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Treatment for Individuals With Social Communication Disorders
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), “Social communication disorders are characterized by persistent difficulties with the use of verbal and nonverbal language for social purposes. ” Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) assess and treat this area by providing a comprehensive evaluation and treatment plan specific to the child’s needs. Several treatment options are used to provide support to this population. Examples of treatment include but are not limited to: peer mediation, comic strip conversations, social stories, social scripts, and group therapy. SLPs will gather information about the child’s strengths, areas of need, interests and hobbies to shape intervention. Social stories help the child walk through hypothetical social situations, problem-solve, and respond to different scenarios accordingly. Social scripts are used to direct the child through a conversation. Most scripts entail expressing details about oneself. Comic strip conversations include working on commenting and responding to a social situation in a comic strip format. Peer mediation involves working with same-aged peers to work on social skills in real-time and improve conversation through topic maintenance, topic transition, and turn-taking. These treatments can help address and work on theory of mind skills which involves understanding about what someone else may be feeling and/or thinking and how it can be different from what one thinks or feels. Contact your child’s SLP for more information regarding social communication disorders and what treatment options may best fit your child’s needs.
References:
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Social Communication disorder.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/social-communication- disorder/#:~:text=Treatment%20for%20individuals%20with%20SCD,%2D%20or%20peer%2Dmeditated%20learning.
Ben-Aharon, A. (2020, June 14). Treatments for social communication disorders – social skills.
Great Speech. https://www.greatspeech.com/best-treatments-for-social-communication-disorders/
