Rethinking Social Communication Support: Exploring Communication Partner Training for Autistic Adults and Their Neurotypical Communication Partners

Autistic and neurotypical people often have difficulty communicating effectively with one another and understanding each other's experiences. Despite evidence that communication breakdowns occur at the interactional level, most social communication interventions focus only on behaviors to be changed by autistic adults, and rely heavily on teaching neurotypical social skills. In this Perspective, we draw on our experiences as a mixed-neurotype team of clinicians, researchers, and advocates to argue that a new framework for social communication support is needed. Specifically, we propose that communication partner training (CPT), an umbrella term for programs that teach strategies to people with communication differences and communication partners alike, is an appropriate framework to guide future social communication support for autistic adults and their neurotypical communication partners. We provide an overview of how CPT is currently used with adults with acquired communication differences (e.g., aphasia, traumatic brain injury) and their communication partners. We highlight three key components of such programs: (i) promoting increased knowledge and understanding of communication differences and each person's unique communication profile; (ii) adapting the communication environment; (iii) and identifying collaborative strategies that people with communication differences and their communication partners can use to foster meaningful interactions. We acknowledge that there are important fundamental differences between autistic adults and people with acquired communication differences; however, we propose that CPT can be used to inform social communication support for autistic adults and their neurotypical communication partners. We provide recommendations for future CPT program development within autism research. Some recommendations include the need to acknowledge each person's intersecting identities and the dynamic impact of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on communication. We also recommend future research to explore ways that CPT can be applied to newly diagnosed autistic adults, as well as autistic youth, and their communication partners. Finally, we highlight the importance of foregrounding future program development in the lived experience of autistic adults and their communication partners. Community brief Why is this topic important? Autistic and neurotypical communication partners often have difficulty understanding each other's experiences and communicating effectively with each other. Most social communication interventions currently available focus only on changing autistic people's behaviors, which can be harmful to their wellbeing, and do not consider the role of the communication partner. What is the purpose of this article? The purpose of this article is to explore how an alternative type of social communication support, communication partner training (CPT), can be used to enhance communication effectiveness between autistic adults and their neurotypical communication partners. CPT is an evidence-based service delivery model in the field of speech-language therapy that provides education and training to people with communication differences and their communication partners. We propose that CPT may be an appropriate framework to guide future social communication supports for autistic adults and their neurotypical communication partners. What personal or professional perspectives do the authors bring to this topic? We are a team of mixed-neurotype professionals (psychologist and speech-language therapist), researchers, and advocates with experiences supporting autistic adults and their communication partners across a range of clinical, educational, and residential settings. What is already known about this topic? Past research has shown that many autistic adults want better social communication support that focuses on the interactional nature of mixed-neurotype miscommunications. CPT is commonly used with adults with traumatic brain injuries, dementia, aphasia, and other acquired communication differences and their communication partners. Three common principles of CPT include (i) promoting increased knowledge and understanding of communication differences and individual communication profiles; (ii) increasing awareness of and adapting the communication environment; (iii) identifying collaborative strategies that people with communication differences and their communication partners can use to minimize communication breakdowns. What do the authors recommend? We recognize that there are important differences between autistic adults and people with acquired communication differences; however, we propose that helpful CPT techniques within the acquired communication differences literature can be used to inform social communication support for autistic adults and their neurotypical communication partners. Future research should be codesigned with autistic adults and their communication partners, and should consider how people's communication preferences may fluctuate, and how intersectionality impacts communication experiences. We also recommend future research to understand ways that CPT can be used to support newly diagnosed autistic adults, as well as autistic youth, and their neurotypical communication partners. How will these recommendations help autistic adults now or in the future? We hope that our recommendations will encourage researchers and clinicians to codevelop new social communication supports to improve communication success for autistic adults and their neurotypical communication partners.