This Forum post was originally posted by Martha Donald on another of the Forum section.

I have a child in my Year 5 class at primary school. He is an only child and seems to find it difficult to make friendships. He never seems to have a ‘best’ friend or a group of friends. He has only once been asked to a birthday party even though he has always attended the same school. He does not seem particularly unhappy and he is not shy. He likes to talk to adults and do jobs for them. He often gets into trouble during school lunch time for disrupting other children’s games or annoying individual children. His development has been fine although he is behind with his reading and writing. I wonder if he does not understand the social language that he needs to join in & continue playing with the other children. Do you think that this is a behaviour problem or a language problem? If it is a language problem how do I help him at this age?

Hi Martha,

Another interesting question. I suppose my initial thought is that this boy may have some form of Semantic-Pragmatic disorder. You can read a good description of this disorder on the American Hyperlexia Association website (the web address is on our Weblinks page). Children with Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder present with a number of problems around understanding certain aspects of language, inferring meaning, understanding imaginary concepts and play, understanding jokes, and taking language too literally. They also sometimes have behavioural problems and may not socialise or play well with other children.


I think he really needs to be seen by a specialist in this area. A paediatrician or Educational Psychologist to make a diagnosis, and then a speech and language therapist / pathologist to focus on his social and language skills. His inappropriate behaviour may stem from more serious issues in his home life. It would be beneficial to talk to his parents to discover whether there have been upheavals at home before we make any kind of diagnosis.

It is hard to say whether this a behaviour or language problem from the information you have provided. A speech and language therapist could assess his language skills and determine whether his behaviour is caused by a lack of understanding on his part. If this is a Semantic-Pragmatic problem, the speech therapist would work on these aspects of language and understanding.

A speech and language therapist / pathologist would also be able to work with him on social skills. They may also involve other children and carry out some group activities and role play to teach these skills.

The speech therapist would be able to give you a programme that you can then integrate into your classroom activities.

If anyone else out there is has Semantic-pragmatic disorder, or has advice or strategies to facilitate communication, please add your thoughts to the Forum.

Regards icommunicate webteam.