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

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. Alison Wilcox, Education Director, Nasen

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. Flossie Fairbairn; Speech and Language Therapist

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. Professor Liz Pellicano, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

The Anxiety Workbook is a well-timed and much needed book..and will resonate with teenagers, parents and professionals across the county. Sarah Wild, Headteacher, Limpsfield Grange School

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." Dr Pooky Knightsmith

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. Dr Esther Burkitt, Reader in Developmental Psychology

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. Dr Bettina Hohnen, Clinical Psychologist and author of The Incredible Teenage Brain