What are social relatedness challenges for children and teens and how can we help?

Social relatedness challenges in children and teens range from general social skills weaknesses that result in struggles with communication, empathy, and conflict resolution, to developmental delays and deficits in social skills. Social relatedness challenges in children and teens span difficulties with autism, pragmatic language weaknesses, inflexibility, and general social skills deficits. These challenges can affect their ability to form meaningful relationships, communicate effectively, and adapt to social situations. Some children have difficulties in forming and maintaining meaningful social connections, perspective taking, and problem solving in different social contexts. Some students with ADHD have challenges in social skills development as inattention, impulsivity or executive functioning weaknesses impact navigation of social contexts. Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can include nonverbal communication weaknesses such as avoiding eye contact, narrow interests, repetitive behaviors or speech patterns, and sensitivity to sensory stimuli. Pragmatic language weaknesses affect the ability to understand context in conversations, take perspective of others, and interpret body language. Inflexibility and rigidity may lead to resistance to change in social settings. In social pragmatic disorder, the restrive and repetitive behaviors noted in ASD are not usually present.

At Milestones Psychology, we assess and address social skills development and social communication, and provide guidance on treatment planning. Our experienced clinicians use evidence-based strategies to diagnose social relatedness challenges and offer treatment and academic recommendations to help children and teens improve their social skills, fostering positive interactions and overall well-being.

Common Social Relatedness Challenges

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) refers to a group of neurological conditions that present as challenges in social communication and restrictive and repetitive behaviors. While autism can be diagnosed at any age, the first signs can present themselves as early as age 2. There are varied symptoms associated with autism, some of which include poor nonverbal communication such as avoiding eye contact, tendencies towards intense and narrow interests, tendencies towards repetitive behaviors or speech patterns, disinterest in common activities of peer group, lack of awareness in perspective taking and or how their behavior affects others, and sensory sensitivities. Language and motor delays are common in some children who have ASD. If you suspect that your child may be on the autism spectrum, it could be helpful to work with a neuropsychologist at Milestones Psychology for an official diagnosis.
Pragmatic language weaknesses are struggles in social communication and navigating social contexts with expected norms. People with pragmatic language impairment often take things too literally, they may have trouble interpreting body language and nonverbal communication, and they can struggle with perspective-taking and managing back-and-forth social conversation. Pragmatic language weaknesses may also look like trouble regulating volume, difficulty transitioning from one topic to another, challenges taking turns in conversations, and listening when another person is speaking.
Higher levels of inflexibility and rigidity are behavioral challenges that can be common in younger children but older children typically grow out of these qualities. Noticing persistent inflexibility in social settings, difficulties adjusting to changes in routines, needing things to be a certain way, and having difficulty modifying thinking can require greater levels of coaching and practice.
General social skills allow us to form and maintain meaningful relationships in our lives and engage in reciprocity. Interpersonal skills include verbal and nonverbal communication. Children and teens who have social skills difficulties often struggle with communication, empathy, and conflict resolution. At Milestones Psychology, our clinicians will work with your child or teen to identify specific social skills goals, and we practice skills so children can be active and successful participants in everyday life.

If your child or teen is struggling with social relatedness, don't hesitate to reach out. Contact Milestones Psychology today to learn more about our services and how we can support your family on the journey toward positive change.