Developing Baseline Communication Skills: Games and Activities for 3-5 year olds (The Good Communication Pathway)

Developing Baseline Communication Skills is a practical resource designed to fit with baseline assessments in primary school. The second edition of this bestselling resource contains a programme of games and activities to foster personal and social development, and promote language and literacy skills in 3–5 year olds. The book seeks to address language and communication difficulties for children coming into reception class by providing a range of fun and engaging activities. Suitable for whole classes or small groups of children, the activities focus on both personal, social, emotional development as well as language and literacy in areas such as body language, independence, turn taking, listening, speaking and auditory memory.

Features include:

200 games and activities which are differentiated for different ages and levels of ability;

A clear aim, equipment list and instructions for each activity;

Photocopiable templates for ease of use;

Supplementary resource sheets including pictures and scripts to use with the activities.

Now fully revised and updated in line with current policy and legislation, this book is suitable for young children in any school setting including nurseries, playgroups and reception classes. It also includes material that may be used as an effective part of a speech and language therapy programme in consultation with a therapist. This is a unique manual that will be an essential addition to the materials used by professionals working with young children.

Catherine Delamain is a retired speech and language therapist with over 40 years’ experience working with children with speech, language and communication needs in clinics, schools, special schools and nurseries. She spent several years in association with a Senior Educational Psychologist lecturing to teachers on how to address the needs of children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in mainstream and special schools. Catherine formed part of a pioneering team of paediatricians, speech therapists and clinical psychologists, to provide multi-disciplinary diagnosis of children with autistic spectrum disorder. With Jill Spring, she is the co-author of eight books published by Speechmark.

Jill Spring is a retired speech and language therapist who specialised in child speech and language disorder and autistic spectrum disorder. Since qualifying in 1972 she worked in a variety of paediatric settings including community clinics, assessment centres, opportunity playgroups and mainstream schools. From 1996 to 2014 she worked in specialist language units attached to mainstream schools, spending two years managing one of these units. Before retiring in 2016 she was responsible for coordinating the Education Commissioned Communication Plan support service for children with complex speech, language and communication difficulties. She also worked as part of the multi-disciplinary team responsible for assessment and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders in West Dorset. From 2011 until her retirement she coordinated the Dorset Speech and Language Therapy Service training programmes offered to schools across Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole. She maintains an active interest in speech, language and communication development in children and young people.