EFL · Essential for Living · Special Edition

Essential for Living A Special Edition

A little manual of science and practice for children and adults with very limited skill repertoires, written for the parents, grandparents, teachers, behavior analysts, and speech-language pathologists who care for them.

This special edition guides individualized instruction and support plans that increase essential speaking, listening, daily living, tolerating, and transitioning skills, along with expressing emotion, and a corresponding decrease in disruptive, aggressive, and self-injurious behavior — resulting in a real improvement in Quality of Life.

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Essential for Living: A Special Edition — book cover, a parent's guide to functional life skills for children and adults with very limited skill repertoires

Written For You

When you learned your child was very different

If you are the parent, grandparent, or member of an extended family that includes a child or an adult with Down syndrome, Angelman, Rett, Fragile X, Prader-Willi, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, or another condition that results in a moderate-to-severe intellectual or developmental disability, this manual was written for you.

It will help you function as an advocate and as a teacher for your child, and work more effectively with a school district, clinic, insurance company, or state agency. You have a beautiful child right in front of you, and this little manual will be a lifelong guide as you put one foot in front of the other and make a life.

Parts 2 and 4 through 10 can be used effectively by parents on their own. Parts 3 and 11 through 17 will generally benefit from the guidance of a special education teacher, behavior analyst, or speech-language pathologist.

Your New Guiding Lights

Everyday Living, Quality of Life, and the Size of Your Audience

When typical developmental milestones and academic standards are no longer the right guiding lights, this manual offers new ones: skills that occur in everyday living, that improve the quality of your child's life, and that increase the number of people who can understand and respond to them.

Everyday Living

Skills your child will use every single day, at home and in the community.

Quality of Life

A competent, stable, content, relaxed, and happy learner.

Size of Your Audience

More people who can understand your child and respond to them.

Essential for Living: A Communication, Behavior and Functional Skills Curriculum, Assessment and Professional Practitioner's Handbook by Patrick McGreevy and Troy Fry — the professional companion to this Special Edition

About the Book

What makes this a Special Edition

Unlike the Essential for Living: Professional Practitioner's Handbook, which is written for professionals, this special edition is written so that parents and families can read it, use it, and share it with the teachers and therapists who work alongside them.

It describes skills and teaching procedures for children and adults of all ages with severe and multiple disabilities and very limited skill repertoires, grounded in B. F. Skinner's science of behavior and decades of direct practice.

Your new guiding lights — Everyday Living skills, Quality of Life, and increasing the Size of Your Audience — instead of chasing typical developmental milestones
The first two skills to teach and the first issue to resolve, so your child tolerates and participates in everyday activities without problem behavior
A simple, four-color procedure for selecting an Alternative Method of Speaking (AMS) that is effective and likely to last a lifetime
Setting clear, consistent, and reasonable expectations for your child and for yourself, as a parent

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The First and Foremost

Essential Life Skills

These are the wrap-around skills to consider and prioritize first. Acquiring them without problem behavior and without hesitation should result in a consistently competent, stable, content, relaxed, and happy learner, with a substantial improvement in Quality of Life.

An individualized and effective method of speaking, using gestures, vocalizations, signs, word approximations, or spoken words
Making requests for items and activities, and waiting after making requests
Accepting removals, transitions, sharing, taking turns, and 'No'
Completing listener responses that result in health and safety
Completing daily living skills, including those involving health and safety
Tolerating commonly-occurring situations of everyday living
Transitioning from one skill or situation to another
Performing leisure skills
Indicating a degree of happiness

Live on Zoom · Free

Question, Answer & Problem-solving Sessions

Free live sessions with Patrick McGreevy and Troy Fry for parents, teachers, and therapists of children and adults who are learning to function as speakers and listeners, using Essential for Living and this Special Edition.

Tuesdays, 10am–12 noon

New York time, beginning July 14

Hosted on Zoom

Join from anywhere, at no cost

Or by arrangement

At times arranged with the EFL team

Topics covered, as suggested by participants

Each session covers any of the following, with more topics added over time.

Considering which methods of speaking to select, and testing each of these methods
Selecting a specific method of speaking
Selecting the first requests [mands] to teach
Prompting and teaching the first few requests [mands]
While teaching requests [mands], fading prompts
After one request occurs without prompts, teaching a second request [mand]
Determining when a method of speaking is effective
When prompting and teaching requests [mands], interrupting problem behavior
While teaching requests [mands], begin to teach the first listener response
Teaching the first few requests [mands] and listener responses concurrently
Teaching qualified and multiple-item requests [autoclitic and multiple-item mands]
Increasing the interspersed repertoire of requests [mands] and listener responses
Deciding whether to teach names or labels [tacts], a gateway to answers to questions [intraverbals]
Teaching your first name or label [tact]
Teaching requests [mands], listener responses, and names or labels [tacts] at the same time
Teaching your first few, frequently-occurring answers to questions [intraverbals]
Teaching less commonly-occurring answers to questions [intraverbals]
Interspersing requests [mands], names or labels [tacts], and answers to questions [intraverbals]

Want to join a session or arrange a time? Reach out to the Essential for Living team and they will share the details.

