4 Pragmatic Language Activities for Older Students

While the majority of my caseload is language-based, I tend to have at least one or two students with pragmatic language difficulties each year. I often struggle with what to work on with these students, especially if they demonstrate good academic skills. In addition, if I can’t place them in an appropriate existing group, I often treat them individually, which doesn’t help generalize skills they learn. Many of these students struggle with maintaining and forming friendships. During our sessions, they tell me all the right things, but when it comes to interacting with their peers, they don’t quite get it. I use the activities listed below to help them practice their skills outside the treatment room: Form a school club: Helping a middle or high school student set up a club creates a great way for them to connect with other students who share similar interests. Perhaps a club already exists that they want to join, but if not, why not help them get one started? One student of mine was into bowling. Unfortunately, the school didn’t offer a bowling team. Together, we drafted an email to the school administration, and they thought it was a great idea. The student and I came up with ways to get other students involved, like making a flier, placing an ad in the school newspaper and holding a meeting. We hope the school’s new bowling team will start sometime soon! Observe students during unstructured time: Though this might create scheduling challenges, perhaps you can ho...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology Language Disorders Schools social skils Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs