Pragmatic Language Disorders

In this month's newsletter, we talked about pragmatic language disorders.

So what is pragmatic language? 

Pragmatic language refers to any language that is used in social interaction which includes non-verbal language. 

There are "typical" rules that govern social communication, such as greetings, making eye contact, taking turns in conversation, staying on topic, reading body language, etc. 

According to ASHA, there are three main categories which include language usage, language changes, and rules of communication. 

For some, these skills develop typically and naturally in our everyday environment and for others, they don't come as simply. 

Pragmatic language disorder (also referred to as social communication disorder)  is the impairment of any aspect of pragmatic language. 

This is common for kiddos on the autism spectrum. 

So where does speech therapy come into play with social language? 

Speech therapy is a helpful tool that can help children learn appropriate pragmatic behavior. Every child is different and their goals in speech therapy may look different than others.

Speech therapists may focus on expected/unexpected behaviors during social interaction, thinking about what others might be thinking, reading body language, understanding the emotions of others, making eye contact, taking turns, personal space, and so much more. 

The focus is to maintain and generalize what is learned in the therapy room to outside settings and social interactions in order to help your kiddo communicate more effectively! :) 

If you have any further questions about pragmatic therapy feel free to contact the office. 

Mahalo,

Speech Solutions