Social Communication

Social communication is key to so many parts of our lives, from the small talk we do in the office to the formation of deep friendships and romantic relationships. I can support your development of social communication skills, whether it’s reading others’ non-verbal cues, starting conversations with people you’ve just met, navigating emotionally charged conversations with your partner, making friends, or advocating for your needs at school or work.

In particular, I have significant experience working with people on the autism spectrum (ASD), and do my best to present information in a way that is neurodivergent-friendly.

Frequently Asked Questions about
Social Communication:

• My 15-year-old son is on the spectrum. He takes everything very literally, doesn’t pick up on hints, and monopolizes conversations. He really wants to make some friends but he’s not aware of how others might sometimes interpret his comments or actions. Can you help him develop the skills to make connections with kids his age?

Yes, if he is interested and motivated to better understand how and why others may be responding to him in a certain way during their interactions, and to learn about and practice skills that may be helpful for him in making friends, I can definitely support with this. I have a lot of experience working with autistic teen boys on these social communication areas. However, I’d like to emphasize that it’s important to have “buy-in” from the teen, as if they aren’t on board with exploring these kinds of topics, and don’t want to be doing speech therapy, sessions are unlikely to be very productive.

• My autistic teenage daughter understands all the basics of social interactions — for example, she’s able to start and maintain conversations, she does well in interactions with adults, she is able to identify and regulate her emotions… However, she struggles in connecting with peers, has difficulty keeping friendships, and is lonely. Do you work with teens on the spectrum with these kinds of concerns?

Definitely! I really enjoy working with autistic teens on the higher-level, more nuanced social communication skills. Navigating friendships can be tricky during the teen years — this is true for neurotypical people, but even more so for those on the spectrum. I help teens learn about different communication styles, practice skills that they would like to be able to use, and explore with them the strengths and challenges that come with neurodiversity. Understanding a different way of communicating can be very confusing for autistic teens — I try to answer their questions about neurotypical social interactions in a way that makes sense to them.

• My autistic son is 11 years old, and he doesn’t follow many social norms and “rules of conversation.” For example, when someone says, “Hi, how are you?” he’ll just launch into talking about his day or something he finds interesting instead of saying “I’m fine, how are you?” back to them. He’s been in speech therapy before, and the SLP explained to him about how many people are used to the typical greeting routine, and how they may feel/respond when he doesn’t follow it. But he just doesn’t care! Can you please train him to follow social rules like this?

In a word: no. If your son understands how and why people engage in a given neurotypical social norm or routine, and the possible responses he may encounter if he doesn’t follow it, and he just doesn’t want to do it, that’s his choice. While I teach social communication skills to people who are motivated to learn about them, I do not “train” someone to do something they don’t want to do. Your son is neurodivergent, so it may be incredibly draining and feel very inauthentic for him to be masking by trying to behave in neurotypical ways.

• I don’t have any official diagnosis, but I struggle with social interactions. Do I need to have a diagnosis to work with you?

No, you don’t need any diagnosis in order for speech therapy to help you learn new skills and progress towards your goals. (However, if you are wanting to use a specific funding source to cover the therapy sessions, they may have certain requirements that need to be met, such as a formal diagnosis.)

• My preteen has level 3 autism. He has a few words and phrases he uses verbally, but otherwise he communicates with his AAC app on his iPad. He also has some behaviours (biting, kicking) that he uses to communicate when he is dysregulated. Do you have experience working with children with these needs?

My experience working with children/teens with a level 3 autism diagnosis is limited, including with AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) use and significant physical behaviours. For this reason, I would recommend looking for an SLP whose experience and areas of focus is aligned with your child’s needs.