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The Silent Child

Exploring the World of Children Who Do Not Speak

Laurent Danon-Boileau author Kevin Windle translator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:8th Feb '07

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Silent Child cover

Language expert and psychologist, Laurent Danon-Boileau, has spent a lifetime trying to release silent children's ability to communicate. This book describes his treatment of six patients, all of whom were able to begin normal schooling after treatment: it is a landmark in the field. Children who speak late are a source of anxiety to parents and evoke conflicting responses from professionals. Professor Danon-Boileau argues that language disorders are too often considered from the perspective of either psychology or neurology and that the key to understanding lies in investigating the interactions of developmental, social, and neurobiological factors. The Silent Child allows the reader to meet the children as they are gently guided by the author towards communication, first without language, using toys and games, and then gradually to the ability to talk.

Review from previous edition Laurent Danon-Boileau's investigation of young children with difficulties in learning to speak combines the highest quality of case writing with speculations that are remarkable in their penetration ... His observations are stunning, and his commentary on them is equally sharp ... You sense a real genius at work ... Never have I seen such a subtle and resounding plea for cultivating the child's own meaning-making capacity wihout imposing meaning on him or her Jerome Bruner
In this intriguing little book, the author...explores the curious world of children who cannot speak. In so doing, he offers valuable advice on ways to search out answers from children by observing what they do. New York Times
In this absorbing account of the treatment of children who have great difficulty communicating in spoken language, Danon-Boileau, a practising child psychologist, draws on the case studies of six of his own patients. These observations coming from a caring and humane therapist will be of great use to those working in the field...as well as to parents of children with speech problems. Publisher's Weekly

ISBN: 9780199214044

Dimensions: 216mm x 137mm x 13mm

Weight: 255g

198 pages