S.L.Hunter & Associates

Language Delays or Disorders:

Language is a beautiful gift. With language we share our wants, needs, thoughts, and feelings. Communication can be nurtured by spending time with your child talking about their environment, modeling through play and by reading to them or with them.

Language is a code made up of rules that include what words mean, how to make words, how to combine them, and what word combinations are best in what situations. Children with language delays or disorders have difficulties deciphering the code of rules. Children may have difficulty understanding language and following directions, expressing themselves with grammatically and syntactically correct sentence structure, processing information, difficulty developing vocabulary, and difficulty retrieving the words they want to use.

Activities to Encourage Speech and Language Development

Birth to 2 years:

Encourage vowel and consonant + vowel sounds such as, "ma", "da", 'ba"
Teach your baby to imitate your actions (e.g. clapping, throwing kisses)
Read to your child and encourage naming and pointing
Talk to your baby about what you are doing, where you are going, who and what you will see, etc.

2 to 4 years:

Repeat what your child says, build and expand on the utterances
Encourage your child to understand and ask questions
Encourage your child to name the function of common items
Sing simple songs and nursery rhymes
Use photographs of familiar people and places and retell what happened or make up a new story
Group toys and pictures into categories (e.g. things to ride on, things to eat, things to wear, etc).

4 to 6 years:

Praise all attempts to speak
Play describing and guessing games
Continue to expand on vocabulary (e.g. provide definitions of words)
Practice following and giving two and three step directions (e.g. Take off your shoes then sit down (2-step))
Talk about spatial relationships (first, middle, last) and opposites (up, down, etc.)
Give your full attention to your child when he/she starts a conversation whenever possible.
Enjoy imaginative play with your child (e.g. make up characters and a story while playing house)
Discuss attributes, location, and how items are made, with various household objects.
Practice sequencing, naming, colors, textures, functions, etc. while performing daily household activities such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.

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Pragmatics / Social Language Skills

Pragmatic language involves responding to and using language appropriately during social situations - the skills that we use to interact and get along with others in our communication world. Both children and adults may have difficulties with pragmatic aspects of language, the origin of which may vary (for example: ASD, nonverbal learning disabilities, acquired brain injury, anxiety, or social difficulties of unidentified origin).

Pragmatics involves three major communication skills:

Using language for a variety of different purposes. For example, greeting, informing, demanding, promising, and requesting information.

Adjusting or modifying language according to the needs or expectations of the listener or the specific situation. For example, speaking differently to a peer than a teacher, giving enough background information to an unfamiliar listener, and recognizing the need for more formal language use versus the use of slang terms.

Following the rules for conversation and narrative. For example, telling stories, giving book reports, recounting events of the day, etc. There are rules for taking turns in a conversation; introducing topics, maintaining topics, and ending topics; asking for repetition or rephrasing if a message is misunderstood; and for telling a story. There are also rules for appropriate use of non-verbal signals in conversation such as, personal distance between speakers, facial expressions, body language, eye contact, and vocal inflection. Nonverbal rules may vary depending on the culture and customs of the individual.

Pragmatic deficits cannot only isolate the child or adult from peers but can also reduce self-confidence and lower self-esteem. It is important to address pragmatic issues before social isolation and teasing become evident.

At S. L. HUNTER & Associates, we reinforce the pertinence of pragmatic/social language intervention for many of our client populations. In particular, those individuals with ASD, nonverbal learning disabilities, acquired brain injury, anxiety, or social difficulties of unidentified origin, often require additional support, guidance and reinforcement around the application or utilization of their pragmatic skills with others in their communication environment(s). The issue of social communication skills and communication confidence is critical to self-esteem and should not be underestimated in the role they play in social competency and adjustment. Social skill deficits for those with complex special needs are often manifested by impulsive behavior, socially inappropriate behavior, social isolation, difficulty understanding cause and effect, lack of insight, decreased ability to self-monitor and self-regulate one's behavior.

The pragmatic/social skills programs through this agency are designed to address and facilitate social skills and peer interaction with the aim of learning functional strategies and skills and providing a peer environment for the implementation/rehearsal of these strategies and skills. Individuals may be grouped together based on common goals for pragmatic development or improvement.

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