Social communication
Social communication therapy for kids and teens
Social communication therapy, or pragmatic language therapy, can help kids and teens, ages 3 to 17, with the social aspects of communication. These areas include taking turns, joining or leaving a conversation, reading tone and understanding what people mean. Sessions are by video and focus on the situations that matter in your child's life.
- Ages 3 to 17
- 30-minute sessions by video
- Parent coaching in every session
- Anywhere in Texas
Good to know
The short version
- Therapy focuses on how kids use language with other people and engage with others in their environment.
- Goals are created with you and your therapist for areas of concern that impact your child the most.
- Sessions focus on the situations that matter in your child's life, like play, conversations and friendships.
Who it helps
Is this right for my child?
Our approach
Every child is different, so we use the approach that works best for your child and family. Goals are set with you, and with your child when they're old enough, around the situations that matter most in their life.
- Preschoolers who find it hard to play with other kids or take turns
- Kids who have trouble starting a conversation or keeping it going
- Kids and teens who miss jokes, sarcasm or hints, or take words very literally
- Children and teens with ASD, and kids with ADHD or language disorders, who want support with social communication and interactions with others
- Kids whose teachers notice misunderstandings with classmates
Signs to watch for
What signs should parents watch for?
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Age: Ages 3 to 5
- Rarely joins play with other kids, or plays the same way each time
- Has trouble taking turns in a back-and-forth exchange
- Doesn't often use words or gestures to share interest, like pointing to show you something
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Age: Ages 6 to 12
- Has trouble joining a group conversation or staying on a topic
- Misses jokes, figures of speech or tone of voice
- Has frequent misunderstandings with classmates
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Age: Teens
- Has trouble with making or keeping friends
- Has difficulty understanding tone of voice, including sarcasm and nonliteral language
If you are seeing one or more of these in your child, it may be worth taking a closer look with a full speech and language evaluation.
Online sessions
What therapy looks like
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What happens in a session?
With younger kids, therapy happens through play and games, often with you joining in, so your therapist can help with turn-taking and back-and-forth play.
Older kids and teens work on what they care about. That might be how to join a conversation at lunch, what a confusing text actually meant, or how to handle a group project. On video, it's easy to look at a real message or a short clip together and talk about what the other person was thinking.
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What will I do?
You'll learn what your child is working on and how to back it up at home, like turn-taking games or talking through what happened at school. With your OK, we can send ideas you can pass along to teachers.
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How is progress tracked?
At the evaluation, we learn where things feel hard for your child, using conversation, play, questionnaires and what you've seen. Goals are specific, like joining a game with a sibling or asking a classmate a question. We track them in sessions and go over them with you regularly. Social skills grow in their own time, so we won't promise a timeline.
Learn more
What is social communication?
Social communication, also called pragmatic language, is how we use language with other people. It includes knowing when to talk and when to listen, how to change what we say for different people, how to read faces and tone of voice, and how to understand what someone means when they don’t say it directly.
What happens at the evaluation?
We’ll talk with you about your child’s history, strengths and the situations that are hard. Then your therapist talks and plays with your child, and may send short questionnaires to you and a teacher. Older kids get asked what they want to work on. You’ll hear what we found before you hang up.
Pricing
Simple, clear pricing
One price list for everyone, and you pay per visit. We don't bill insurance, but we can provide you with a superbill for you to send to your insurance company for out-of-network coverage. We do accept HSA and FSA cards.
See pricing-
Evaluation
$175
60 minutes
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Therapy session
$75
30 minutes
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Consultation call
Free
15 minutes
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For kids who are non-speaking who may benefit from use of a low or high tech device to support communication. Our goal is not to replace verbal communication but to provide alternative methods of communicating wants and needs. We can work with a device that you already have access to, or support with a full evaluation for a new device.
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Fluency (stuttering)
For kids and teens who have difficulties with fluent speech production. We can help with strategies to support fluency and the confidence in your communication skills.
Questions
Questions parents ask
Still wondering about something? A free 15-minute call is a good place to ask.
Is social communication therapy only for autistic kids?
No. Lots of kids have trouble with social communication, including kids with ADHD, language disorders or no diagnosis at all. Autistic kids are welcome too.
Can you diagnose autism?
No. Your therapist can describe how your child communicates, but an autism diagnosis usually comes from a developmental pediatrician, psychologist or diagnostic team. If our evaluation suggests one would help, we'll tell you.
Will therapy try to make my child act like everyone else?
No. The goal is helping your child connect and be understood in a way that works for them, not changing who they are.
Does social communication therapy work online?
For a lot of kids, yes. On video we can practice with real examples and help you during play. Some kids do better in in-person groups, and the evaluation helps us figure that out.
Do you offer social skills groups?
No. Sessions are one on one, with a parent joining when it helps.
Ready when you are
Most families start with a 60-minute evaluation. If you'd rather talk first, book a free 15-minute call and ask us anything.
Reviewed by Whitney Silverthorn, M.S., CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist at Talking Jay.
Sources: Social Communication Disorder (Practice Portal), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Telepractice (Practice Portal), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association