Social Communication Skills
An individual may be diagnosed with a pragmatic language disorder if he/she presents with challenges in both nonverbal and verbal communication skills in social settings.
Pragmatic language skills include:
Use and understanding of body language (gestures, facial expressions, eye contact), conversational turn-taking, topic maintenance, perspective taking, problem solving, using the appropriate volume, speed, intonation and body distance.
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What are the building blocks necessary to develop social communication (pragmatics)?
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Receptive (understanding) language: Comprehension of language.
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Expressive (using) language:The use of language through speech, sign or alternative forms of communication to communicate wants, needs, thoughts and ideas.
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Pre-language skills: The ways in which we communicate without using words and include things such as gestures, facial expressions, imitation, joint attention and eye-contact.
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Executive functioning: Higher order reasoning and thinking skills.
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Self regulation: The ability to obtain, maintain and change one’s emotion, behaviour, attention and activity level appropriate for a task or situation in a socially acceptable manner.
