There are many reasons why someone might have trouble with social or executive communication. If you or your child has a problem with social skills or executive communication, our speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can help them improve their skills.
What are Social Skills and Executive Communication?
Social communication is how and why we use our language to interact with others. There are many reasons why someone might have trouble with social communication.
Executive functioning skills are cognitive skills that allow us to manage every aspect of our lives. They help guide everything we do. From helping us plan, organize, and control our emotions – we rely on executive functions for everything.
Major components that contribute to social communication skills:
The main eight executive functions:
Common Questions & Helpful FAQs
Why are social communication skills important?
Social communication (pragmatics) is important for building social relationships with others. Social communication skills are important because children use nonverbal and verbal communication to engage in conversation and social interaction. This can help children successfully communicate their wants and needs and nurture relationships with others.
What are the building blocks necessary to develop social communication skills?
There are five building blocks to develop social communication skills:
- Receptive language
- Expressive language
- Non-verbal communication
- Executive functioning
- Self-regulation
Why are executive functioning skills important?
Executive function skills help us focus, plan, prioritize, self-regulate behaviors and emotions, and become flexible to new and unexpected situations. Executive functioning skills are critical for developing cognitive and social skills. Since children aren’t born with executive functioning skills, some may need more
support than others to develop those skills. It is important to provide the support children need to build executive functioning skills at home and school and seek occupational therapists’ help when needed.
What executive functioning skills can I expect to see during preschool years?
When your child enters kindergarten, some executive functioning skills should be present. These skills include organizing and prioritizing, staying focused on tasks, and regulating emotions. Children ages 3 to 5 will begin to develop those skills rapidly. You can help your child develop these skills before becoming school-aged by using visual timers and schedules, sharing the events that happened during the day (and encouraging your child to do the same!)
How can I help my child practice executive functioning skills at home?
Planning is an important part of executive functioning! Since planning is making a road map to make a goal, you may want to ask your child to help plan a trip! Discuss what their dream vacation would be, and help them practice planning by thinking about where they would go, what time of year might be
best, and what they would bring. This can be just an activity, or they can help you plan a real family vacation.
Time management is another essential executive functioning skill! Time management uses techniques and strategies to use your child’s time effectively. This involves accurately understanding time, ignoring outside distractions, and working efficiently when your child needs to. At home, you can encourage your child to complete tasks and estimate the time necessary to complete the task. Estimating the time and comparing it to the time finished will give your child a better understanding of time management and how to increase or decrease the time needed to complete each task.
