The Conversation Train: A Visual Approach to Conversation for Children on the Autism Spectrum Hardcover – March 10, 2014

This is an amazing book. It helps teach people how to stay on topic when having a conversation. It breaks down how to start and end the conversation. It also has some fill in the blank options and great activities at the end of the book. I strongly recommend this.

Joel Shaul’s book have changed our lives. My son, who is high-functioning on the spectrum, gets this language and is able to connect the metaphors to real life. My other children, not on the spectrum, also love the train metaphor and have benefited from the book.Mr. Shaul’s books and his website (with fabulous free resources for social and emotional development) are gifts to kids for whom social conversation isn’t intuitive.

I love this book for so many reasons but the #1 reason is that my kids enjoy reading it too. We often refer to the metaphor of the conversation train when discussing the rules or pointing out when one of us has "gone off track". My kids love trains so this was a perfect way to get the messages about rules of conversing across to them.

My son is 5 years old with selective mutism and social anxiety among other things (Tourette's, OCD, SPD, etc). When he is around people he doesn't know very well he won't talk at all but in a comfortable situation (usually with neighbors, relatives, family friends), he won't stop talking. He interrupts, changes topics, and walks away in the middle of the conversation. These are probably all normal 5 year old traits but I know his anxiety feeds into it as well. It also is starting to affect him socially. Our block has a wide range of ages and the kids who are just slightly older than him get kind of annoyed sometimes. This book has been a huge help. It describes the parts of conversation as the parts of a train...perfect for my train lover...and gives us a way to talk about conversation. We'd tried for a long time to explain about not answering what someone else says with an unrelated thought but now we just say, "Oops, you derailed the train," and he stops and responds to what the other person said.So grateful for books like this!

A very nice quality book that explains the parts of a conversation and staying on topic. I might like to get a train set to explain this physically since a lot of my kids who like trains don't actually know that much about them. Worksheets on back are nice though a CD might be a nice option since many of them copy kind of dark.

I really, really love using this book with my ASD clients. I work with children up to age 6 on the spectrum and this book really seems to get the point across for my kiddos. My only unhappiness with the book is that it says "autism" in a few places, and I have a number of clients who can read, but are not yet at the point of understanding their diagnosis (as well as parents who are not comfortable with the label).

I feel like this book should be given to every grade-schooler....and a lot of adults too! It's just a great visual way for kids - all kids - to get that there is some give and take in a conversation. We find we've incorporated the language into our every day lives.

Great book! Absolutely worth its higher price. Pairs perfectly with The Green Zone, another book by Shaul. Enjoyable for kids both on and not on the spectrum, making it a good choice for reading in a mixed group. Makes the flow of conversation concrete and easy to understand. Includes practice.

Quand on est parents d'enfants TSA, c'est un peu le parcours du combattant. Il faut bien chercher ce livre mais une fois trouvé c'est une pépite !!!De manière très simple, très concrète, très visuelle et ludique, ce livre explique le B-A-BA de la conversation entre enfants, les règles à suivre pour s'intéresser à l'autre et montrer de l'intérêt. Chose qui est loin d'être innée pour nos enfants TSA.Du fond du coeur, MERCI pour ce livre !!!!

Excellent book to for train-loving kids who need help understanding how to hold a conversation. My son has asked to read this many times since we first worked our way through it. It's nice to find a book that my son really likes that also helps to break down critical social and communication skills.

My spectrum boys really enjoyed this. Our speech therapist beat me to going through this with them. It has good language for me to re-use when supporting them in conversations. I can just ask: Oops, that train went off the rails. And that's enough for them to have the visual image AND the realization that they made it happen. It makes it easier to guide in a non-threatening way. Recommend!!

We use "The Conversation Train" for pupils with Autism AND for pupils with Speech, Language and Communication Needs. I am a huge fan of Joel Shaul's publications and they have such a positive impact on pupils' progress - ideas are presented simply yet highly effectively. Having purchased "The Green Zone" first, I came across this on Amazon - and have since purchased multiple copies for our Teaching Assistants to use.I am hopeful that "Our Brains Are Like Computers!", which I have just purchased, will prove just as invaluable.

Perfect book for kids needing a bit of help figuring out how to connect with peers! We occasionally reference back to this book as reminders on how to start, maintain and end conversations and it's helped immensely!