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Written by Tameem Allam, Lead of Speech Language Therapy and Rama Kanj, Lead of Educational Psychology at The Valens Clinic
We often hear about language pragmatics or social communication in the context of children who struggle with social skills, but what does it really entail? Language pragmatics involves the ways in which we use language to interact with others. This includes not only the words we choose and how we say them, but also our body language, turn-taking in conversations, showing interest in others’ comments and ideas, and even recognizing when it’s best to stay silent. Essentially, language pragmatics can be condensed into “knowing when to say what to whom and how much.”
Language pragmatics play an important role in building social relationships and are also key to academic success. In the context of building friendships and relationships, language pragmatics extends to both verbal and non-verbal interactions. It involves skills such as maintaining eye contact, turn-taking, politeness, topic maintenance and change, narrating or retelling events, using facial expressions and gestures, and understanding idioms and sarcasm. These skills are particularly important for children in Dubai, where multicultural interactions are common.
Many educational activities are also structured around group work and require effective communication between peers. While it’s normal for preschoolers to occasionally use the same tone, language, and style of communication across different contexts, school-aged children are expected to understand and adapt to the social rules that vary between settings. This adaptation is helpful for appropriate conversations and interactions in diverse environments like those in Dubai.
The Relationship Between Language Pragmatics and Autism Spectrum Disorder
A common misconception is that children with social communication challenges are on the autism spectrum. However, not all children who struggle with social communication have autism, but social communication difficulties are commonly observed in children with autism. Many children may face challenges in social communication due to a variety of other developmental, psychological, or environmental factors. Nonetheless, for children diagnosed with autism, issues with social communication are a core aspect of their developmental concerns. Understanding this distinction through a thorough assessment in Dubai is crucial in providing targeted support and interventions tailored to each child’s specific needs.
Challenges in Language Pragmatics and Social Communication Can Also Look Like:
- Difficulty Understanding Social Cues: Children may struggle to interpret facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice, which can lead to misunderstandings in social interactions.
- Challenges with Conversational Skills: Children may have difficulty initiating or maintaining conversations, taking turns while speaking, and staying on topic.
- Literal Interpretation of Language: Idioms, metaphors, and sarcasm can be particularly challenging, as children with difficulties in language pragmatics tend to interpret language literally.
- Difficulty with Perspective-Taking: Understanding another person’s point of view or feelings can be challenging, which can affect children’s ability to engage in empathetic and reciprocal communication.
What Happens if Challenges in Language Pragmatics Are Left Unaddressed in My Child?
If challenges with language pragmatics are not addressed, they can lead to several challenges for children, including:
- Struggles to form new friendships.
- Difficulties in sustaining existing relationships with peers.
- Challenges in interacting appropriately with strangers or individuals in the community, such as security guards, housekeepers, and professionals like doctors or dentists.
- Misunderstandings that may cause others to view them as ‘rude.’
- In older individuals, problems in communicating effectively with colleagues in a professional setting.
Therefore, helping children develop their social communication skills is not only beneficial but essential for their social integration and overall success in both personal and academic spheres, especially in a multicultural city like Dubai.
Who Can Help My Child Develop Their Social Communication Skills?
Speech and language therapists (SLTs) and psychologists together provide support for children with language pragmatics or social communication challenges due to their specialized skills. SLTs focus on the direct development of pragmatic language abilities, such as adapting language to the listener’s needs, interpreting non-verbal cues, and managing conversational dynamics through specific therapeutic activities like role-playing. Psychologists address the broader cognitive and emotional barriers to effective communication, like anxiety or difficulties in social cognition, helping children understand others’ perspectives and emotions. Together they can offer a holistic approach to equip the child with the necessary tools to navigate their social environment in Dubai.
What Tools and Strategies Have Shown to Be Effective in Children with Social Communication Challenges?
There are several evidence-based strategies that can help your child with their social communication skills:
- Structured Social Communication Programs: Programs that teach specific social skills, such as learning more about eye contact, understanding non-verbal cues, and taking turns in conversation. Role-playing can be an effective tool to practice these goals.
- Video Modeling: Video modeling involves watching videos of people engaging in social interactions and then practicing these interactions. This method has shown success in social skills development. Virtual Reality (VR) can create immersive and controlled environments where your child can practice social interactions and receive real-time feedback from their therapist, simulating various social scenarios that might not be possible within the clinical setting.
- Peer-Mediated Interventions: These interventions involve training others to interact with and support your child in social settings. This approach can promote naturalistic social interactions and help generalize skills across different environments.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT can help your child manage anxiety related to social interactions and develop more effective communication strategies.
- Visual Supports: Using visual aids, such as picture schedules, social scripts, and graphic organizers, can help your child understand and navigate social interactions.
- Caregiver, Teacher, and Coworker Training: Training caregivers, teachers, and coworkers to support social communication at home, in the classroom, or at the workplace can reinforce and extend the benefits of therapy.
If your child faces challenges with social communication and language pragmatics, consider reaching out to us at The Valens Clinic in Dubai. We offer assessments and both individual and group sessions designed to enhance social communication skills. Our supportive environment helps children better understand the intent of others, infer thoughts, and engage in social exchanges like receiving and giving compliments or simply enjoying humor. We are here to support your child’s journey in developing effective communication skills.