Semin Speech Lang 2005; 26: 151-159 DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-917120
Copyright © 2005 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.
Social Competence in Children with Language Impairment: Making Connections
Bonnie Brinton1,3, Martin Fujiki2,3
1 Professor of Audiology & Speech Language Pathology and Dean of Graduate Studies, Provo, Utah 2 Professor of Audiology & Speech Language Pathology, Provo, Utah 3 Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

ABSTRACT

Children with language problems frequently experience social difficulty. This is the case not only for children diagnosed as having impairments such as autism spectrum disorder, Asperger syndrome (AS), or mental retardation but also for children falling into diagnostic categories traditionally considered to be primarily language based (e.g., language impairment, learning disability). In considering what interventions might be most effective, it is important to consider how various aspects of development are connected. This article describes causal networks in which various factors influence the relationship between language deficits and social difficulties. Case descriptions of Joseph, an adolescent with language impairment, and Cari, a 6-year-old diagnosed with AS, illustrate the complexity of this relationship and demonstrate how intervention might be designed to facilitate positive social communication outcomes.

KEYWORDS

Language impairment - social communication - social competence - social skill - emotion regulation - emotion understanding