Nobles Speech Therapy LLC logo

We accept CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, United Health Care, Wellpoint and Maryland Physician Care Insurance.

Social Communication Speech Therapy

Equip your child with social interaction skills they’ll need for life.


Speech Therapy for Ages 2-18

Share this page with a friend:

A father helps his two sons with homework.

The skills required for social communication (pragmatic) skills are necessary for your child to express themselves and understand verbal and non-verbal language in social contexts. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Social Communication Disorder (SCD) can make it challenging for them to do so appropriately in different social situations.


Speech therapy for children aims to help your child build these vital skills and improve their ability to function in their social environments.

A young girl sits at a desk and reads a tablet.

Developing Social Skills Is a Lifelong Process

Language pragmatics usually develop naturally as a child moves through the different growth milestones. The three primary pragmatic skills needed are using language, changing language, and following unspoken rules of conversation. Problems with effectively using these skills arise in children with ASD and SCD. Your child may have difficulty with social cognition or may be unable to apply rules related to conversation and storytelling, including:


  • Knowing when and how to speak to someone
  • Using appropriate gestures to express how they feel
  • Taking the perspective of others
  • Understanding non-verbal cues by others
  • Telling stories in an organized way

Social Skills Make the Difference

Mastering social communication skills makes it easier for your child to interact with peers, build friendships, feel connected, and succeed at school and eventually in the workplace. If your child struggles with pragmatics, it can be socially isolating and impede their future success.

An icon of people symbolizes socializing
A graphic figure of a man raising his hands symbolizing success.

Every Parent Wants Their Child to Succeed

Seeing your child hesitant or afraid to interact socially and unable to help them can stir up many emotions. It can also be hard to tell when your child struggles with social situations. Some kids might not share their thoughts, making it difficult for you to know what they are thinking.

Equip Your Child for Social Success

A speech-language pathologist (SLP) can assess your child's social interactions and provide therapy that helps them develop, understand, and effectively use the rules of social communication. Therapy can equip them to make and keep friends, engage appropriately, and read others' body language correctly. They'll learn how to adjust language and tone to fit different people or situations, stay on topic, and respond with ideas relating to the topic.

A graphic figure of a father helping his son
a brain puzzle symbolizing maximum progress

An Engaging Approach Maximizes Progress

At Nobles Speech Therapy, your child is in good hands. As a certified pediatric language pathologist, I use a range of specialized techniques to teach social interaction, social cognition, and pragmatics. I don't take a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy - I treat your child as the individual they are and offer support based on their unique needs. One-to-one therapy sessions help your child feel safe, have fun, increase their level of engagement, and, most importantly, their progress.

Request a Consultation Today to Get Started

Request a Consultation

Share this page:

What to Expect with Social Communication Therapy

Step 1. Schedule Initial Consultation

We'll have a brief call to discuss your concerns about your child's communications skills, developmental milestones, red flags, and other areas of assessment.

Step 2. Assessment

We evaluate your child to industry-standard speech and language development benchmarks. Based on the results, we create a step-by-step treatment plan built around your child's needs.

Step 3. Treatment

We implement the treatment plan in series of fun, 30-minute one-on-one in-person or virtual sessions with your child. You'll receive updates after each session with supplemental materials for practice and reinforcement.

Step 4. Results

You'll experience the joy of watching your child's confidence, interpersonal interactions, and communication transform as building blocks are mastered throughout the treatment plan.

Why Choose Us for Social Communication Speech Therapy

Built Around Your Child

We implement successive building blocks to help your child master foundational communication skills based upon the initial assessment.


Each week your child builds confidence for interpersonal interactions, more outgoing social engagements, and sustained academic achievement.

Exciting and Fun

Creative teaching techniques combined with patience, understanding, and an authentic rapport with your child create a safe space for overcoming insecurities and learning new skills.


These enjoyable one-on-one sessions transform reluctant attendance into an enthusiastic engagement.

Team Effort

We understand that it takes a village to raise a child. That's why we coordinate our strategy with your school and other providers. We also keep you actively involved with weekly updates and materials for at-home practice and reinforcement.

Read What Prior Clients Say About Our Speech Therapy

Are You Ready to Equip Your Child with the Skills Needed for a Satisfying Social Life?

Schedule a consultation today to get started.

Request a Consultation

Don't let your child grow any more isolated.

Share this page:

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What Are the Symptoms of Social Communication Disorder?

    The criteria for social communication disorder (SCD) is diagnosed according to the Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Symptoms of social communication delays, such as using gestures or sounds to greet people, usually show up in early childhood. Other symptoms include trouble picking up on social cues, understanding sarcasm, or understanding implications. Children with SCD also avoid eye contact or behave inappropriately in a particular social situation.

  • Is Social Communication Disorder the Same as Autism?

    No, but social communication disorder (SCD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can co-occur. In addition, many symptoms and behaviors of SCD and ASD overlap. The overarching feature of SCD is significant difficulties using verbal and non-verbal communication for social purposes. Restricted and/or repetitive behaviors, limited verbal abilities, or being nonverbal are prominent features in children with autism. They also demonstrate problems with social communication skills. An SLP can treat a child with both disorders simultaneously.

  • Can Speech Therapy Help with Social Skills?

    Yes. Speech therapy is a treatment for speech, language, and communication disorders. Treatment benefits children with receptive and expressive language impairments. Speech therapy also develops articulation, phonology, fluency, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. An SLP can help your child develop or improve pragmatic skills to make interaction a positive experience with different people and in different situations. Examples include taking turns speaking in conversations, understanding the literal and figurative meanings of language, and showing interest in the other person's comments or ideas.

Related Topics:

Share by: