It provides the tools and necessary guidance such that they can help the child make the best possible progress in their skill development.

This book is a "must have" for every parent or educator of a child who has no-or very limited-language skills. It provides evidence-based ABA/VB methodology, written in non-technical and easy to understand terms. It provides critical information on where to start and how to teach initial skills to children with minimal language skills. It provides the rationale for teaching six critical learning skills and the procedures necessary to develop them. Professionals have identified these skills as an important basic foundation for a child's overall development. Step-by-step instructions allow a parent or teacher to implement training and track the child's acquisition of these important skills.

All of the strategies in this book are linked to the skills in the ABLLS-R. In addition, it provides the reader with strategies to motivate the child to participate in those learning activities as well as identify appropriate goals. Six Critical Skills to teach a child include:initiating social interactions, requesting items and activities (mand), responding to spoken words (receptive language), imitating motor actions, imitating sounds and words (echoic), and completing visual tasks. This book provides the tools and necessary guidance for parents and teachers to help early learners make the best possible progress in their skill development.

James Partington, BCBA-D, is a licensed psychologist and doctoral-level board-certified behavior analyst with over 40 years of experience working with children with developmental disabilities, Dr. Partington is director of Behavior Analysts, Inc. He has been a faculty member of several universities, including West Virginia University, University of San Francisco and St. Mary's College, and has served as president of the Northern California Association for Behavior Analysis and as a member of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

260 pages. 2014