Using language to interact

Difficulty generating ideas

Presented as searching but unable to retrieve ideas to carry out specific tasks. Support and cues may be needed to trigger stored knowledge. 

Strategies to support:

• Provide activities on a regular basis that require some support but ultimately the independent generation of ideas. 
• Take turns to generate lists. For example, of colours or boys/girls names. 
• Practise generating single ideas using an association game. The child has to provide the first word that pops into their heads when given a target word. For example dog - bark, and explain (if able to) why they thought of it, or the adult verbalises the link. 
• Provide visual contexts that suggest ideas to the child through pictures. 
• Provide sentence starters for the child to complete. 
• Give talks on topic targets. 
• Provide a story sequence for the child to generate what is going to happen next. 
• Provide templates with starter words or ideas that help the child generate subsequent ideas. 

Difficulty with verbal reasoning 

Presenting features of difficulty with reasoning have been described already under receptive skills.

These underlying difficulties will impact how thoughts and reasoning can be expressed.

(see “Difficulty with reasoning skills”)

• When carrying out picture matching tasks, detection of similarity and differences tasks and categorisation tasks support the child to verbalise the reasons on which they base their choices. 
• Carry out the tasks yourself, taking turns with the child in order to verbalise your reasoning, as a model. 
• Provide one-off tasks to detect and verbalise similarities, differences and categories. 
• Encourage simple "why because" reasoning using picture pairs of effect and cause. For example, the girl is crying because the boy popped her balloon. 
• Encourage expression of statements with the explanation following. For example, the car has got a puncture. That's why the driver can't go home. 
• Develop cause and effect reasoning where one is provided and the other is to be provided by the child. 
• Systematically build up reasoning skills. 
• Continue to use visuals. 
• Continue to make explicit the steps of your reasoning. 

Difficulty using language in conversation

Presenting as a barrier to making and maintaining friendships. Many features already mentioned may also contribute to this difficulty. Early on the child may not have the words to join the conversation, or the understanding to respond, even though they are keen to communicate with their peers. 

They may not be understood when they speak, and they may not be able to generate ideas or keep on topic. 

In late primary, or teenage years difficulty may be experienced understanding and keeping up with what is said, social cues innuendo, slang, jokes, sarcasm and meaning conveyed by intonation. 

Strategies to support: 

• Build towards conversations through paired activities. 
• Create opportunities for supported interaction with peers. 
• Introduce a buddy system. 
• Help learn specific phrases that can be used in social situations. 
• Set up paired interactions and games where the language required is limited and specific to the activity. 
• Set up paired interactions where there is a specific goal. For example, the pair has to find out each other's favourite food and relay this information to the adult. 
• Build up to using collaborative tasks where a conversation will be needed to achieve a goal, such as solving a problem. 
• Build to talking on a topic, giving opinions and finally discussion. 

Difficulty using language to negotiate and explain

A child may present this as an imbalance or difficulty to have their say, have their ideas accepted or come to a compromise with their peers. 

When conflict in the playground occurs, there may be difficulty explaining to the adult what has taken place, often leading to unjustified self-incrimination. There is an imbalance where a highly verbal peer can take advantage of the situation. 

Strategies to support:

• Keep the child's language difficulties in mind as you try to determine what has happened. 
• Give the child time and space to explain, without the other child interrupting. 
• Monitor your own language used to find out what has happened. Remember phrases such as "on purpose" or "accidentally" might not be understood by the child. 
• Keep question forms simple. 

Difficulty using language to convey feelings and emotions

This may be presented as frustration or difficulty managing emotions, as feelings cannot be fully expressed. Alternatively, there may be a passive acceptance and internalising of emotion. 

• Specifically, teach the vocabulary of feelings and emotions. 
• Explore feelings and emotions in the context of what is happening in pictures so that the feelings and emotions are initially those of other people. 
• Have conversations about how the child is feeling today. Help them find the words to express this. 
• Give verbal scenarios and discuss how the characters might feel. 
• Encourage the use of feelings and emotions in storytelling. 
• Give time and space for the child to express feelings and emotions relevant to themselves when incidents have occurred, or they are upset. 

Difficulty being verbally assertive 

This difficulty may be presented as the child being quiet and well behaved, but furtive in their use of their eyes to watch for non-verbal queues, follow the lead of peers and copy their ideas/work. Here there is a desire to blend in, and if needed they may not ask for help. 

The child may be withdrawn, passive or showing a desire to go under the radar. Here there can be a desire to hide. They may present helplessness where they have decided they cannot cope and become dependent on the adults around them. Here there are signs of having given up and they may wait to be noticed and for help to come. 

This can also be presented as being self-aware with resultant low self-esteem, impacting social and emotional wellbeing. 

The child will likely have anxiety. 

Strategies to support:

• Give 1:1 attention. 
• Build up a relationship. 
• Let the child know they are important. 
• Teach active listening skills where the child is empowered to approach an adult in some way to seek help. This might be by looking to the adult or passing a help card to them. 
• Directly teach active listening skills in relation to understanding, starting with asking the meaning of words.  

Resource: "Active Listening for Active Learning", published by QED Publications. Designed primarily for 4 to 12-year-olds. 

Resource: "Active Listening for Active Learning" Designed mainly for ages 4 to 12 years. 

Difficulty coping with comprehension, verbal difficulties or associated academic difficulties resulting in verbal or physical outbursts 

A child may show frustration/anger resulting in verbal/physical reactions or disruptive behaviours.  They may come across as being unwilling to be helped and may reject tackling the features of learning they are having difficulties with. 

This self-awareness may also result in low self-esteem and impact their social and emotional wellbeing. 

Strategies to support:

• Ensure that others understand the underlying cause of verbal or physical outbursts so that the child is not disapproved of. 
• Teach the vocabulary of feelings and emotions. 
• Give time and space for the child to express themselves when they have calmed down and are ready. 
• Encourage cooperation with games, small steps and recognition of success. 
• Analyse the triggers and whether they are related to the child's language deficits. 
• Continue to address the underlying language difficulties. 

Combined difficulties of all the previously described areas

Presenting as effortful or unclear expressive language. 

• Expressive language difficulty may be so severe that alternative methods of communication may be needed. For example, Makaton signing, ICT, communication books and boards. 

The use of conceptual symbols such as Widgit symbols will always be of benefit to children with expressive language difficulties. 

• Why? They can support communication for routines, behaviour, conceptual understanding, vocabulary learning, providing prompts to use specific features of language and providing supporting frameworks where children do not have the literacy skills to follow written directions. 
• In summary, they enhance access to learning and verbal expression. They motivate to communicate, support behaviours and emotions, develop independence and improve confidence/self-esteem.