A Review of Developing Communication Skills for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities on College Campuses.
College students with IDD have almost no communication research to guide you, so your next pilot case could fill the gap.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The authors hunted for research on teaching communication skills to college students with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
They screened every study published up to 2021. Only eight papers fit. Most of those eight worked with students who had mild or no ID.
What they found
There is almost no science on how to help college students with IDD talk, sign, or use devices.
The gap is biggest for students with more severe disabilities.
How this fits with other research
Prahl et al. (2023) proves the gap can be filled. Their team taught four college students with IDD to understand real-world texts like emails. Scores rose after the lessons.
Brady (2022) shows we already have ideas for nonverbal clients. The 2022 review says developmental theory can guide good programs.
Windsor et al. (2025) warns our rulers are shaky. None of the six ID communication questionnaires passed full validity checks. If we start new studies, we will need better measures.
Smith et al. (2020) tells us the need is huge. In a national sample, 58 % of adults with ID had communication problems. College students are part of this group, yet they are missing from the literature.
Why it matters
You may soon get a referral for a college student with IDD. Right now there is no manual to follow. Borrow the Alison et al. model: pick functional campus texts, run brief probes, and graph the data. While you teach, track progress with low-tech tools until better questionnaires arrive. Your pilot data could become the ninth study the review team could not find.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
In the current investigation, we reviewed the literature on communication interventions for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) on college campuses. Eight studies met our inclusion criteria. Data were extracted related to participant demographics (e.g., disability, response form, type of postsecondary program) and study variables (e.g., design, settings, intervention). We evaluated the methodological quality of each study using the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition's Quality Indicator Checklist for single-case design studies. Results indicated a dearth of literature in this critical area and that extant literature reflected a primary research emphasis on the use of multi-component packages to teach communication skills to students with mild or no intellectual disability. Limitations and implications for research and practice for transition professionals and university campus providers are discussed.
Behavior modification, 2021 · doi:10.1177/0145445520976650