Measuring social communication in people with intellectual disability who use minimal speech: Differences across the lifespan

Social communication skills are important for social, educational, and vocational access for those with intellectual disability (ID) who use minimal speech. Measuring social communication skills across the lifespan can provide valuable information about trajectories of social communication development and intervention outcomes. However, finding appropriate assessments that measure form, function, and pragmatics of social communication and that can capture change and variability in skills in the ID population is challenging. Further, regardless of skill level, social communication needs change over the lifespan in terms of communicative functions, partners, and contexts-affecting the choice of appropriate measurement tools and procedures. This review highlights the unique considerations at the following stages of the lifespan: infancy, preschool, school age, adolescence, and adulthood. We also identify common social communication measures that can be used at each stage and provide recommendations for researchers.