What are the Social Benefits of Speech Therapy?

Speech therapy has traditionally been associated with helping children with delayed speech development, lisps, or stutters. Did you know that speech therapy can help you develop friendships and improve your social skills? 

Social communication skills allow for effective verbal and nonverbal interactions with others. We use words to communicate, but we also use word choice, sentence structure, tone of voice, volume, pace of speech, facial expressions, and gestures. We use these elements of communication to express our thoughts and feelings to those around us. 

Speech therapy can help individuals of all ages improve their social communication skills, paving the way for meaningful relationships, professional and academic success, and increased confidence. If you’d like to learn more about how speech therapy can help improve your social skills, schedule your free introductory call today! 

What is Pragmatics?

Here are two scenarios that illustrate pragmatics:

You’re meeting a friend for lunch, and upon your arrival, they say, “Oh, that shirt looks terrible on you!” You feel surprised and upset that they said that. 

You’re chatting with a co-worker over your lunch break and become aware that they aren’t looking you in the eye and seem to be going from topic to topic. You check the time and announce that it is time to get back to work, but they just speak over you. 

Both of these scenes represent challenges with social communication skills and a general deficit in social awareness. Pragmatics are the “rules” that everyone learns to follow to help us communicate effectively with others. 

Why Do Some People Struggle with Social Communication?

We learn social communication skills at a very young age, as they develop simultaneously with speech and language skills. As we get older, differences or challenges in social communication become more pronounced, due to exposure to varied situations and environments. When children begin to play with others or work on a group project at school, their social communication skills come into play. Some people have a social communication disorder, which causes them to struggle to say the right thing the right way. While the precise causes of social communication disorders are still largely unknown, research demonstrated a connection with autism in the family history, learning disorders, and other forms of communication disorders. 

Challenges with pragmatics and social communication are also common symptoms of other developmental conditions and disorders, such as ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Speech Delay. 

How Does Speech and Language Affect Social Development?

The development of speech, language, and social skills are tightly connected, as these skills depend on each other to produce effective communication. We require functional communication skills to connect with others in a meaningful way, build and maintain healthy relationships, participate in social events and activities, and express our needs, wants, feelings, and ideas. 

When an individual lacks the social skills necessary for effective and impactful communication, it can cause feelings of frustration and embarrassment, often leading them to become isolated and withdrawn. They may avoid future opportunities to socialize, creating a cycle, as their social skills further deteriorate due to lack of practice and exposure. 

Speech therapy offers help to those who want to improve their social skills and gain confidence. Getting started is easy - schedule your free call now! 

How Does Speech Therapy Help Improve Social Connections?

By now, we’ve established that social skills are a crucial element of effective communication. These skills impact our day-to-day lives and inform how we navigate a variety of situations. Difficulties with pragmatics and social skills are common, and whatever the underlying cause of the challenges may be, they can be addressed by an experienced speech and language pathologist. 

Each speech therapy treatment plan is tailored to meet the needs of each individual, allowing the speech therapist to target specific strengths and weaknesses. A wide variety of techniques and approaches are used to support the development of functional social communication abilities.

Speech therapy for social skills can benefit individuals of all ages, providing support to anyone who is struggling with their social communication or simply wants to improve upon their existing skills. Speech therapy treatment for social communication challenges may include: 

• Working on Social Greetings and Manners (Hello, Goodbye, Please, Thank You, etc.)
• Asking Questions and Making Requests (Ordering at a Restaurant, for example)
• Maintaining Eye Contact 
• Turn-Taking During Conversations
• Understanding and Using Sarcasm and Joke Telling
• Altering Communication Depending on the Audience or Environment
• Respecting Other’s Personal Space 
• Identifying and Naming One’s Emotions or the Emotions of Others 
• Effectively Regulating Emotions 
• Developing Joint Attention Skills (Sharing Your Attention with Two or More People)
• Sticking to a Certain Topic 
• Understanding and Using Non-Literal Language (Known as Idioms) Such as “Beat Around the Bush” or “Bite the Bullet”

Speech Therapy for Social Communication

Social skills therapy appointments will typically involve several different techniques to target the individual’s specific goals. Some of the most common methods include: 

Focused Instruction: Speech and language pathologists teach social communication through direct instruction and demonstration. They will explain and model the skills they are targeting, such as producing a friendly greeting or maintaining eye contact while addressing the individual. 

Role-Play: Role play is a commonly used approach in speech therapy for social skills, as it provides individuals with an opportunity to practice socializing in a safe and supportive environment. Role-playing specific real-life scenarios, such as ordering a coffee in a cafe or asking for directions when lost, can be a helpful experience, empowering the individual to communicate in confidence should they encounter these situations someday. 

Constructive Feedback: Speech therapists will provide helpful feedback on how well these social skills are being used. This feedback informs the individual of how they come off to others and encourages self-awareness, which is an important part of social communication and pragmatics. 

Speech therapy for social communication can benefit individuals of all ages and abilities, even those who aren’t facing specific challenges. Working with a speech and language pathologist to develop and strengthen social skills can help an individual create and foster important relationships, achieve professional or academic success, and live a well-rounded, enjoyable, and confident life.  If you’re ready to get started on the path to a more confident and outgoing version of yourself, reach out to us and schedule your free introductory call today!