Metalinguistics: A Neurodivergent Affirming Approach to Pragmatics Therapy
In a previous article, I discussed a framework for working on conversational skills with neurodivergent students. This framework is built on having students build metacognitive skills. Metacognition is an executive functioning skill that essentially means thinking about thinking. Pragmatic language requires strengths in executive functioning, which we know that neurodivergent students often struggle with. As we work to be more neurodivergent affirming, helping students in these intersectional areas is key!
So, let’s talk about another area of intersection and a more specific version of metacognition, if you will: metalinguistics.
Metalinguistics means thinking about language. In the previous article, I encouraged you to help students think about how they converse on a macro level. Now, I want you to help students at a micro level.
When we list the five domains of language, we typically do so in a set order: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. We list them in this order because each skill builds on the next and relies on the previous. Pragmatics comes last because it’s a culmination of all the rest.
In many ways, I think some of us have done ourselves and our students a disservice by viewing pragmatics as synonymous with social skills. Because we tend to view social skills through a lens of neurotypical behaviors, it can be hard to figure out neurodivergent affirming practices for pragmatics therapy. If we view pragmatics and social skills as slightly different, however, I think it becomes a little easier.
I’ve started defining pragmatics as how we use phonological, morphological, syntactical, and semantic skills to communicate with others.
The difference might seem inconsequential, but viewing it this way has changed how I address therapy with many of my students. Why? Because it allows me to focus on concrete skills in a contextualized setting with the potential to make a huge difference in how successfully my students communicate. And, of course, successful in this case does not mean they successfully upheld neurotypical social norms!
Let’s look at how we can use metalinguistics and some of our less “social” language targets to target some pretty common pragmatic areas.
1) Build the semantic skills needed for contributing to topics of conversation.
If a student doesn’t have a robust vocabulary on a variety of topics, they won’t be able to contribute meaningfully to topics, even if they want to be a part of them. Talking to students about things they might want to talk about—whether that’s current school topics, their interests, or things that their friends and classmates are interested in—is a good way to figure out what kind of vocabulary to target. Then, you can work with them on their receptive knowledge and expressive use of the words in functional ways. For example, if your student wants to take part in a game with their peers but doesn’t know the language, teach the words and practice them within the framework of that game: listening to directions, asking questions, commenting on moves, etc… If a student wants to feel more confident asking for help in a grocery store, talk about words that are specific to different aspects of that situation: words we use to ask for help, words we use at a grocery store, etc… Then practice answering and asking questions using them.
2) Build the syntactic skills needed for telling a story (and more!).
If a student uses incorrect syntax or disorganized sentence structure, their stories and conversational contributions are going to be hard to follow. Teaching students about the different purposes of communication—to entertain, to inform, to persuade—as well as the general structures associated with each one is a great way to get them thinking about how they should convey information. How do they change their communication style based on whether they’re telling a friend about a great movie they just watched or are trying to convince that friend to go see the movie with them? With a framework in place, students can plan conversations, practice conversations, and reflect on conversations. For example, if they are telling a friend about a new video game they just got, have them identify the purpose (to inform). Using the informative framework (maybe with something like a graphic organizer), have them brainstorm what they want to convey. Then, they can use that framework to practice that narrative. Record or transcribe them if they’re practicing out loud and then have them check what they said against what they needed to say. What could they have done differently? If any specific errors are repeating themselves (like past tense verbs or conjunctions), address them within this context.
3) Build the semantic and syntactic skills needed for following directions.
If a student doesn’t have a good vocabulary and/or good receptive syntactic skills, they’re going to have a hard time following directions and instructions. We often think that students are “failing to comply” because they simply don’t want to. In truth, there are several reasons students might not comply with directions… their language skills are just one of them! More than likely, students who don’t understand directions will need to work on vocabulary that deals with temporal, spatial, and conditional concepts, as well as the ability to understand different sentence structures, especially compound and complex structures. There might also be vocabulary specific to the setting that they are lacking. Let’s just think about how many skills are needed to follow this direction:
If you’ve finished your assignment, put your name at the top and put it in the basket on my desk. If you haven’t finished it, take it home and turn it in on Friday. After you’ve put the assignment away, I want you to take out your textbook, turn to page 52, and start reading at the second heading. When you finish reading, take out a piece of paper and write a summary of what you learned.
Two conditional statements, four spatial/positional phrases, two temporal concepts, four complex sentences, and two setting-specific vocabulary words. And I might have missed something! It’d be so easy for a student to tune out after that first clause and appear defiant.
4) Build the vocabulary and syntactic skills needed to self-advocate and communicate basic wants, needs, and thoughts.
This is the skill that actually prompted me to rethink how I’m teaching pragmatics. A high school senior getting ready to go to college with language and social skills that seem basically “normal” asked to stay in speech for the rest of the year to work on some very simple things.
He wanted to be able to ask for help in a store. He wanted to feel more confident ordering in a drive-thru. He wanted to have a successful conversation with his college advisors. He wanted to feel comfortable asking his teachers for certain accommodations.
But he would get stuck, have trouble coming up with the right words, and struggle to put together sentences that made sense. For something as personal as advocacy and communicating wants, needs, and thoughts, I think it’s a great idea to talk to students about how they want to communicate. It’s not all that helpful to teach them a vocabulary for accomplishing these goals if they’re not comfortable using it! So, I like to help them build their own lexicon of words that they know and feel comfortable choosing from for a variety of different settings and people. Then, they can supplement with the vocabulary that is specific to the task at hand. Similarly, they can decide which syntactic structures they feel comfortable with. Are they more comfortable with questions or statements? Do they want to get it all out in one blurb or work up to the point slowly? Ultimately, it’s up to them and we can help give them the words and structures they need.
Now, it should go without saying that addressing social skills in these ways won’t always be appropriate. Some students will have fantastic vocabularies and beautiful sentence structures. It’s important to always identify the underlying needs before pursuing any type of therapy strategy. And with middle and high school students especially, they are your best source of information! For those who do struggle with semantic and syntactic language skills, these are just four social skills that can be addressed by targeting those areas instead of trying to encourage masking and the use of neurotypical social norms. Can you think of anything else? I’d love to hear!
