Anna Branagan & Melanie Cross 
Language for Behaviour and Emotions 
A Practical Guide to Working with Children and Young People

This practical, interactive resource is designed to be used by professionals who work with children and young people who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs and Speech, Language and Communication needs. Gaps in language and emotional skills can have a negative impact on behaviour as well as mental health and self-esteem. The Language for Behaviour and Emotions approach provides a systematic approach to developing these skills so that young people can understand and work through social interaction difficulties.

Key features include:

• A focus on specific skills that are linked to behaviour, such as understanding meaning, verbal reasoning and emotional literacy skills.




• A framework for assessment, as well as a range of downloadable activities, worksheets and resources for supporting students.




• Sixty illustrated scenarios that can be used flexibly with a wide range of ages and abilities to promote language skills, emotional skills and self-awareness.

This invaluable resource is suitable for use with young people with a range of abilities in one to one, small group or whole class settings. It is particularly applicable to children and young people who are aiming to develop wider language, social and emotional skills including those with Developmental Language Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder.