The translatability of communication interventions in paediatric autism: A scoping review

Purpose: Translation of research is requisite for speech-language pathologists; however, barriers have been reported. This review aimed to identify the extant literature published on communication for autistic children, and examine the replicability and translatability of communication interventions for speech-language pathologists providing services to children with autism.

Method: A scoping review was conducted using a six-stage protocol. Following initial database searching and screening, data were extracted from included studies for demographic characteristics and Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist elements. Stakeholder consultation interviews with 13 speech-language pathologists who work with autistic children were also undertaken.

Result: The database search revealed 4719 studies on the topic of communication in autistic children, of which 762 were communication intervention studies. Of these included intervention studies, 30% were considered replicable according to the TIDieR checklist. Stakeholder consultation revealed that poorly described intervention studies hindered translation efforts.

Conclusion: The vast amount of autism communication intervention literature and the variable quality of intervention description reporting are barriers to accessing high quality literature for translation to practice. Improved reporting of intervention descriptions in autism communication intervention studies would support research translation into clinical settings.