Are Social Communication Struggles Really About Social Skills?
- Staci Neustadt
- May 28
- 3 min read
Understanding Autism, Body Awareness, and Connection
Many therapists, teachers, and parents are taught to think about social communication in terms of eye contact, conversations, greetings, turn-taking, and reading body language.
But what if social communication struggles in autistic individuals aren't actually social skills problems?
What if the real challenge is much deeper?
In this week's conversation, autistic retired occupational therapist Susan Golubock and speech-language pathologist Staci Neustadt explore one of the most overlooked pieces of social communication: body awareness.
Watch the video below to learn why social communication may not start with social skills at all.
What Therapists Are Asking About Social Communication
If you work with autistic individuals, you've probably asked questions like:
Why won't my client make eye contact?
Why do they walk away during conversations?
Are they listening if they're fidgeting?
Why do social skills groups sometimes not generalize?
Is social communication really separate from sensory processing?
Are we teaching communication or teaching masking?
Why does conversation seem so exhausting for some autistic individuals?
What foundational skills should I assess before targeting social communication?
These are important questions because the answers may change how we support autistic individuals.
What If Social Communication Isn't the First Skill?
Many interventions focus directly on social communication.
But what if the individual is already working hard to:
Process sensory information
Understand where their body is in space
Regulate emotions
Coordinate movement
Process language
Could those foundational skills be impacting social communication more than we realize?
In this video, Susan shares why body awareness may be one of the missing pieces therapists often overlook.
Why Do Autistic Individuals Avoid Eye Contact?
This is one of the most common questions therapists and parents ask.
Many people assume eye contact equals attention.
But what if maintaining eye contact actually makes listening harder?
In this conversation, Susan shares her personal experience as an autistic adult and explains why eye contact can interfere with processing spoken language.
Her explanation may completely change the way you think about attention and engagement.
Why Do Some Autistic Individuals Walk Away During Conversations?
It can be easy to assume someone is disengaged when they leave a conversation.
But there may be another explanation.
In the video, we discuss how movement, body awareness, and sensory needs can influence social interaction and why walking away may not mean someone isn't interested in connecting.
Is Fidgeting a Sign Someone Isn't Paying Attention?
Many autistic individuals move, chew, fidget, rock, pace, or seek movement while listening.
Is this distraction?
Or could it actually help them focus?
In this week's video, we explore why movement and sensory input are often connected to attention, regulation, and communication.
What Does Body Awareness Have to Do With Social Communication?
Body awareness affects far more than movement.
It can influence:
Attention
Emotional regulation
Speech production
Reading body language
Understanding personal needs
Social interaction
Yet body awareness is rarely discussed when social communication goals are developed.
Susan explains why understanding your own body may be an important step toward understanding other people.
How Can Therapists Build Self-Awareness?
One of the most powerful strategies discussed in this conversation is helping individuals notice and understand their own experiences.
Rather than correcting behaviors, what happens when we become curious?
What happens when we start saying:
"I notice..."
"I wonder if..."
"Does that help you listen?"
"Does your body need something right now?"
In the video, we share simple ways therapists, teachers, and parents can help build self-awareness without shame or pressure.
What You'll Learn in This Video
✔ Why social communication may not start with social skills
✔ The connection between body awareness and communication
✔ Why eye contact can interfere with listening
✔ How sensory processing impacts conversations
✔ Why movement may support attention
✔ How to build self-awareness through curiosity
✔ Why safety and regulation come before social connection
Watch the Full Conversation
If you've ever wondered:
Why does my client walk away during conversations?
Why is eye contact so difficult for some autistic individuals?
Why do social skills interventions sometimes miss the mark?
What foundational skills should I assess before targeting social communication?
This conversation offers a different way to think about autism, communication, and connection.
Because social communication doesn't start with performance.
It starts with safety, awareness, regulation, and connection.
🎥 Watch the full video below and let us know what you notice differently in your clients, students, or children.
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