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Creating sustainable services: Minority world SLPs in majority world contexts

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

JCPSLP

Volume 18, Number 3 2016

151

Resources reviews

Harrower, J. K., Denti, L. G., & Weber-Olsen, M. (2015).

Educating students with autism spectrum disorder: A

model for high-quality coaching

. San Diego, CA: Plural

Publishing; ISBN 978 1 59756 786 2; pp 245; A$69.95.

Keely Harper-Hill

I was delighted to be asked to review this book because,

while speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have

collaborated with educators for many years, coaching as a

means of educator professional development is currently of

particular interest. The book is structured clearly and

consists of 13 chapters across three sections. The

objectives of each chapter are listed at the chapter beginning

and each chapter ends with an explicit summary and

end-of-chapter questions. The first section (chapters 1–5)

introduces educational coaching, briefly reviews and

felt that the authors’ effort to address these topics was

undermined because more attention to both topics would

be required to do them full justice. The authors’ statement

of purpose suggests a wide readership including coaches,

as well as educators who are being coached, so that they

can meet the needs of children on the spectrum. As I read

the book, the scope of the intended readership became

less clear. For example, the information on coaching

may be of initial interest to the SLP who has very limited

experience working collaboratively with educators. It may

not, however, be sufficient to assist SLPs to translate

specialist knowledge of autism to the classroom. Similarly,

the information on autism could be useful to experienced

education-based SLPs with limited experience with autism

but I’m not sure they exist!

In conclusion, the book covers a wide array of

issues relevant to coaching and could serve as a useful

introductory text for student or early career SLPs working in

education sectors. I suspect that any SLP with experience

working with teachers or with reasonable experience in

working with young people on the autism spectrum may

find the content less beneficial due to the restricted depth

of the content covered in this book.

Hallowell, B. (2016).

Aphasia and other acquired

neurogenic language disorders: A guide for clinical

excellence

. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing; ISBN 978

1 59756 477 9; A$140

Dr Christopher Plant

There are many textbooks available to the speech-language

pathologist on the topic of aphasia and related neurogenic

language disorders. In

Aphasia and other acquired

neurogenic language disorders: A guide for clinical

excellence

, Brooke Hallowell aims to provide a unique

perspective which will be of interest to students and

practising clinicians alike. Throughout the text, Hallowell

draws attention to what it takes to be an exceptional,

person-centred clinician when working with such client

populations. In working towards this aim, Hallowell

succinctly sums up the text’s approach by describing it as

an evidence-based, how-to clinical guide.

This text contains eight sections and 33 clear,

informative, and insightful chapters. Most chapters are also

complemented by downloadable student and instructor

resources. Each chapter opens with clear learning

objectives and concludes with well-considered learning

and reflection activities. This text therefore offers significant

value for money.

The general structure of the text is fairly standard, moving

from foundations and the nature of aphasia and cognitive-

communication disorders in conditions such as traumatic

brain injury, right hemisphere disorder, and dementia,

through to assessment, and then general principles of

intervention, followed by specific intervention approaches.

describes coaching models, and places this information

within the context of supporting students on the autism

spectrum. The second section (chapters 6–8) considers the

use of high-quality coaching in planning instruction for

students on the autism spectrum. Delivering effective

programming for these students is covered in the final

section (chapters 9–13). Vignettes are woven throughout

the chapters. The book is easy to read and the structure

would enable the reader to “dip” into it rather than read it in

its entirety. The authors are based in the United States and,

as with many other disciplines, the reader needs to make

adjustments to the content.

I do have several reservations, which stem from the

ambitious scope of the 250-page book. The authors make

a valiant effort to address two weighty topics: (a) educator

coaching and (b) how to support students on the autism

spectrum in the classroom. Within the sections on planning

instructions and again in effective programming, these

topics are integrated and applied to the assessment and

intervention phases of supporting students in schools. I