Smile Therapy: Functional Communication and Social Skills for Deaf Students and Students with Special Needs

Students with communication difficulties need skills to communicate functionally in everyday situations, without the usual support and protection from home and school. These skills need to be explicitly taught, to enable them to become confident young adults. SmiLE Therapy is an innovative therapy designed to equip students with the skills necessary to become responsible individuals who operate at the highest level of independence that their circumstances and condition allow.

Teachers and speech and language therapists have always included functional life skills practice in their work with students. Now, for the first time, they can do so using a therapy with a proven method that has demonstrable outcomes.

This book is a practical step-by-step resource, designed to guide teachers and SLTs in the delivery of SmiLE Therapy with students who have communication difficulties due to deafness, specific language impairment, learning difficulties, autism or physical disability. It includes a clear step-by-step approach to preparing, running and evaluating SmiLE Therapy, with photocopiable resources and clear outcome measures from each module to share with parents, staff, education and health managers.