The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens Who Learn Differently: A Framework and Activities to Build Structural, Sensory and Social Certainty

The teenage years are associated with high levels of uncertainty and anxiety, compounded by academic and social demands, and physical and emotional changes. They can be especially tough for teenagers who learn differently. This workbook contains a host of practical activities for teachers and other adults supporting young people with learning differences, whether at home or in the classroom. Drawing on their years of first hand experience, and up to the minute research, the authors outline a trans-diagnostic framework for identifying what might be behind a student's behaviour. They show how the first crucial step all practitioners must take is to work out what could be causing a teen's feelings of anxiety or uncertainty, and how this can be addressed. The activities in this workbook are organised into three sections, each addressing one of the three key areas where anxiety or uncertainty can be found: the structural, sensory and social domains. The tried-and-tested worksheets and activities present a much-needed alternative to a diagnosis-led approach. They can be used with any teenager, with or without a diagnosis, in classroom settings, intervention groups, or one to one work. The Anxiety Workbook will help you to really understand and address the needs of the SEN students you support, thereby improving their well-being, confidence and self-esteem and empowering them to get the most out of their education.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Understanding Uncertainty: Glasses, Paths and Dials 2. Understanding Our Own Uncertainty: Attitudes, Awareness and Appreciation 3. Structure: Activities to Support Structural Certainty and Routine 4. Sensory: Activities to Support Sensory Certainty 5. Social: Activities to Support Social Certainty

About the Author :
Clare Ward is an independent Speech and Language Therapist specialising in social communication. She consults to primary and secondary schools, having jointly developed and run training for a London education trust for several years and has broad experience across the public sector in Health and Social Services as well as Education. In her clinical practice she works mostly with secondary aged students and young adults, as well as their families as part of Special Networks, a multi-disciplinary group of practitioners based in London. James Galpin is a chartered Developmental Psychologist who specialises in universal difficulties that children and young people experience. He is Head of Research at The Bridge London Trust and a Senior Teaching Fellow at the Institute of Education, UCL. His research focuses on developing practice-based evidence within Education, translating theory into practice. He delivers ITE and CPD across all areas of SEN as well as providing support to children, young people and their families as part of Special Networks.

Review :
I love it. Clare Ward and James Galpin begin...from the understanding that uncertainty connects us all. We each need to make sense of it, respond to it and learn to thrive without ever wholly overcoming it. This is a book that takes people's differences seriously, encourages us all to take the time to know and respond to each person that we are called upon to work with and gives us direct guidance as to how we can do so. The Anxiety Workbook is a well-timed and much needed book..and will resonate with teenagers, parents and professionals across the county. A practical guide that makes the complex feel simple and will help teenagers, and the professionals who support them, make sense of an uncertain world." This book is essential reading for anyone trying to facilitate wellbeing and reduce anxiety in everchanging uncertain contexts. This exemplary book gives multiple strategies for adults in their own right and in practice with adolescents to assist them to cope with potentially the most rapidly developing time of change and uncertainty in their lives. The strategies are based on extensive practice and findings and can be applied to many formal and informal educational situations. The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens who Learn Differently is a brilliant distillation of advice. Its arrival couldn't be more timely, with a focus on dealing with uncertainty at a time when uncertainty pervades everyday life due to the world pandemic. The book is exceptionally accessible with practical examples and frameworks that will be of use for all teachers and professionals working with young people who learn differently. I love how the book cultivates self-awareness by encouraging curiosity about the causes of behaviour and also how the exercises and discussions communicate acceptance of all that young people bring. Ultimately readers of this book will have new skills in preventing difficulties and managing problems as they arise all while strengthening adult-child relationships. It is a resource we can all learn from. This workbook expertly brings together several key factors for anyone working with teenagers. Foremost for me is the focus upon individual need rather than any diagnostic label. The ever-increasing complexity of the SEN landscape for schools to navigate, risks many staff feeling ill-equipped to properly support learners. Addressing this, some of the fundamental questions posed in this much-needed book really help to re-focus us all on the core issues, such as the uncertainty we all face, how this impacts during adolescence and how we can really work effectively with all young people. As a speech and language therapist I am always looking for resources I can share with staff. The Anxiety Workbook gives useful theoretical insights to think more broadly about young, neurodiverse, people we work with and ultimately builds the readers confidence through these insights. I like the book's practical approach of looking first at the environment before focusing on the individual, so often in life we try and fix the person before thinking about the environment we are asking the person to learn in. Chapter 3 on Structure is a great place to start, as you may be able to bring positive engagement in class before working individually, there are really useful examples of behaviour you might see in class, and suggestions of what you can do e.g., for students have difficulty getting started in class with work or for students who 'police' their peers for rule breaking. The Workbook speaks directly to the reality of classroom life. Chapter 5 on Social, has been particularly useful as it deals with the more nuanced social world teens encounter and how quickly misunderstandings can occur. The book gives lots of practical advice and frameworks such as reviewing a breakdown in communication after it's happened, helping the young person to develop insight into their own and other's perspective. The aim is to help students become better social predictors and manage unexpected social behaviour. I so often work with people who don't know where to come in socially, they either dominate or retreat from social situations, the Anxiety Workbook shines a light on the experience of these young people and the impact of uncertainty be structural, sensory or social.