Social and Pragmatic Communication Disorders in Children Aged 6-11 Years and the Role of Language Therapy

Flora Lamçja (Zeqaj)
"Aleksandër Xhuvani” University of Elbasan

Abstract

Social and pragmatic communication disorders in children aged 6-11 years are described as language impairments, which affect negatively the development of the child, the creation of social relationships and their academic formation. Methodology used in this study is based on the inclusion of 25 children with communication disorders, who are treated in rehabilitation centers. For data collection and processing were used: Social Communication Behavior Checklist (SCBC), Diagnostic Criteria of Communication according to DSM 5. Moreover, from parents and teachers was retrieved information about the child’s condition in their everyday life concerning communication. From the study analysis, it resulted that children with social and pragmatic communication disorders react with a noticeable improvement while being treated with language therapy. Children improve their communication greatly, 60% of them create complete and clear sentences, participate in discussions with their peers, 50% of them have an improvement of their academic results, 70% of them are more active in discussions and conversations taking place around them. The general conclusions stipulate that the application of language therapy benefits the improvement of social and pragmatic communication disorders in children aged 6-11 years. Therapy is very effective, but has to be adapted for each child accordingly, based on the presented degree of communication difficulty. Keywords: disorders, socio-pragmatic communication, role, language therapy, children aged 6-11 years.

Presentation