Neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by social difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication.
The causes of this condition are unknown.
Symptoms include difficulty understanding social rules, communicating with others, understanding spoken language and social cues such as gestures or eye contact. They may have problems initiating or carrying on a conversation and understanding other people's feelings and emotions. These symptoms must have been present since early childhood and have a significant impact on the person's daily life.
These symptoms have been present since childhood and significantly affect the person's daily functioning.
The diagnosis is made by taking a full medical history, carrying out a neurological examination and testing the person's language and social skills.
Treatment is based on a multidisciplinary approach that may include speech and communication therapy, psychotherapy and educational support. The aim of treatment is to maximise the person's ability to acquire the social skills needed to develop in a social context and to improve non-verbal communication (gestures, tone of voice).
- Definitions of communication disorders and variations. Ad Hoc Committee on Service Delivery in the Schools. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. ASHA Suppl 1993; 35:40.
- Topal, Z., Demir Samurcu, N., Taskiran, S., Tufan, A. E., & Semerci, B. (2018). Social communication disorder: a narrative review on current insights. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 14, 2039–2046.
- Swineford, L. B., Thurm, A., Baird, G., Wetherby, A. M., & Swedo, S. (2014). Social (pragmatic) communication disorder: a research review of this new DSM-5 diagnostic category. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 6(1), 41.
- Norbury, C. F. (2014). Practitioner review: Social (pragmatic) communication disorder conceptualization, evidence and clinical implications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 55(3), 204–216
