Language in Dementia

Dementia is a devastating condition, with profound cognitive changes affecting every aspect of an individual's functioning. The loss of communication is one symptom above others that causes distress and impacts negatively on quality of life, yet it is still one of the least understood aspects of dementia. This book undertakes a comprehensive examination of language and communication in individuals with cognitive impairment and dementia. Each chapter covers a specific neurodegenerative disorder, and addresses the epidemiology, aetiology, pathophysiology, prognosis and clinical features, along with the assessment and treatment of these disorders by speech-language pathologists. Many examples of language from individuals with neurodegenerative conditions are included, to explain clearly the effects of dementia on communication, and there are exercises at the end of each chapter, to develop language analysis skills. The book is suitable reading for all medical and health professionals, including speech-language pathologists, clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists, geriatricians, neurologists and psychiatrists.

1. Alzheimer's Dementia; 2. Primary Progressive Aphasia; 3. Vascular Dementia; 4. Mild Cognitive Impairment; 5. Parkinson's Disease Dementia; 6. Huntington's Disease; 7. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy; 8. Multiple Sclerosis.

Louise Cummings is Professor in the Department of English at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She teaches and conducts research in pragmatics, communication disorders, and public health reasoning. She is the author or editor of 18 books in these areas, including most recently Case Studies in Communication Disorders (2017) and Speech and Language Therapy (2018).