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

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. 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. 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. 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.

研究成果的临床转化对于言语语言病理学家（Speech-Language Pathologist, SLP）而言是不可或缺的环节，但现有研究已报道该过程仍存在诸多阻碍。本综述旨在梳理已发表的自闭症儿童沟通领域现存文献，并考察面向自闭症儿童提供服务的言语语言病理学家所应用的沟通干预方案的可重复性与可转化性。本研究采用六阶段研究方案开展范围综述。经过初步的数据库检索与文献筛选后，研究人员从纳入的文献中提取了人口统计学特征以及干预描述与可重复性检查表（Template for Intervention Description and Replication, TIDieR）的各条目数据。此外，本研究还对13名服务于自闭症儿童的言语语言病理学家开展了利益相关者咨询访谈。数据库检索共获取4719篇与自闭症儿童沟通相关的文献，其中762篇为沟通干预类研究。在纳入的干预类研究中，依据TIDieR检查表评估，仅30%的研究被判定为具备可重复性。利益相关者咨询结果显示，干预研究的描述不够详尽阻碍了研究成果的临床转化工作。自闭症沟通干预相关文献体量庞大，且干预描述的报告质量参差不齐，这成为研究人员获取高质量文献以实现临床转化的主要阻碍因素。若能提升自闭症沟通干预类研究中干预描述的报告质量，将有助于推动研究成果向临床实践的转化。