This chapter outlines how a speech and language therapist might assess communication disability. It firstly describes the different approaches to communication and communication disability, and then uses a biopsychosocial approach using the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (World Health Organization, 2001) as a conceptual framework for communication disability assessment. The different types and purposes of assessment for speech and language therapists are outlined and examples of communication assessments are provided throughout. The description of communication disabilities and assessments is by necessity brief and avoids the use of profession-specific terms. Readers are referred to texts by Haynes and Pindzola (1998) or Ruscello (2001) for more detailed information on communication disability assessment.

The study of communication and communication disabilities is often interdisciplinary involving audiologists, neuropsychologists, psycholinguists, sociolinguists, linguists, neurologists, physiologists, neurophysiologists, otolaryngologists and speech and language therapists, to name a few. In most countries of the world, however, it is the responsibility of speech and language therapists to provide services to people with communication disabilities. While hearing impairment is also a communication disability, audiologists have the expertise to assess this area. Speech and language therapists view communication holistically and may use a modality approach (verbal, nonverbal or written) to communication, a linguistic approach (phonetic, phonological, semantic, syntactical and pragmatic), or an information processing or psycholinguistic approach (e.g. input and output modular systems).