ABSTRACT
Harriet was nine years old at the start of the project. She had severe cognitive delay and was at a pre-verbal stage of communication. She found it difficult to keep still or to focus on anything. Staff found her behaviour challenging especially as Harriet had a habit of throwing anything she picked up. Harriet did not allow anyone to get close to her or make any physical contact and there was increasing concern at her lack of progress. Harriet’s class teacher, although interested in the Intensive Interaction approach, felt unable to prioritise the time needed to work with Harriet on a daily basis but Barbara, a learning support assistant who had attended the training session, volunteered to become Harriet’s Intensive Interaction partner.
