Social communication therapy is a type of intervention designed to help individuals improve their social communication skills. It is often used to help individuals with speech and language disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who have difficulty understanding and using social cues and language in social interactions. This intervention helps them understand how to properly use language in an appropriate manner when communicating. Additionally, it helps them build meaningful relationships with other people.
Social communication therapy typically involves a range of activities and strategies designed to help individuals improve their social communication skills in a variety of contexts. This could be done in a group or one-to-one intervention with a speech-language therapist. Some common techniques used in social communication therapy include:
Social stories:
These are short narratives that describe a social situation or behavior, designed to help individuals with ASD understand social expectations and develop appropriate social skills. These will help to explain to your kids how something should be done. Walk them through a simple story about a certain social context so they know what to do when they are going to be in that situation.
Role-playing:
Role-playing is a great way of improving an individual’s social and communication skills. This involves acting out social situations or scenarios and providing opportunities for individuals to practice social skills in a safe and supportive environment. When role-playing a certain character, the child will have an understanding of other people’s point of view. This helps them increase their emotional skills and improve their imagination and creativity. Aside from that it is also a fun activity for them.
Video modeling:
This involves watching videos of individuals engaging in appropriate social behaviors, providing visual examples for individuals to follow. Same as social stories, this will help describe a social situation to a child and show them what is the expected behaviour in a certain social context, but only in a video form.
Direct instruction:
Direct instruction is a fast-paced teaching model that gives clear directions to the child. Therapists usually follow a script or material that is designed to teach a specific social skill. This involves developing skills like taking turns in conversation, interpreting social cues, and making eye contact.
Group therapy:
This involves working with a group of individuals with similar social communication difficulties, providing opportunities for social interaction and practice of social skills in a supportive environment. Group therapy also helps in practicing and generalizing what have been taught in one-to-one intervention.
Overall, social communication therapy is designed to help individuals with speech and language disorders develop the skills necessary to navigate social situations and build positive relationships with others. The specific techniques and strategies used in therapy will depend on the individual’s needs and goals and will be tailored to meet their unique needs.
Social Communication therapy benefits your child in various ways. It increases their understanding of social norms and their confidence to engage in social situations which leads to building friendships and relationships with other people. Social communication skills are also a very important factor in success.