Pragmatic (Social Language)

Pragmatics is the use of language in social situations (knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it). Individuals with pragmatic difficulties have great trouble using language socially in ways that are appropriate or typical of people their age.

Social Language Difficulties

• Individual will almost always have difficulty taking another person"s point of view, and therefore will be very focused on himself, not understanding that his behaviour will have consequences for other people.
• Individual may not understand non-literal language, for example, "Swim like a dolphin"; "Run like the wind", "That was cool". This may cause him to miss the point of jokes, and not understand sarcasm.
• Individual may not understand personal space and may stand too close or too far away to a communication partner.
• May not notice non-verbal communication such as, facial expressions, gestures, body language.
• May not attend to environmental cues which may lead to lack of anticipation. For example, if have not noticed the instructor getting a piece of equipment, may be surprised by the equipment being presented as part of an activity.
• May not understand the more subtle emotions. He/ may understand "happy", "sad", "angry", but not emotions such as pride, embarrassment, etc. May misinterpret facial expressions and/or tone of voice, for example, may interpret loud, enthusiastic voice for yelling.
• May demonstrate little to no eye contact or may have too much eye contact.
• May not understand the concept of taking turns, either in a game or in conversation.
• Individual may have difficulty staying on topic or may stay on one topic for much too long.
• Individual may have unusual intonation, sometimes sounding monotone.
• Individual may appear insensitive and lack social graces, for example, lack of manners and tact. He may also appear to be talking at you rather than with you, or appear to be talking to himself.