Assessment of the Social Interaction Abilities of Adolescents With Communication Disability: A Scoping Review

We sought to identify the constructs and measures used to evaluate the social interaction abilities of young people (12-17 years) with communication disability, drawing from three frameworks: a taxonomy of pediatric cognitive-communication disorders, a taxonomy to describe language assessments of school-aged children, and the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).

A scoping review was conducted, guided by the five-stage methodological framework outlined by Arksey and O'Malley (2005). Ten databases were searched (CENTRAL, CINAHL, ERIC, LLBA, Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, speechBITE, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global).

In total, 173 peer-reviewed publications were identified and included in this review. Most papers measured the construct of pragmatics/social communication and behavior using standardized, norm-referenced, static, and decontextualized instruments that focused on the ICF's Activity component, with fewer papers evaluating young people's social interaction skills at the Participation level.

There is an urgent need for more Participation-focused measures. Such measures could enable speech-language pathologists to support young people's development and participation in ways that are meaningful to them.