11 May 2018
Pragmatic language is the socially appropriate use of language in accordance with the context in which interactions take place. In view of this, deficiencies in pragmatic skills have a significant impact on psychosocial adjustment. Recent evidence has shown that children who present behavioural problems usually display these linguistic difficulties as well. The aim of this work is to analyse different interventions intended to improve the pragmatic skills of children with behavioural and/or attention problems and discuss the evidence of the results. After a literature search, nine interventions were found: five aimed at children with behavioural problems and four intended for children with attention and hyperactivity problems. The results showed that, while the characteristics of the interventions varied considerably, they generally achieved positive results, especially when they were implemented using a systemic approach with other educational agents participating (such as the family or peer group). Even so, the lack of available evidence suggests that further research into evidence-based interventions to help children improve their pragmatic, communicative, and social competences is required.
Cite this article as: Rodríguez-Meirinhos, A. y Ciria-Barreiro, E. (2018). Revisión de intervenciones para mejorar las habilidades pragmáticas en niños y niñas con problemas de conducta y atención | Review of interventions to improve pragmatic language skills in children with behaviour and attention problems. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 76 (270), 295-312. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP76-2-2018-05
