DSM-5 criteria - persistent difficulty with social use of verbal and nonverbal communication.
The Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder is a psychosocial scoring tool used in paediatric practice. DSM-5 criteria - persistent difficulty with social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. It scores 8 criteria and interprets the total across 2 bands, so the number always arrives with the severity it implies rather than on its own. In PediAid each criterion is shown as a labelled option with the weight it carries, so the total can be checked rather than taken on trust.
8. They are Deficits using communication for social purposes (greeting, sharing information); Impaired ability to change communication to match context or listener; Difficulty following rules for conversation and storytelling (turn-taking, rephrasing); Difficulty understanding what is not explicitly stated (inference, idioms, humour, ambiguity); Deficits cause functional limitations in communication or social participation; Onset in the early developmental period; and others.
The total is interpreted as: any score - Below threshold: not all criteria met - all are required for the diagnosis; 8 criteria met or more - Threshold met: all criteria met - consistent with social (pragmatic) communication disorder. ASD must be excluded before this diagnosis is used.
No. It is a structured way to record and communicate severity. A clinician concerned about a child should act on that concern regardless of the total.
DSM-5 threshold: 8 or more of the 8 criteria listed.
Yes. Score definitions are bundled with the PediAid app, so the score computes without a connection.