How communication skills in youth with intellectual developmental disabilities are supported: An overview of the professional training and practices in Europe

Intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that includes a disability in intellectual functioning and adaptative functioning. Most persons with IDD experience communication difficulties and, the more they struggle with communication difficulties, the more they experience difficulties in self-determination, social inclusion, and interpersonal relationships. Communication difficulties lead to a risk of exclusion since communication skills are crucial to learning, working, developing relationships, and engaging in different social contexts. Thus, it is essential to support communication to promote the individuals’ social and professional inclusion, and trained professionals are crucial in this support. Yet, the appropriate strategies to support communication are rarely implemented. Specifically, support dedicated to adolescents and young adults is still scarce. In addition, most people consider that supporting the communication needs of people with IDD is the role of specialized professionals such as speech and language therapists. While it is true that their role is central, this is insufficient to ensure continued progress in communicative skills. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) emphasized that supporting communication in people with communication needs requires that their environment expects that they can and will communicate and thus all persons should engage to cooperate in communication. In addition, promoting communication in people with communication needs should be integrated into the daily communication environments, and it requires the knowledge and skills of parents and professionals from a variety of disciplines.
The current submission presents preliminary data from a survey conducted within the ERASMUS+COM-IN Project with the aim, before creating training materials, to gather information concerning the communication needs of youth with IDD and the way communication skills are supported by the professionals working with them. The questionnaire included questions concerning professionals’ knowledge and training on communication skills, the way these skills are addressed in their organization, their practices concerning communication skills, how they work with youth families, and questions concerning employment and working conditions. The questionnaire was implemented on the online survey tool, Limesurvey, and it was sent to professionals working with youth with IDD in Belgium, Greece, France, Finland, and Spain. We expect to identify which professionals are involved in supporting communication skills and which are their training and current professional practices, but also those of the professionals who declare not being involved in supporting communication (ex: do they spontaneously adopt strategies to facilitate communication with youth with IDD?), and to show that working conditions are related to professionals’ training and practices.