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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)?

  • Receptive (understanding) language: Comprehension of language.

  • Expressive (using) language:The use of language through speech, sign or alternative forms of communication to communicate wants, needs, thoughts and ideas.

  • 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.

  • Executive functioning: Higher order reasoning and thinking skills.

  • 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.

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