The pack, Play Talks, has been developed by the early years unit at Scope.
It was launched this month at a Scope conference in Northampton which aimed to raise the profile of early communication support through play for pre-school children with cerebral palsy and motor difficulties.
The user-friendly pack is designed for parents, carers and hands-on early years professionals. Ideas to promote communication skills through play include tips on how to adapt toys to make them more accessible.
Scope said the pack's suggested activities had been designed to fit in with everyday life rather than be just 'another therapy' programme.
Jackie Logue, Scope's early years co-ordinator, who developed the pack, said, 'All children need to have fun and play, but that can be lost when a child has additional needs. Early play is essential for the development of communication and language skills and has an important impact on the acquisition of early numeracy skills.
'We hope Play Talks will inspire parents and hands-on early years professionals to give play and communication a bigger voice.'
Jenny Herd, who has a six-year-old son with cerebral palsy, said she believed the pack would prove extremely useful for parents of disabled children. 'You can start using Play Talks with children as soon as they are born. If children have a long-term disability that affects their communication skills, it is vital to help them express their feelings as early as possible.'
She added, 'The pack describes how to use games, toys and real objects to enable young children to make choices. A lot of people are surprised that very young children can manage games of such complexity, but they are vital in boosting children's confidence and self-esteem and giving them power of their own.'
Play Talks comes as colour-coded fact sheets that can be used together or separately alongside a CD-Rom. It costs 18 and is available from Scope's early years unit on 029 2066 2402.
* See the feature on listening to disabled children, pages 12-13
