Hello. I am a speech-language pathologist working with elementary school kids (~5 to 12 years old). What do you think about the direct instruction of pragmatic language skills? SLPs are tasked with teaching our students the expected pragmatic language skills for a school setting, such as not interrupting, taking a balanced turn when sharing, using "respectful language" with adults, etc etc. However, we also want our kids to know that it is okay to have divergent social skills and that "expectations" are subjective and variable. It's a fine line between saying "this is what's expected in school" and "you're doing it wrong." I want the students I work with to know that I accept them as they are, while still providing them with at least the background knowledge of what types of things people expect in certain social situations and why breakdowns may occur if those expectations aren't met.
I want to hear from the perspective of autistic adults. If you have the time, could you provide you answer the following questions:
- What pragmatic language expectations do you frequently encounter as an adult that you wish you had spent more time practicing as a child? Why is this skill hard for you?
- If you could have told your elementary school teachers anything to help them understand you more, what would you have told them?
- What do you think is the most important thing an SLP working with autistic kids should know regarding social-pragmatic langugae skills?
Thanks in advance for your feedback!!