Social Interaction

Primary and Secondary Schools - Social Interaction

• 'Semantic' and 'Pragmatic' Difficulties

  Sometimes children have difficulty in using language in conversation in a social manner. They may have difficulty with the ‘semantic’ or ‘pragmatic’ aspects of speech and language.
  
  ‘Semantic’ refers to the meaning of words.
  
  ‘Pragmatics’ refers to the use of language in a social context, taking into account the rules of social interaction, such as: -

  • Taking turns.
  • The manner in which we speak to people in different situations.
  • IInterpreting and using facial expression, body language and tone of voice.
  • Timing of responses: knowing when to interrupt and how to interrupt a conversation.
  • Knowing how much information to give
  • Checking that the listener has understood the message,
  • Staying on one topic, or….
  • Introducing the listener to a change of topic.

  A child with ‘Semantic’ and/or ‘Pragmatic’ difficulties may show some, but not necessarily all, of the following features in their communication or behaviour: -

  • Difficulty in joining in a conversation at the right time.
  • Asking too many questions but not showing any interest in the answer, or knowing the answer already.
  • Saying something that has nothing to do with what you are talking about at that moment or shifting from one subject to another very quickly, leaving you wondering what they are talking about.
  • Not giving adequate eye-contact during a conversation. 
  • Not understanding body language or tone of voice.
  • Talking in a sing-songy voice.
  • Echoing what someone else has said or using phrases that they have heard on many occasions.
  • Lack of pretend play or imagination e.g. difficulty pretending that a box is a car or a hat.
  • Difficulty in working out some of the things that we ‘infer’ in what we say (but do not actually put into words) An example may help explain this: For instance a child might say: ‘Can I go outside to play’ and his mum says, ‘Well it’s nearly tea-time’. What she means is that there isn’t enough time before tea for him to go outside to play. So the answer is ‘No, because it’s tea-time’. The child may find it hard to ‘infer’ what is meant from what is actually said. As a result a lot of misunderstandings can occur.
  • Difficulty in concentrating, particularly when the activity has been chosen by someone else.
  • Difficulty in understanding questions and instructions. 
  • Appearing quite comical or bizarre in the things they say and do.
  • Saying too much and not giving the listener a chance to talk.
  • Not checking whether the listener is interested in the conversation or understands what they are saying.
  • Liking to do things in a particular way. May get upset if their routine is upset.
  • Very specific interests such as trains, dinosaurs, sometimes to the point of not wanting to do anything else.
  • Reading skills may be ahead of their understanding.
  • May be clumsy or unco-ordinated.
  • May have repetitive movements such as shaking their hands or flicking their fingers.

• Conversational Skills

  There are many skills to be learnt in making conversation
  

  • initiation of a topic: introducing a new idea into the conversation 
  • changing a topic, without leaving others feeling confused or cross
  • interrupting appropriately, for example by use of words such as 'Excuse me', 'Oh, I've heard that...', 'Do you know that...'
  • maintaining a topic through several turns of conversation
  • closing a topic: finishing what they are saying smoothly and with the appropriate closing noises or words, rather than over-abruptly
  • turn taking within a conversation: picking up on other people's ideas, responding or commenting appropriately and then expecting them to have a turn at speaking
  • taking an appropriate share in the conversation: not being over- or under-assertive; talking more when they have more to say about a topic
  • keeping the conversation going, for example through noises such as 'uh-hu', 'mm', 'aha'
  • repair: being able to adapt, repeat or check the conversation if something has not been understood
  • closing the conversation, with words such as 'Well, I have to go now', 'Right, that's good, see you later'
    

  Some children with speech and language difficulties take longer than usual to acquire these skills.  They may have difficulties with managing topics in the ways described above.

  
  

  They may have difficulties in conversational breakdown and repair.  This works both ways: either the child may not ask a speaker to repeat or rephrase what they have said, or the child may not recognise that listeners have not understood them.

  
  

  They may have difficulties in using appropriate syles with different listeners, for instance, not changing their style if talking to a friend or to a headteacher.

  
  

  They may have difficulties with the non-verbal skills such as appropriate use of eye gaze, facial expression and proximity.

• Language and Social Skills

  The impact of social skills on language development
  
  

  The development of social skills is also mediated by the use of language.  The early learning of the language of emotions helps children later in life to recognise the emotions of others and, by reading signals accurately, to manage social encounters more successfully.  Children learn to match 'emotion words' to non-verbal signals such as facial expression, tone of voice or body language. 

  
  

  If children experience a difficulty with their verbal and non-verbal communication skills, this will affect how they relate to others. A situation could be misinterpreted and/or an inappropriate response given to someone.

  
  

  The effects of any difficulty can begin to show, even at preschool, in terms of forming successful relationships among peers.  Peer relationships play an important role in emotional, social, academic and behavioural developments:
  

  • it is in this context that new social skills are acquired and existing ones refined and elaborated
  • they provide emotional support and the models for behaviour
  • they are the prototypes for subsequent relationships
    

  Children who do not have the support of their peers are at risk of developing low self-esteem.  Strategies employed by schools can help make a difference for those children who experience difficulties in developing appropriate social interaction and communication skills.