Social Skills/Pragmatics in Adolescents

Social Pragmatic Language Disorders may also be known as semantic/pragmatic language disorder, non-verbal learning disability (NLD).

Early Signs and Symptoms

• Excessive questioning.
• Lack of eye contact.
• Aggressive language.
• Excessive talk about specific subjects in too much detail.
• Only talking about him/herself.
• Uninterested in other adolescents.
• Unable to engage in conversational exchange.
• Literal/concrete understanding of language.
• Difficulty with abstract language: figurative language, idioms, expressions.
• Verbal problem-solving: why when, how do you know?;
• Double meanings;
• Innuendos;
• Jokes
• Tendency to be overly literal and not understand riddles and sarcasm
• Difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations
• Difficulty staying on topics of conversation
• Unable to take the listener’s perspective.
• Unable to read/interpret body language, facial expressions.
• Unable to express feelings.
• Difficulty making inferences and understanding things that are implied, but not stated explicitly
• Not giving background information when speaking to an unfamiliar person
• Not understanding how to properly greet people, request information or gain attention

Information courtesy of the Kaufman Children’s Center.