Novel approaches for characterizing social communication and language development of young children with neurogenetic syndromes

Communication is a key skill needed to navigate the world and is often a primary concern for caregivers of children with neurogenetic syndromes. Given the prevalence of language and social communication difficulties among children with neurogenetic syndromes, it is crucial that we use effective tools to identify and assess delays in these domains. The goal of this chapter is to describe the current state of the field when it comes to assessing social communication and language development of young children with neurogenetic syndromes. Standard methods of social communication and language assessment are discussed, as well as the challenges faced when applying these methods to very young children with neurogenetic syndromes. Remote, naturalistic assessment is emphasized as a promising methodological approach that has been employed to address these challenges in neurogenetic syndromes. This chapter will also discuss important considerations when applying novel methods to neurogenetic syndrome populations and how our future work can continue to improve language and social communication assessment for this population.