In working with each of our students, we emphasize that repairing communication breakdowns is an equal responsibility of all communication partners in a given scenario. Monitoring conversations requires many skills including:

• Visual referencing of the communication partner,
• Prior knowledge of nonverbal cues such as facial expression and tone of voice
• Executive functioning skills such as working memory and attention
• Language skills needed to express and receive messages
• The motivation to repair communication breakdowns and the understanding of why it is important

When developing goals for students, we need to consider their ability to monitor and repair communication, the underlying causes of communication breakdowns, and their social, academic, and vocational goals and communicative environments in order to create specific and effective goals.