Social Competence in Children with Language Impairment: Making Connections

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

REFERENCES

1 The term language impairment is used to refer to children with language deficits in the presence of relatively typical growth in other aspects of development.

2 Recognizing the controversy associated with distinguishing Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism, we have used the diagnostic label assigned to the child by the referral source.

• 1 Brinton B, Fujiki M. Social and affective factors in language impairments and literacy learning. In: Stone C, Silliman S, Ehren B, Apel K Handbook of Language and Literacy: Development and Disorders. New York; Guilford Press 2004: 130-153
• 2 Wetherby A, Prizant B. Introduction to autism spectrum disorders. In: Wetherby A, Prizant B Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Transactional Developmental Perspective. Baltimore, MD; Paul H. Brookes 2000: 1-7
• 3 Rubin E, Lennon L. Challenges in social communication in Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism.  Topics in Language Disorders. 2004;  24 271-285
• 4 Siperstein G. Social competence: an important construct in mental retardation.  Am J Ment Retard. 1992;  96 iii-vi
• 5 Wong B, Donahue M. The social dimensions of learning disabilities: essays in honor of Tanis Bryan. Mahwah, NJ; Erlbaum Associates 2002
• 6 Paul R. Predicting outcomes of early expressive language delay: ethical implications. In: Bishop D, Leonard L Speech and Language Impairments in Children: Causes, Characteristics, Intervention and Outcome. Philadelphia, PA; Taylor and Francis 2000: 195-209
• 7 Fujiki M, Brinton B, Morgan M, Hart C H. Withdrawn and sociable behavior of children with language impairment.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 1999;  30 183-195
• 8 Craig H, Washington J. The access behaviors of children with specific language impairment.  J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1993;  36 322-337
• 9 Brinton B, Fujiki M, Spencer J, Robinson L. The ability of children with specific language impairment to access and participate in an ongoing interaction.  J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1997;  40 1011-1025
• 10 Hadley P, Rice M. Conversational responsiveness of speech- and language-impaired preschoolers.  J Speech Hear Res. 1991;  34 1308-1317
• 11 Brinton B, Fujiki M, Higbee L. Participation in cooperative learning activities by children with specific language impairment.  J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1998;  41 927-940
• 12 Brinton B, Fujiki M, McKee L. The negotiation skills of children with specific language impairment.  J Speech Lang Hear Res. 1998;  41 1193-1206
• 13 Grove J, Conti-Ramsden G, Donlan C. Conversational interaction and decision-making in children with specific language impairment.  Euro J Disord Commun. 1993;  28 141-152
• 14 Tomblin J, Zhang X, Buckwalter P, Catts H. The association of reading disability, behavioral disorders, and language impairment among second-grade children.  J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2000;  41 473-482
• 15 Brinton B, Fujiki M, Powell J. The ability of children with language impairment to manipulate topic in a structured task.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 1997;  28 3-11
• 16 Fujiki M, Brinton B. The verbal noncommunicator: a case study.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 1991;  22 322-333
• 17 Hart K, Fujiki M, Brinton B, Hart C H. The relationship between social behavior and severity of language impairment.  J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2004;  47 647-662
• 18 Brinton B, Fujiki M, Montague E, Hanton J. Children with language impairment in cooperative work groups: a pilot study.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2000;  31 252-264
• 19 Fujiki M, Brinton B, Isaacson T, Summers C. Social behaviors of children with language impairment on the playground: a pilot study.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2001;  32 101-113
• 20 Gertner B, Rice M, Hadley P. Influence of communicative competence on peer preferences in a preschool classroom.  J Speech Hear Res. 1994;  37 913-923
• 21 Fujiki M, Brinton B, Hart C, Fitzgerald A. Peer acceptance and friendship in children with specific language impairment.  Topics Lang Dis. 1999;  19 34-48
• 22 Fujiki M, Brinton B, Todd C. Social skills of children with specific language impairment.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 1996;  27 195-202
• 23 Jerome A, Fujiki M, Brinton B, James S. Self-esteem in children with specific language impairment.  J Speech Hear Res. 2002;  45 700-714
• 24 Redmond S, Rice M. The socioemotional behaviors of children with SLI: social adaptation or social deviance?.  J Speech Hear Res. 1998;  41 688-700
• 25 Bishop D. Pragmatic language impairment: a correlate of SLI, a distinct subgroup, or part of the autistic continuum?. In: Bishop D, Leonard L Speech and Language Impairments in Children: Causes, Characteristics, Intervention and Outcome. Philadelphia, PA; Taylor and Francis 2000: 99-113
• 26 Adams C. Social communication intervention for school-age children: rationale and description.  Semin Speech Lang. 2005;  26 181-188
• 27 Thompson R. Emotion regulation: a theme in search of definition.  Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 1994;  59 250-283
• 28 Fujiki M, Brinton B, Clarke D. Emotion regulation in children with specific language impairment.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2002;  33 102-111
• 29 Denham S. Emotional Development in Young Children. New York; Guilford Press 1998
• 30 Saarni C. The Development of Emotional Competence. New York; Guilford Press 1999
• 31 Spackman M, Fujiki M, Brinton B, Nelson D, Allen J. The ability of children with language impairment to recognize emotion conveyed by facial expression and music.  Commun Disord Q. 2005;  , (in press)
• 32 Ford J, Milosky L. Inferring emotional reactions in social situations: differences in children with language impairment.  J Speech Hear Res. 2003;  46 21-30
• 33 Spackman M, Fujiki M, Brinton B, Hall A, Nelson D, Allen J. Understanding emotion in context: the effects of specific language impairment on children's emotion understanding. Poster presented at: Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders June 2004 Madison, WI;
• 34 Hart C H, Olsen S, Robinson C, Mandleco B. The development of social and communicative competence in childhood: Review and a model of personal, familial, and extrafamilial processes. In: Burleson B, Kunkel A Communication Yearbook 20. Thousand Oaks, CA; Sage Publications 1997: 305-373
• 35 Nelson N. Childhood Language Disorders in Context: Infancy through Adolescence. Boston, MA; Allyn and Bacon 1998
• 36 Prelock P, Miller B, Reed N. Collaborative partnerships in a language in the classroom program.  Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 1995;  26 286-292