Relaxation: A Comprehensive Manual for Children and Adults with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities

This new, expanded edition focuses on teaching relaxation procedures to an often under-served and overlooked population: individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Drawing on their 35 years of experience with these individuals, the authors provide numerous illustrations and simple descriptions of relaxation procedures so therapists, parents, and teachers can, without prior training, learn relaxation themselves and teach it to others.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Section I - Do It Yourself Before You Teach It! Self-Instruction for the Relaxation Procedure

Section II - Teaching the Basic Relaxation Procedure

Section III - Teaching the Advanced Relaxation Procedure

Section IV - Teaching Relaxation to Individuals with Physical Disabilities (by Lynda S. Chace)

Section V - Troubleshooting and Recommendations

Appendix A - Role of Reinforcement in Learning and Relaxation (by Gerald Groden)

Appendix B - Using Relaxation as a Self-Control Procedure

Appendix C - Sample Individual Education Program (IEP) Goal Sheets

"The second edition of Relaxation incorporates both refinements and additional material from 35 years of implementation and research. Even more user friendly in format, this edition is a must for practitioners working with individuals who require strategies to reduce stress."
- Verity Bottroff, PhD, Flinders University, Australia

"Impressively, this edition exceeds the classic edition written by Groden and Cautela in 1978. It remarkably provides not only a detailed task analysis of what “relaxation” is but also a detailed task analysis of how to teach it to the levels of acquisition, maintenance, and generalization."
- Gary W. LaVigna, PhD, BCBA-D, Institute for Applied Behavior Analysis

"Most professionals would agree that many, if not most, individuals on the autism spectrum suffer from high levels of anxiety or arousal. Relaxation has been a longstanding classic in the autism field for nearly 40 years. This updated second edition provides clearly written procedures and will surely be an invaluable source for families and professionals."
- Stephen M. Edelson, PhD, Executive Director, Autism Research Institute

"The authors have tailored relaxation training to the special needs of children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. The authors provide great strategies for what to do when obstacles arise and how to adapt the procedures to maximize success."
- Michael Apolito, PhD, Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Center, Maine General Medical Center