The Imitation of Gestures describes the sets of tests of the imitation of gestures in children performed by the examiner. These tests provide valuable information about the development of motor skills, particularly the right-left orientation in children from 4 to 8 years of age. This book is composed of two main sections encompassing 9 chapters. Part I presents the methods for studying the imitation of simple and complex gestures of the hands and arms. This part also covers the application of these methods to children who would be likely to have disturbances in motor and verbal development. The second part describes the supplementary tests to the Imitation of gestures test used for the study of body image. This part also deals with the intercorrelations between the results obtained on the different tests, namely, the Imitation of gestures, Drawn-a-man test, Grace Arthur mannequin puzzle, and the verbal test of naming and pointing to the body parts. Pediatricians, neurologists, and clinical psychologists will find this book rewarding.

Published version of dissertation submitted to the Faculties of Natural Sciences and Technology. Saarland University. Saarbrucken, Germany, 2003.

The Verbal Behavior (VB) approach is a form of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), that is based on B.F. Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior and works particularly well with children with minimal or no speech abilities. In this book Dr. Mary Lynch Barbera draws on her own experiences as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and also as a parent of a child with autism to explain VB and how to use it. This step-by-step guide provides an abundance of information about how to help children develop better language and speaking skills, and also explains how to teach non-vocal children to use sign language. An entire chapter focuses on ways to reduce problem behavior, and there is also useful information on teaching toileting and other important self-help skills, that would benefit any child. This book will enable parents and professionals unfamiliar with the principles of ABA and VB to get started immediately using the Verbal Behavior approach to teach children with autism and related disorders.

The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a perspective on apraxia that considers a link between the pathology of apraxia and normal motor skill. In addition, it is the intention of the authors to provide information that is theoretically interesting as well as clinically applicable. The book is a collection of papers by various authors working in the area of apraxia, almost exclusively with limb aparaxia specifically. Beginning with Hugo Liepman's work of the late 19th century, a cognitive neuropsychological model of limb apraxia is reviewed, the use of new technologies that are informative about the mechanisms of limb praxis are discussed, and issues related to research as well as clinical assessment/management of the disorder are provided. While acquired limb apraxia is the focus of the book, there are also chapters on handedness, developmental apraxia of speech, and disorders of handwriting.

This handbook provides a comprehensive survey of what is now known about psychological development, from birth to biological maturity, and it highlights how cultural, social, cognitive, neural, and molecular processes work together to yield human behavior and changes in human behavior.

This book is the first to offer a comprehensive overview of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI), which are evidence-based interventions that integrate both behavioral and developmental approaches in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.