Pragmatic (Social) Language Disorders
A social communication disorder involves difficulty using verbal and nonverbal language for social purposes. Key areas impacted include pragmatics, social interaction, social cognition, and language processing. While social communication disorder share some overlapping features, it is a separate diagnosis from autism spectrum disorder. The exact cause of social communication disorder as a primary diagnosis remain unknown.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Difficulty adapting communication style to different settings or partners
- Challenges with conversational skills, such as initiating or maintaining topics, turn-taking, and closing conversations
- Struggles with repairing communication breakdowns, such as rephrasing when misunderstood
- Inappropriate verbal or nonverbal signals, including tone of voice, facial expressions, or gestures
- Difficulty understanding inferences or nonliteral language, such as idioms, jokes, or sarcasm
At One Speech Therapy, our licensed speech-language pathologists help children develop skills for meaningful communication and social participation. We tailor individualized goals to meet each child’s unique needs in natural environments. Additionally, we offer social skill groups that include direct instruction, role-playing scenarios, and feedback to teach and encourage effective peer interactions.