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Communication and Interaction

Some of the aspects of difficulty included in this area are:

Autism

Pupils with autism find it difficult to:

  • Understand and use non-verbal and verbal communication
  • Understand social behaviour, which affects their ability to interact with children and adults
  • Think and behave flexibly, which may be shown in restricted, obsessional or repetitive activities.

Pupils with autism cover the full range of ability and the severity of their impairment varies widely. Some pupils also have learning disabilities or other difficulties, making diagnosis difficult.

Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)

Children and young people may have a range of difficulties with speech and language, some of which may resolve as the student develops.

For some children, such difficulties may be confined to their production of speech. For others, it may be hard to find the right words or to join them together meaningfully in expressive language. They may have problems with communicating through speech and may find it hard to acquire language and express thoughts and ideas. They may experience difficulties or delays in understanding or responding to verbal cues from others, or in understanding and using appropriate language for social interaction.

The fact that a child or young person may understand and speak English as an additional language does not in itself constitute a speech and language difficulty. It is important to note, however, that different languages have different structures/phonologies (sound systems)  which can sometimes cause initial short-term difficulties.

DLD (Developmental Language Disorder) is used to describe a severe ongoing difficulty with talking and/or understanding what other people say – and for which there is no obvious cause.

DLD tends to run in families which suggests a genetic link. It is not caused by anything parents have or have not done.  DLD is a very common condition affecting 7.5% of children – that’s an average of 2 or 3 in every classroom.  DLD is often confused with other conditions. People tend to assume that language difficulties will be obvious, but they are often quite subtle and hard to recognise without experience or training. Furthermore, children with DLD are often very good at ‘masking’ their difficulties.

Further information can be found at: www.afasic.org.uk