejemplo agendas con pictogramas o tableros de elección, para facilitar la comprensión del niño. Además, algo super genial es que dedica capítulos para enseñar a los adultos cómo jugar con los niños y, a su vez, enseñarles a que jueguen con sus pares, todo ello, asumiendo que no hay una estratégica única para todos los niños. Sin duda, una obra y guía muy necesaria para todos aquellos papás, cuidadores y profesionales que amamos a chicos con autismo.
En esa línea, debo decir que una de las cosas que me encantó de este libro es la claridad con la que Sussman explica que la comunicación es mucho más que pronunciar palabras. La autora enseña a valorar e incentivar la interacción del niño con su familia, sus pares, maestros, a mantener contacto visual, los gestos y la intención de compartir un momento con la otra persona.
Asimismo, el lenguaje utilizado en el libro es muy claro, accesible y está repleto de ilustraciones explicativas, proponiendo el uso de apoyos visuales, como por ejemplo agendas con pictogramas o tableros de elección, para facilitar la comprensión del niño. Además, algo super genial es que dedica capítulos para enseñar a los adultos cómo jugar con los niños y, a su vez, enseñarles a que jueguen con sus pares, todo ello, asumiendo que no hay una estratégica única para todos los niños. Sin duda, una obra y guía muy necesaria para todos aquellos papás, cuidadores y profesionales que amamos a chicos con autismo.
June 9, 2026
Hanen More Than Words seems like a big book at first, but there are lots of pictures showing what to do, and great information that is split into different levels, so you can just skip through to the level that applies to your own child. It is part of a larger programme as well, so the book is great to have to read alongside taking part in the programme.
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July 13, 2021Fantastic books
January 10, 2023
Great book for using the hanens method for promoting speech and communication with asd toddler,available through public libraries also
November 17, 2023
Say less and stress! Go slow and show!
Repeat! Opportunities! Cue! Keep it going!
Repeat! Opportunities! Cue! Keep it going!
September 14, 2024
Zeer handig boek voor ouders van (kleine) kdn met ASS die non-verbaal zijn of weinig taal gebruiken/hebben. Nuttige tips, heldere taal. Dik boek met herkenbare afbeeldingen.
January 25, 2025
The best read. ♥️
April 22, 2026
Great reminders and visuals and strategies for communicating with early communicators!
Such strong language development support, already seeing lots of improvements in my students :)
Such strong language development support, already seeing lots of improvements in my students :)
July 1, 2015
This is the second time I've read this book. It was good to find that we were already implementing most of the suggestions. I picked up a handful of things that will be useful now my son has progressed a bit further, and will have another flick through when he reaches the Partner stage.
There is a cutdown version of this book called "You Make The Difference In Helping Your Child Learn" by H. Ayala Manolson which covers the same ground more succinctly. Unless you find reading textbooks relaxing, or have a long solo train ride coming up, I recommend reading that one instead.
More than Words is a text based on the Hanen program. Hanen is a good introductory therapy for children with a new diagnosis of autism / have more severe autism, but this therapy is of limited use further down the track. I imagine this is because the Hanen strategies, which are useful for a barely verbal child, are too patronising and not engaging for a child who is talking.
(In a controlled trial in 2011, children who played with a greater number of toys at the start of the Hanen program did not show significant improvement when compared to the children who did not attend the Hanen program. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21...)
There is a cutdown version of this book called "You Make The Difference In Helping Your Child Learn" by H. Ayala Manolson which covers the same ground more succinctly. Unless you find reading textbooks relaxing, or have a long solo train ride coming up, I recommend reading that one instead.
More than Words is a text based on the Hanen program. Hanen is a good introductory therapy for children with a new diagnosis of autism / have more severe autism, but this therapy is of limited use further down the track. I imagine this is because the Hanen strategies, which are useful for a barely verbal child, are too patronising and not engaging for a child who is talking.
(In a controlled trial in 2011, children who played with a greater number of toys at the start of the Hanen program did not show significant improvement when compared to the children who did not attend the Hanen program. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21...)
October 29, 2019
This is a text that accompanies a program to support speech development in children with non-typical speech development. Its strengths are that it offers a highly organised and prescriptive framework for guiding adults in 'what to do' to support speech and language development. For this reason is can be extremely useful in scripting responses for teachers/ parents who are struggling to establish modulated, serve-return interactions with children.
On the other hand...the down-side is that it offers a highly organised and prescriptive framework for guiding adults in 'what to do' to support speech and language development. For this reason, where adults already have confidence in modulated and dialogic communication, there is the potential (as with all lists of "what to do") for the focus on techniques to interfere with the adult-child interaction.
All up, not a bad text with lots of evidence-linked ideas...but not a magic solution for everyone.
On the other hand...the down-side is that it offers a highly organised and prescriptive framework for guiding adults in 'what to do' to support speech and language development. For this reason, where adults already have confidence in modulated and dialogic communication, there is the potential (as with all lists of "what to do") for the focus on techniques to interfere with the adult-child interaction.
All up, not a bad text with lots of evidence-linked ideas...but not a magic solution for everyone.
February 17, 2012
this is an amazing book, and the course you can do along side it is brillant. I have 2 young children with autism. before I done the course and read the book, my 3 year old daughter couldn't talk much. now only 3 months on she has improved massively, has lots of words, lots more understanding, and is a much happier child now she can get her point made. and It's all down to this book. I'd strongly recommend this book to any parent of a child with autism. it has helped us so much.
July 21, 2012
I am currently reading this because as some people, including my Goodreads friends may know, my younger sister Mel is autistic.
***
Update:
This is too childish for Mel. For one, we have found out that her condition is not as severe as autism, but she does have a mild speech disorder. She can speak a lot more than what this book helps with, though.
***
Update:
This is too childish for Mel. For one, we have found out that her condition is not as severe as autism, but she does have a mild speech disorder. She can speak a lot more than what this book helps with, though.
January 30, 2008
This is a phenomenal book about how to reach out to a child with autism. It shows how to involve them in life and lots of direction to make connections with mom and dad and siblings. It made a world of difference to us.
June 14, 2014
Very clear ideas and explanations.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews