Pragmatic Communication Disorder in Socially Disadvantaged First-Grade Pupils

compulsory year in Czech primary schools at the age of six) were explored to fi nd possible risks
of school underachievement with a focus on early intervention and supportive measures provided
to these children to improve their worse communication skills.1
Items selected from among the
current diagnostic tools used in speech and language therapy and special education were used
to assess the communication skills of 330 fi rst-grade primary school pupils (N = 330). The data
that was acquired was processed, analysed, and statistically evaluated. Concurrently, the study
mapped the number of pupils entering their fi rst year of education with symptoms of ADHD,
and the infl uence of different cultural backgrounds or living conditions on the development of
the speaking skills of those children. It was found that defi cits in the pragmatic language skills
correlate to the disadvantageous cultural environment or different living conditions of the
fi rst-grade pupils, which was not confi rmed for social language skills. The fi ndings presented
here suggest that the conception of the Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder as listed
in DSM-5 is probably too broad.