Contact the EFL Team

Data Makes The Difference

About the Authors

Patrick McGreevy, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Lead Author

Patrick McGreevy, Ph.D., BCBA-D, has over 55 years of experience working with children and adults with moderate-to-severe developmental disabilities in schools, hospitals, and residential environments as a teacher and a behavior analyst. A student of Ogden Lindsley and mentored for many years by Jack Michael, he is the author of 10 journal articles and Teaching and Learning in Plain English, an introduction to Precision Teaching. He is the lead author of Essential for Living: A Communication, Behavior, and Functional Skills Curriculum, Assessment, and Professional Practitioner's Handbook.

Dr. McGreevy is an ardent supporter of direct and standard measurement, and is a proud recipient of the Ogden R. Lindsley Lifetime Achievement Award of the Standard Celebration Society.

Troy Fry, M.S., BCBA

Co-Author

Troy Fry, M.S., BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with 30 years of experience in the field of autism and developmental disabilities. He has dedicated his career to improving the quality of life of children and adults with moderate-to-severe disabilities and their families. He has worked in a variety of settings, including schools, clinics, and residential programs, and has provided consultation and training to educators and families both nationally and internationally.

As the co-author of Essential for Living, he has helped to develop a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to teaching functional, life skills to children and adults with developmental disabilities, including but not limited to autism.

Book Price

Essential for Living: A Special Edition

A little manual of science and practice that can change what you focus on teaching, and what skills your child truly needs to have a happy and productive life.

$59.99

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Please Note

eBook Usage Guidelines

Essential for Living: A Special Edition is an electronic eBook, provided with a unique password for your use only. The password protection is implemented to secure the digital content and prevent unauthorized sharing.

By purchasing this eBook, you agree to keep your password confidential and not to distribute the eBook or the password to any other person. Unauthorized distribution could result in access revocation and legal action. Thank you for respecting the hard work of our authors and publishers.

Prefer a hard copy?

Essential for Living: A Special Edition is currently available as an eBook only. If you would prefer a printed copy, get in touch with the EFL team and we will let you know about availability.

Ask about a hard copy

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Essential for Living: A Special Edition written for?

It is written for parents, grandparents, and extended family of a child or adult with Down syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Rett syndrome, Fragile X, Prader-Willi, a form of Autism Spectrum Disorder, or another condition that results in a moderate-to-severe intellectual or developmental disability. Teachers, behavior analysts, and speech-language pathologists who work alongside those families use it too.

How is the Special Edition different from the Essential for Living Professional Practitioner's Handbook?

The Professional Practitioner's Handbook is written for professionals. This Special Edition is written so that parents and families can read it, use it, and share it with the teachers and therapists who work alongside them. It covers the same science, grounded in B. F. Skinner's science of behavior, in plain language.

Can a parent use this manual without a professional?

Yes, in large part. Parts 2 and 4 through 10 can be used effectively by parents on their own. Parts 3 and 11 through 17 will generally benefit from the guidance of a special education teacher, behavior analyst, or speech-language pathologist.

How much does the eBook cost and how is it delivered?

The eBook is $59.99 USD. It is an electronic eBook delivered with a unique password for your use only. The password protection secures the digital content and prevents unauthorized sharing.

Is a hard copy available?

Not at this time. Essential for Living: A Special Edition is currently available as an eBook only. If you would prefer a printed copy, contact the EFL team and we will let you know about availability.

Are the live Zoom Q&A sessions really free?

Yes. Dr. Patrick McGreevy and Troy Fry host free live question, answer, and problem-solving sessions on Zoom, Tuesdays from 10am to 12 noon New York time, beginning July 14. Sessions can also be arranged at other times with the EFL team.

What is an Alternative Method of Speaking (AMS)?

An Alternative Method of Speaking is the individualized way a learner communicates — using gestures, vocalizations, signs, word approximations, or spoken words. The Special Edition describes a simple, four-color procedure for selecting a method that is effective and likely to last a lifetime.

Start where your child is, today

We hope this little manual will be helpful to you, your family, and those with whom you work.

Buy this eBook — $59.99 Join a free Zoom Q&A