Go-To Guide for Social Skills. (2005). By Joyce Olson. Thinking Publications, 424 Galloway St., Eau Claire, WI 54703. 80-page handbook, $18.00 US/ $31.00 CAN. Reviewed by Lisa Abbott Moore, MS CCC/SLP, Bennington, VT.

The author of Go-To Guide for Social Skills, Joyce Olsen, is an educator by trade with experience performing both as an elementary principal and as a director of special education. This 80 page, soft covered handbook was developed to assist educators across the gamut to appropriately address a student's (grade K-12) social skills. The appendices include user-friendly rubrics that provide clinicans with problem solving strategies, ideas for facilitating anger management, websites for parents and research-based strategies to enhance social language. 

This item is used for both the assessment and intervention of a student's social skills. A special emphasis is placed on how to develop and implement a Functional Behavior Plan and how to incorporate it into a student's executive function. There are no special restrictions for use of this item, and it is appropriate for a diversified population of professionals and families. Since the level of information presented in this booklet is presented in a simplified fashion, it would best be suited for less experienced professionals.

This reviewer is employed in the medical setting, so during the review process this item was utilized primarily for training parents. It was quite an easy read, and the information obtained was useful and immediately applicable to many clinical situations. The sections that included the rubrics of appropriate communications with parents, social problem-solving steps, and resources with websites, were of immediate use to provide families with the resources necessary to be successful at home. Since the reviewer is an experienced clinican, the ideas and suggestions in this handbook were easy to immediately implement, with almost no additional practice time needed. A less experienced clinican may take additional time to incorporate these ideas into practice, but overall, the time would be minimal. The low cost of the item makes it very attractive to clinicans and families. The handbook is of good quality with a soft protective cover to ensure long lasting use.

Overall, this product rates in the "excellent category " for providing useful and immediately applicable strategies for assessment and treatment of students with emotional issues. The author is great at providing a user-friendly resource that can be utilized by all disciplines. The overall tone of the material is very "student-focused". The Functional Behavior Assessment Process is simplified and the rubrics are useful in facilitating proper implementation. This would be an excellent resource for new clinicians and for families.