What is social communication?
Social communication is the use of verbal and non-verbal language to interact with others, including body language, tone of voice, conversational skills, social conventions and emotional intelligence.
Identification – what you may see in the child or young person
- Communicates in different ways, other than talking, for example noises, echolalia, gestures, facial expressions and hand flapping.
- May not use reciprocal conversation, including asking questions, giving opinions, discussing feelings or ideas, negotiating.
- Has a literal understanding of and use of language.
- Talks frequently about topics they are interested in.
- Sees events from their own perspective and find others’ points of view difficult to understand.
- May find it hard to communicate feelings to others and/or recognise and understand the needs and feelings of others.
- Demonstrates difficulty with interpreting facial expressions and/or using facial expressions effectively in the right context.
- Demonstrates differences in using and interpreting tone of voice and intonation.
- May seek time alone during unstructured times, appearing to avoid social interactions. Younger children may prefer to play alone or with objects.
- Finds the dynamics of group conversation difficult.
- May not predict or may misunderstand the consequences of their actions on others.
- May avoid eye contact.
- Might be very direct with their comments or observations.
- May be socially vulnerable (for example overshares personal information, doesn’t recognise online threats).
Planned provision in school
Based on need, some of this provision will be effective.
- Acknowledge all attempts at communication. Be curious about the meaning behind sounds, gestures, actions. Provide meaningful responses to all communication attempts.
- Give immediate and specific feedback on the appropriateness of the pupil’s communication, for example “Thank you for waiting for your turn.”
- Create opportunities for the child or young person to communicate – provide planned opportunities to bring learners together around shared interests, with planned scaffolding for communication. It may be helpful for the adult to model interactions.
- Adults use consistent scripts and agreed vocabulary when communicating with the child or young person; avoid or explain figurative language and the use of idioms and sarcasm.
- Model different ways of communication – adults take opportunities to model and draw children and young people’s attention to different ways of communicating, for example using ‘thumbs up’ or a smile to show agreement.
- Planned use of social stories and comic strip conversations. These can be used to reflect on social situations and support the learner to consider different viewpoints.
- Planned, supported playground games with opportunities for pre-practise with a trusted adult.
- Planned opportunities to develop social knowledge to support turn taking, conversational skills, identifying facial cues and inference using programmes such as Lego Therapy or Language for Behaviour and Emotions.
- Explicit teaching of strategies to manage feelings of overwhelm. Supportive strategies are explicitly taught, practised and scaffolded into real-life situations. This might include tools such as energy accounting, scaling or Zones of Regulation.
Resources for schools
Support services
- Speech, language and communication (Children and Family Health Devon) – training, online learning and advice
- Request support from Devon’s Communication and Interaction Team
- Devon’s Educational Psychology Service
Further reading and information
Resources to share with parents