Communicating with Children and Adolescents

At a time when expectations and assumptions about the delivery of services to children and adolescents are being reconfigured – for example, around the rights of children and adolescents as young citizens – adults are seeking to ensure that they deliver services in creative and empowering ways, ensuring that the opinions of young people are actively solicited and encouraged. Action methods – communication methods using the body as well as speech – provide non-threatening ways of communicating which can be understood by children of all ages and from many cultures.

This book places action methods in a theoretical, technical and political framework and documents examples of good practice. Discussion of the application of action methods to work with young people focuses on differing issues and populations, for example children and adolescents who face life-threatening illnesses, or those involved in peer counselling in schools. Contributions from several different countries emphasise the wide potential of action methods for use with young people. This book provides a comprehensive and wide-ranging resource for those interested in exploring and understanding why action methods are particularly useful when working with young people.