An Adventure with Autism and Social Communication Difficulties - The Man-Eating Sofa Story and Guidebook

The Man-Eating Sofa: People often say that ‘school is the best time of your life’, but for Lara, school is loud and confusing. She much prefers watching James Bond films or building furniture in her dad’s workshop. When the teachers in Lara’s new school realise that she is autistic, they are able to help with strategies to make school more tolerable for her. This book explores some of the challenges faced by students who find social communication, sensory processing and regulation difficult.

Key Features

• An exciting and engaging story for children aged 8-12.
• Explores challenges faced by students with social communication difficulties.
• Includes a supporting guide for parents, teachers, and practitioners.

Additional Information

Supporting Autism and Social Communication Difficulties in Mainstream Schools: Created to help parents, teachers and practitioners support young people who find social communication challenging, this guidebook explores the educational, social and psychological impact of autism and social communication and interaction difficulties, as well as offering strategies to help educators recognise and support these issues in the school environment.

Specifications

• Author: Plum Hutton
• Experience: Chartered educational psychologist and former learning support teacher with over 15 years of experience.
• Educational Background: Holds a doctorate in educational psychology.

Reviews

"The Man-Eating Sofa is a delightful story, empathetically written for school pupils, teaching staff and adults to gain a better understanding of autism, which is one of the aims of the National Autism Strategy (June 2021). Whilst light-hearted and filled with humour, it does not detract from the seriousness of autism as a neurodevelopmental condition.

The supporting guide is very helpful for all professionals, particularly teaching staff and parent/carers in their role in how best to support autistic children and young people. It is based on research evidence, providing clear and pragmatic strategies. The story and the guide perfectly complement each other." Karin Twiss, Senior Educational Psychologist and Strategic Lead for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Conditions

"As with her superb ‘dyslexia’ package, Dr Hutton again excels in bringing clarity to understanding an important psychological concept. In this book, it is understanding Autism, a condition that needs this clarity as so many children and families across our society are impacted by it. She makes the learning process dynamic, and understood within a real context, using a delightful story that children (8-12 years) and families will enjoy. The first parts of the story reflect the ‘too frequent’ and unnecessary challenges that many autistic children and their families will likely have experienced before gaining the necessary support and understanding. The story is positive and upbeat, and the experience of reading it, particularly with the activities and ideas, promotes the compassion, understanding, thought and optimism that are such key ingredients for supporting and embracing neurodiversity." Caro Strover, Educational Psychologist

"The book has a really engaging and strong storyline with brilliantly fleshed-out characters and gets across the confusion and frustration and the sheer 'thinking differently' of autism so well, as well as the wider struggles for the family. I especially enjoyed Lara’s excitement at building her sofa – and then the testing out of the sofa by the teachers, which I had to read three times as I was laughing so much. I can’t tell you how helpful your book and guide have been in making the behaviour of autistic friends and colleagues so much more explicable to me and for providing such clear direction for improving the ways in which I can communicate with them too." Elizabeth Ord, Parent