byRuthie Dearson, M.A., CCC-SLP
Social Communication… Pragmatics… you may have heard these terms before but what do they really mean? What are the challenges for children with pragmatic language deficits? What can you do to support your child and help improve his/her social communication?
Pragmatics, or social communication, refers to the rules that govern the use of language in context (Bates, 1976), or, more simply put, knowing when to say what to whom and how much (Hymes, 1971). Some children speak clearly, use long, complex sentences with correct grammar, can participate in conversation, but may still have a communication problem if they have not mastered the rules for social communication.
Three major communication skills are involved in pragmatics:
Although these rules vary across cultures and within cultures, being a competent social communicator requires you to understand the rules of social engagement related to your communication partner.
Some signs of pragmatic problems are:
It is not unusual for children to have some problems with pragmatics occasionally or in a few situations as they are developing their language skills; however, if challenges with social communication seem inappropriate for a child’s age, or seem to occur frequently, a pragmatic language disorder may exist.
Parents and teachers can help children use language appropriately in social settings and in natural contexts. The following are some tips and ideas you may find helpful:
Another aspect of pragmatic language skills is a person’s ability to adapt his/her use of language to the target audience. To practice this skill:
Discuss different ways to present a message or idea and ask your child which one seems more appropriate in a given context. For example:
“May I please go to the party” (polite) vs. “You better let me go” (impolite).
“That music is loud” (indirect) vs. “Turn off the radio” (direct).
Talk about why some requests would be more persuasive than others. If your child tends to make a lot of direct statements, help him/her turn them into indirect statements when appropriate. For example, when riding in the car and your child is hot, he/she could say, “it’s really hot back here” vs. “turn up the air conditioning!” Talk about when it is more appropriate to use indirect statements vs. direct statements such as when talking to a friend’s parents or when with a group of people where one must be aware and sensitive to how other people may be feeling.
To help a child make comments, focus on modeling comments for the child. Ask open-ended questions such as, “tell me about…” For young children, use comments during play that require responses, such as saying, “wow, I’m hungry” while playing kitchen or “I need a ride” while playing with cars and toy people. These comments allow the child an opportunity to respond to your intention. Encourage your child to explain what he’s doing while he/she is doing it. If you say, “I’m hungry” while playing restaurant and your child says, “okay, I’ll get you some food” then have your child explain what it is that he/she is making and bringing to you.
To help a child make requests, prompt him/her by saying, “tell your friend…” Or model a request first, “I would like to have a sandwich and juice, what do you want?”
To help a child ask questions, remind him/her to “ask me.” Encourage your child to ask you questions about your day. Model questions and answers at mealtimes for your child. Ask your spouse or siblings questions that require more than a yes/no answer. After a few turns have been taken, ask your child to ask someone a question. Talk about how asking questions can be a way to learn about other people and can be used when making friends. Remind your child that it’s important to listen to someone’s response and show them how you can follow-up on someone’s response to show that you’re listening and interested in what they have said.
To help support conversation and narrative skills:
Remember to keep the activities fun—if your child is losing interest quickly, either try to make it more like a game, or try working on it another time. Find natural, teachable moments without making it seem that you’re lecturing or criticizing. Suggest that you want to play a family game and then use some of the different ideas discussed above and have different members of the family take turns. This will not only take the pressure off of your child, but will provide more language examples for him/her to learn from.
Reference: ASHA article titled, “Pragmatics, Socially Speaking.“