Social Pragmatic Disorders:

Social skills (also known as social pragmatics or pragmatic language) are the skills we use to interact and communicate with others. Social skills include spoken language and nonverbal communication such as gestures and facial expressions. It involves knowing how to behave in social situations and understand both written and implied rules when communicating with others.

How can I tell if my child has a problem with social skills or pragmatic language?

If a child has difficulties with social pragmatics, they might exhibit the following symptoms:

  • Have trouble maintaining eye contact
  • Have a problem taking turns during a conversation
  • Struggling to stay on topic during conversation
  • Find it challenging to communicate effectively with strangers
  • Have difficulty understanding social situations
  • Not understanding jokes and figurative language
  • Talk about a favorite topic without noticing that the listener isn’t interested
  • Have a hard time predicting or understanding others’ actions
  • Use an unusual monotone or sing-song tone of voice.
  • Difficulty with flexible thinking or shifting thoughts or plans to adapt to the surrounding environment.
  • Trouble with understanding abstract concepts that cannot be seen, heard, or felt, such as words like “happy,” “colorful,” or “amazing.” Shades of gray are when the meaning of a word or phrase is unclear, leading to difficulty understanding jokes and figurative language.
  • Difficulty with collaborative skills when someone works successfully toward a common goal with others in a group such as listening to others and following agreed upon rules for discussions, building on another’s ideas, or continuing a conversation through multiple exchanges.
  • Has trouble with understanding feelings and another’s perspective is a crucial communication skill. Acknowledging differences in points of view during a conversation and responding appropriately to that information is beneficial to both the speaker and the listener.
  • Has difficulty with regulating emotions or maintaining their composure when stressed, anxious, annoyed, or frustrated. Having poor emotional regulation may lead to overreacting, heightened negative emotions, and emotional outbursts.
  • Has difficulty making inference which is a very complex skills that requires reading a situation and deciphering the clues.