Playing, Laughing, and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Practical Resource of Play Ideas for Parents and Carers, 2nd edition by Julia Moor

As any parent of a child with Autism knows it is very difficult to find activities that encourage their child to socially engage in activities with other people. This book is a great great resource for parents of children with ASD who are about 2-years-old or older. The book starts out talking about why social play is so difficult for children with ASD and why it is so important for parents and other who care for children with ASD to promote play skills that require these children to engage and interact with us. Moor discusses structured play activities where principles of ABA can be applied to help the child become more successful in play based exchanges. She provides suggestions for table-top games and activities, music, physical games, water play, and outdoor play activities that are appealing to children of many different ages at various levels of functioning. There is also a very interesting chapter on how to find websites that present interactive games appropriate for a child with ASD. Personally, I have found some great activities in the book that have worked well in therapeutic settings. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book is that the activities are written in very family friendly language that would be easy for someone who didn't know a great deal about how to play with a child with ASD to understand and implement.