Creating a communicative environment in hospital for adults with developmental disability and complex communication needs

When adults with developmental disability and complex communication needs enter hospital, their family carers often take a central role in providing care and supporting communication. These adult patients often lack access to systems in the hospital setting and thus rely upon their family carers to be present at all times to speak on their behalf. In this paper, we will (a) outline the implications of a recent body of research investigating the experiences, needs, and roles of family carers of adults with developmental disability for speech pathologists supporting these patients in and out of the hospital setting, and (b) discuss barriers to and strategies for increasing the communicative accessibility of the hospital ward for adults with developmental disability and complex communication needs.