An approach to communication difficulties in people with intellectual disabilities: the importance of context

Communication is an essential basic right for the quality of life of every person, where all the agents involved have responsibility for guarantying an effective dialogue. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities with specific communication needs, manage communicative forms that could often seem limited and difficult to comprehend for most people, therefore reducing their effectiveness. This paper proposes a procedure based on the use of alternative and augmentative communication systems with a person-centered planning methodology, where technology is put at the service of the person's life project, promoting the involvement of their relationships towards the goal of improving their quality of life, and generalizing the use of communication systems in all contexts.