Social Communication Disorder: Everything You Needed to Know

2020-06-25 / in Social Pragmatic Communication Disorder / by Avivit Ben-Aharon • 4 min read

The prevalence of social language impairment is about 7.7% in children of ages 3-17 years. Children with social communication disorder struggle with effective communication. They may not understand when to respond during a conversation.

Others may not know when it’s better for them to keep quiet. Children with social communication disorder (SCD) also lack a good sense of private space. They may not be aware of how close or far to be from a person they’re communicating with.

For a more in-depth understanding of the condition, let’s first define what it is.

What Is Social Communication Disorder?

Social communication disorder is also known as semantic pragmatic or pragmatic language impairment. It’s still a relatively new condition, and some specialists classify it under autism. The symptoms of SCD closely resemble those of autism.

Social communication is more than the spoken word. It encompasses social recognition, non-verbal communication, language processing, and pragmatics. Individuals with SCD struggle with the use of different components of language like syntax and vocabulary.

SCD affects children in three major areas. These are social understanding, social interactions, and pragmatics. The latter refers to the use of language in its proper context.

A child with SCD doesn’t understand the difference in the tone when addressing a baby than an older adult.

Symptoms of Social Communication Disorder

Every child wants to make friends, but some find it hard to fit in. They can take a long time to learn how to make social conversation. Sometimes, getting along with others can be an ongoing challenge.

These are just some of the early warning signs of social communication disorder in a child. Other symptoms include

Challenges communicating verbally and non-verbally
Issues in adapting to a specific communication style
Difficulties in understanding the context of communication
Problems in relating stories
Inability to follow social rules
Avoidance of social situations due to severe anxiety

A child who has SCD will also exhibit signs of delayed milestones right from an early age. Although the delays might emerge early, they might not be diagnosed until later.

How Does SCD Differ from Autism?

In the past, specialists haven’t been able to draw a line between Social Communication Disorder and autism. The symptoms of the two conditions are closely similar. However, for children with autism, there’s repetitive r disruptive behavior like

Obsessive fixation on routines
Repeated body movements
The excessive repeating of sounds
Sensory sensitivity particularly to sound
Preoccupation with specific objects

Any disruption to the routine the patient is used to results in outbursts coupled with aggression. Children who were previously diagnosed with autism but didn’t display the above symptoms should be reassessed. The real issue with the children could be social pragmatic communication disorder.

Diagnosis of Social Communication Disorder

As mentioned before, most of the symptoms of SCD overlap with those of other conditions. This in itself complicates diagnosis. It explains why some children were wrongfully diagnosed with autism.

The diagnosis was per the previous Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

During the diagnosis of SCD, it’s crucial first to rule out other problems. For example, a hearing assessment can be done to rule out hearing problems. An expert speech and language pathologist should complete hearing assessment.

The tests should take into consideration age, expected stage of development, and cultural norms. The speech specialist should be able to determine if the child can:

Take turns during conversation
Answer questions
Express and describe emotions
Use gestures appropriately
Stay on topic
Adapt to the language and tone of the conversation
Make and keep friends

The other thing should entail ruling out autism. This is important because of the overlapping symptoms and behavior challenges. However, what’s important to note is that SCD lacks restrictive and repetitive behaviors common in autism.

For example, in autism, a child may feel the need to do things the same way every day. They want to eat the same foods every day or arrange their crayons in a specific way. With social communication disorder, these behaviors are not present.

Treatment of Social Communication Disorder

There isn’t any known cure for SCD, but there are treatment options available. Speech and language pathologists have developed treatment approaches for communication conditions like SCD. They are trained to help children develop communication skills.

The treatment approach used should be specific to an individual. It should focus on functional improvements concerning communication skills. More specifically, the goals of SCD treatment include

Building independence in communication settings
Addressing barriers that make social communication difficult
Facilitating social interaction activities to build new strategies

For more effectiveness in treatment, it’s recommendable to include family members. Therapists may also work together with teachers, special educators, vocational counselors, and psychologists. An all-rounded approach to treatment provides consistent practice for various social situations.

Tools Used in Treatment

Some of the tools used in treatment include augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This entails supplementing speech with objects, drawing, or pictures. Therapists may also employ computer-based instruction.

It’s useful in teaching vocabulary, social problem solving, and social understanding. Video-based instruction uses video recording to provide a target for expected behavior. Comic book conversations that depict communication between two people are also useful.

Lastly, treatment may also involve social skills groups. These incorporate instruction, feedback with peers, and role-playing. Through the groups, a child is aided to script responses for the initial moments of a conversation.

Take Away

Social communication disorder is a condition that inhibits a child’s ability to communicate. For a long time, it was misdiagnosed as autism. Recent studies show that there are significant differences between the two conditions.

A child with SCD displays challenges in taking turns in conversions. They are also unable to relate conversation to the context. However, they differ from children with autism in that they don’t show aggression.

In administering treatment for SCD, it’s recommendable to involve the family. Experts like counselors, teachers, and psychologist should also be in the picture. This provides an all-rounded treatment approach that helps a child improve rapidly.

Acceptance of children with social communication disorders and their inclusion in social activities is the first step towards their recovery. If you have any questions about speech therapy and problems, be sure to contact us or click the button below to schedule your free call.