Play Skills and Social Communication

Play Skills

Children engage in play by interacting with others and exploring objects in their immediate environment. Developing play skills and pretend play (the most complex and mature form of play) is an integral part of the development of communication and social communication skill.

Play is a foundation for children’s learning and development. Difficulties in developing appropriate play skills can lead to delays in development of physical, social, emotional, cognitive and communication skills. Delays in one or more areas can affect the individual’s overall well-being and confidence.  

Social Communication

Social skills involve understanding and using the social nuances and etiquette of language to effectively convey messages during social interactions and conversations with individuals. Social skills can also be called 'pragmatics'. We learn these skills by either being taught directly or indirectly through experience.

A diagnosis of 'Social Communication Disorder' or a 'Pragmatic Language Disorder', is characterised by persistent difficulties with the use of verbal and nonverbal language for social purposes.

Common signs and symptoms may include:

•        Difficulty knowing how to change communication style for different individuals e.g. a baby vs an adult

•        Difficulty using language for greetings and farewells, requesting items/information

•        Missing non-verbal communication cues

•        Providing too much detail or too little detail

•        Unable to follow social rules e.g. turn taking

•        Unable to understanding emotions and regulate ones emotions

•        Difficulty repairing conversation breakdown when the other person has not understood

•        Difficulty making and keeping friends

•        Inappropriate eye contact or facial expressions

•        Inability to manage and understand personal space boundaries

•        Interpreting jokes or idioms literally

•        Missing cues to change topic or remain on the same topic of conversation

Common conditions

•        ADHD- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

•        ASD- Autism Spectrum Disorder

•        Dementia

•        Down’s Syndrome

•        Emotional and sensory regulation difficulties

•        Global Developmental Delay

•        Hearing loss

•        Intellectual or developmental disabilities

•        Learning disabilities

•        Receptive and/or Expressive Language disorders

•        Traumatic brain injuries

How can we help?

We use play to engage with a child through using voices, facial expressions, body movements, props and toys. A speech pathologist can work with individuals who have difficulty with social communication, through supporting communication in a variety of environments e.g. home, school, work and the community. A speech pathologist may work with someone one-on-one or in a group setting to explicitly teach pragmatic skills.