ABSTRACT

Alex Kelly’s internationally renowned Talkabout books are a series of practical workbooks designed to develop the self-awareness, self-esteem and social skills of people with special needs. This core manual in the Talkabout series provides fully adaptable session plans, activities and games to focus on four key areas of social skills: Body Language, The Way We Talk, Conversations and Assertiveness. Now in its second edition, this revised version of the Talkabout manual has been edited for US professionals, with a foreword by Nancy Tarshis and Debbie Meringolo (Altogether Social LLC, New York).

Contents includes:

  • A social skills assessment and intervention planning tool to help identify the individual needs of each client or group
  • Over 60 structured activities, with a focus on body language, paralinguistic features, conversation and assertiveness
  • 25 group cohesion activities to help facilitate productive group sessions

Suitable for Speech and Language Pathologists, Teachers, Social Workers, Child Psychologists and School Counsellors, the photocopiable resources within this volume are suitable for use with children, adolescents and adults in small groups or individually.

chapter |11 pages

Introduction

chapter |13 pages

Assessment

part Level 1|100 pages

TALKABOUT Body Language

chapter Topic 1|17 pages

Talkabout body language

chapter Topic 2|14 pages

Eye contact

chapter Topic 3|10 pages

Facial expression

chapter Topic 4|10 pages

Gesture

chapter Topic 5|8 pages

Distance

chapter Topic 6|12 pages

Touch

chapter Topic 7|6 pages

Fidgeting

chapter Topic 8|9 pages

Posture

chapter Topic 9|8 pages

Personal appearance

chapter Topic 10|3 pages

My body language … how did I do?

part Level 2|33 pages

TALKABOUT The Way We Talk

part Level 3|67 pages

TALKABOUT Conversations

chapter Topic 1|11 pages

Talkabout conversations

chapter Topic 2|6 pages

Listening

chapter Topic 3|6 pages

Starting a conversation

chapter Topic 4|4 pages

Taking turns

chapter Topic 5|12 pages

Questions

chapter Topic 6|8 pages

Being relevant

chapter Topic 7|5 pages

Repairing

chapter Topic 8|9 pages

Ending a conversation

chapter Topic 9|3 pages

How did I do?

part Level 4|85 pages

TALKABOUT Assertiveness

chapter Topic 1|22 pages

Talkabout assertiveness

chapter Topic 2|9 pages

Expressing feelings

chapter Topic 3|5 pages

Standing up for yourself

chapter Topic 4|6 pages

Making suggestions

chapter Topic 5|9 pages

Refusing

chapter Topic 6|9 pages

Disagreeing

chapter Topic 7|5 pages

Complaining

chapter Topic 8|9 pages

Apologizing

chapter Topic 9|5 pages

Requesting explanations

chapter Topic 10|3 pages

My assertiveness