COMMUNICATION DISORDERS (J SIGAFOOS, SECTION EDITOR) Opportunity Barriers and Promising Practices for Supporting Individuals with Complex Communication Needs Susan S. Johnston 1 & Cheri Blue 1 & Cindy Gevarter 2 & Sarah Ivy 1 & Sondra Stegenga 1 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 Abstract Purpose of Review It is well established that individuals with complex communication needs (CCN) can increase their ability to communicate efficiently and effectively. However, many individuals with CCN experience opportunity barriers with regard to the development of communication skills. This paper will review promising practices and research implications for addressing opportunity barriers for individuals with complex communication needs. Recent Findings Individuals with CCN may experience opportunity barriers to the development of communication skills, including barriers related to policies, practices, knowledge/skills of professionals or communication partners, and attitudes. Research suggests that promising practices exist for addressing these barriers. Additional research should be conducted in order to further our understanding of efficient and effective ways to address opportunity barriers. Summary Although often discussed separately, it is important to note that opportunity barriers are interrelated and therefore changes to one barrier may have a collateral impact on other barriers. This paper summarized research related to opportunity barriers for individuals with CCN as well as promising practices for addressing barriers. Keywords Complex communication needs . CCN . Augmentative and alternative communication . AAC . Opportunity barriers Introduction People communicate with each other for a variety of reasons: to express needs/wants, to share information, and to develop friendships and relationships. Some individuals experience disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy, autism, cognitive delays) that decrease their capacity to communicate verbally. This, in turn, can impact social interactions, academic progress, employ- ment opportunities, and health/well-being. Individuals who are unable to effectively and efficiently pro- duce or understand verbal communication are considered to have complex communication needs or CCN [1••]. Research has clearly established that, with appropriate supports and the use of evidence-based intervention strategies, individuals with CCN can increase their communicative abilities, oftentimes through the use of augmentative and alternative communication or AAC [i.e., 2–6]. AAC refers to “all of the ways we share our ideas and feelings without talking” [7] and can include facial expressions, gestures, sign languages/systems, communication books, single-message voice output communication aids, and speech-generating devices. Although it is well established that a wide variety of individ- uals with CCN can increase their ability to communicate effi- ciently and effectively, many individuals with CCN experience barriers with regard to the development of communication skills and access to appropriate supports [i.e., 8–11, 12••]. In order to better understand and articulate these barriers, Beukelman and Mirenda [13••] proposed the use of a framework that includes the identification of access barriers (limitations in the current capabilities of the individual or in the communication system that he or she uses) as well as opportunity barriers (limitations based upon policy, practices, knowledge/skills of professionals or communication partners, and attitudes). Although it is important to consider both access and opportu- nity barriers when designing systems and supports for individuals with CCN, Light and McNaughton [14] note that, too often, the This article is part of the Topical Collection on Communication Disorders * Susan S. Johnston susan.johnston@utah.edu 1 Department of Special Education, The University of Utah, 1721 Campus Center Drive, R. 2293, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA 2 Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA Current Developmental Disorders Reports https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-020-00195-w