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Is Colourful Semantics an effective therapy for improving language development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Published September 2018

Download the full evidence summary: Colourful Semantics

What were we asked?

We were asked by a speech and language therapist whether there was any evidence to support the use of Colourful Semantics to aid language development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

What did we find?

  • Colourful Semantics is an approach used in Speech and Language Therapy to help children with language development.
  • This approach uses colour codes to breakdown sentence structures.
  • There is a lack of research on the use of Colourful Semantics for children with Autism.
  • Research with children with Developmental Language Disorder (previously referred to as Specific Language Impairment) suggests Colourful Semantics may be a useful approach to consider for children with more severe language disorders.

Note: the views expressed here are those of the Peninsula Cerebra Research Unit (PenCRU) at the University of Exeter Medical School and do not represent the views of the Cerebra charity, or any other parties mentioned. We strongly recommend seeking medical advice before undertaking any treatments/therapies not prescribed within the NHS.