Communication and social skills are a key challenge for children on the autism spectrum, and a fundamental priority for care professionals to support their clients' progress. Using case studies and evidence-based advice, this book guides readers through an integrated Theraplay® approach to helping young people on the autism spectrum. The interventions emphasise interactivity and fun to help children build social and emotional skills through play. From using balloons to encourage eye contact to turn-taking play for fostering social awareness, each Theraplay® activity is tailored to support children on the autism spectrum and includes suggestions for further adaptations to suit each child's unique needs. Parents' and guardians' needs are also addressed in the context of Theraplay®, examining common sources of frustration and providing advice on effective treatment plans. Officially supported by the Theraplay® Institute, this handbook guides readers towards a thoughtful, focused application of Theraplay® to support children on the autism spectrum.

Counseling Families: Play-Based Treatment offers an engaging and practical integration of expressive arts and play therapy within family counseling. Building upon the most current research in family counseling, this volume presents new and humanistic approaches of family play therapy, including family-based cognitive behavioral therapy, family theraplay, and filial therapy. Application of these methods is explored with children and families affected by autism, divorce, and trauma. Essential coverage of the ethics of family play therapy as well as the therapist’s own self-care is also included in this comprehensive and valuable resource. Counseling Families: Play-Based Treatment provides clinicians and family counselors with an integrative and effective model of family counseling that will help children and families understand and develop their mental health needs.

Through careful integratation of theory with real-world clinical case application, each chapter in Play-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders shows clinicians how to make a diverse array of treatment approaches viable and effective.

This authoritative work brings together leading play therapists to describe state-of-the-art clinical approaches and applications. The book explains major theoretical frameworks and summarizes the contemporary play therapy research base, including compelling findings from neuroscience. Contributors present effective strategies for treating children struggling with such problems as trauma, maltreatment, attachment difficulties, bullying, rage, grief, and autism spectrum disorder. Practice principles are brought to life in vivid case illustrations throughout the volume. Special topics include treatment of military families and play therapy interventions for adolescents and adults.

This revamped second edition provides several play interventions designed to address a variety of common mental health needs that neurodivergent children face, such as social navigation, regulation, relationship development, anxiety issues, identity struggles, and self-advocacy. Completely reorganized and with the addition of several new chapters, the book begins with a thorough presentation of how and why structured interventions are used with neurodivergent children. Special focus is given to understanding neurodivergence, relationship and rapport building, therapy planning and goal setting, how to create a structured play intervention, the therapeutic powers of play, the role and level of involvement of the therapist, theory integration, avoiding ableist practices, and parent involvement. The second half of the book covers a wide selection of play therapy interventions for use with neurodivergent children and adolescents. The structured interventions focus on need areas related to social navigation, emotional expression, regulation, sensory processing, connection and relationship development, executive functioning, strengths, self-advocacy, and identity. These structured play therapy interventions designed uniquely for neurodivergent children and adolescents will be valuable resources for any mental health professional working with neurodivergent youth.

This four-volume encyclopedia covers a wide range of themes and topics, including: Social constructions of childhood, Children's rights, Politics/representations/geographies, Child-specific research methods, Histories of childhood/Transnational childhoods, Sociology/anthropology of childhood theories and Theorists key concepts. This interdisciplinary encyclopedia will be of interest to students and researchers in: Childhood studies, Sociology/Anthropology, Psychology/Education, Social Welfare, Cultural studies/Gender studies/Disabilty studies.

Play Therapy and Asperger's Syndrome: Helping Children and Adolescents Grow, Connect, and Heal Through the Art of Play discusses play therapy techniques for children and adolescents diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in a simple, clear manner. It is designed to help mental hea...

The AutPlay® Therapy Handbook provides a thorough explanation and understanding of AutPlay® Therapy (an integrative family play therapy framework) and details how to effectively implement AutPlay® Therapy for addressing the mental health needs of autistic and neurodivergent children and their families. This handbook guides the mental health therapist working with children and adolescents through their natural language of play. Opening with an extensive review of the neurodiversity paradigm and ableism, the chapters cover AutPlay® Therapy protocol, phases of therapy, assessment strategies, and common need areas along with understanding neurodiversity affirming processes. Additional chapters highlight the therapeutic powers of play, integrative play therapy approaches, understanding co-occurring conditions, working with high support needs, and using AutPlay® Therapy to address regulation, sensory, social/emotional, and other mental health concerns that neurodivergent children may be experiencing. The handbook serves as a thorough guide for play therapists, child therapists, and family therapists who work with neurodivergent children and their families.

This book helps practitioners choose from the broad range of play therapy approaches to create a comprehensive treatment plan that meets the individual needs of each child. From leaders in the field, the volume provides a flexible roadmap for assessment, case formulation, and intervention for frequently encountered psychological disorders and adversities. The focus is creating a unique therapy "prescription" that is tailored to the child's presenting problems as well as his or her strengths, challenges, and developmental level. Contributors present up-to-date knowledge on each clinical problem, describe practices that have been shown to be effective, and share vivid illustrations of work with 3- to 16-year-olds and their parents.

AutPlay Therapy is a behavioral play-based treatment approach to working with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. This innovative new model contains a parent-training component (wherein the therapist trains parents to do directive play therapy interventions in the home) and can be utilized in any setting where children and adolescents with an autism disorder, ADHD, dysregulation issues, or other neurodevelopmental disorders are treated. This comprehensive resource outlines the AutPlay Therapy process and offers a breakdown of treatment phases along with numerous assessment materials and over 30 directive play therapy techniques.