Identifying and Describing Best Clinical Practices for Children and Adolescents With Complex Communication Needs: A Scoping Review of Healthcare-Based Interventions.
Paula Resina, Marcela Mezzatesta, Neus Elias and 2 others
PMID 40745993WHAT IT FOUND
Only eight studies met criteria for clinical communication interventions for children with complex needs.
Multimodal approaches combining AAC with naturalistic and parent strategies showed promise, while speech-only interventions failed. Findings apply mainly to autism, not other disabilities.
Key findings
01Multimodal interventions combining AAC, parent-mediated strategies and naturalistic teaching yielded better expressive and receptive communication results than single-strategy methods.
02Interventions focusing solely on speech production were ineffective for minimally verbal children with autism.
03Children with stronger receptive language benefited more from naturalistic play-based treatments, while those with lower baseline skills responded better to highly structured interventions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only eight studies were included, indicating a significant gap in the literature. All included studies focused on children with autism, so findings may not generalise to other causes of complex communication needs. Sample sizes were small (10 to 68 participants), limiting certainty. The review excluded studies with fewer than 10 participants, potentially omitting relevant small-scale research. Variety in study designs complicates comparisons between interventions.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these findings apply to all children with complex communication needs. All eight included studies focused on autism, so results may not generalise to other disabilities like cerebral palsy or Down syndrome.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →