Logical reasoning: complete guide for speech therapists
Logical reasoning is the ability to establish connections, deduce, infer and solve problems in a structured way. It is closely linked to language and learning. Logical-mathematical reasoning difficulties can accompany language disorders or constitute a specific disorder. This guide presents the basics of reasoning and its work in speech therapy.
📋 Table of Contents
What is logical reasoning?
Logical reasoning refers to all mental operations that allow drawing conclusions from given information, solving problems and organizing one's thinking. It involves the ability to identify relationships, classify, sequence, compare and deduce.
Components of reasoning
- Classification: grouping elements according to common criteria
- Seriation: ordering elements according to a progression
- Conservation: understanding that a quantity remains identical despite transformations
- Causality: establishing cause and effect links
- Inference: deducing non-explicit information
- Analogy: finding correspondences between situations
Types of reasoning
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Deductive | From general to particular | All birds have feathers. The sparrow is a bird. Therefore the sparrow has feathers. |
| Inductive | From particular to general | This raven is black, this crow is black... Corvids are black. |
| Analogical | By comparison | Dog is to kennel as bird is to... nest. |
| Causal | Cause-effect | It's raining, so the ground is wet. |
Development of reasoning
According to Piaget, reasoning develops in stages:
- 2-7 years (preoperational): intuitive thinking, egocentric, non-conservation
- 7-11 years (concrete operations): classification, seriation, conservation, reversibility
- 11+ years (formal operations): hypothetico-deductive reasoning, abstraction
Link with language
💡 Language and reasoning: a close relationship
Language and reasoning mutually influence each other. Language allows expressing and structuring thought. Logical connectors (therefore, because, if...then) translate logical operations. Language difficulties can mask or worsen reasoning difficulties, and vice versa.
Reasoning difficulties
Warning signs
- Difficulties categorizing, finding common points
- Difficulties ordering (from smallest to largest)
- Difficulties understanding cause and effect links
- Difficulties in problem solving
- Difficulties with inferences (understanding the implicit)
- Difficulties in mathematics (dyscalculia)
Speech therapy intervention
Principles
- Concrete manipulation: starting from concrete to abstract
- Verbalization: putting reasoning into words
- Explicitation: making strategies explicit
- Progression: from simple to complex
Activities
- Categorization: sorting, classifying, finding the odd one out
- Analogies: "it's like..."
- Logical sequences: completing series
- Problem solving: concrete problem situations
- Absurdities: identifying what's wrong
- Cause-consequence: sequential images, stories
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, insofar as it is linked to language. Reasoning is necessary for comprehension (inferences), narrative (causality), vocabulary (categorization). The speech therapist also works on logical-mathematical reasoning in the context of dyscalculia. For a specific assessment of reasoning, the neuropsychologist may be consulted.
Not necessarily. Reasoning difficulties can exist in children with normal intelligence, particularly in cases of DLD, dyscalculia, or specific difficulties. Psychological assessment helps to sort things out and measure overall intellectual functioning and any dissociations.
