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Speech Therapy For Dementia Patients

Get Online Help For Communicating With Dementia

Speech Therapy Techniques for Dementia

You dont have to travel or take time out of your schedule to get your loved one to a speech therapy appointment. They can experience these benefits through online help.

Online speech therapy is perfect for patients that need help communicating with dementia. Our online video speech therapy provides live sessions all over the world. We also provide resources for patients to practice at home between sessions.

If you have a loved one who has dementia, let us help! Contact us for a free introductory call by clicking the button below.

Hearing Loss And Dementia

Overall, 15% of the adult population in the United States age 18 and older report having some trouble hearing . Self-reported hearing loss increases with age, with 5.5% of adults ages 1839, 19% of adults ages 4069, and 43% of adults over age 70 reporting difficulty hearing without a hearing aid .

Adjusting for other risk factors , studies show that hearing loss is independently associated with increased risk of dementia . For individuals over 60 years of age, more than one third of the risk of all-cause dementia was found to be associated with hearing loss .

Further, individuals with baseline hearing loss were found to have greater rates of cognitive decline over time than individuals with normal hearing , and the mean time to develop dementia was reported to be faster for individuals with self-reported hearing loss than for individuals without self-reported hearing loss .

Several hypotheses have been proposed to account for the association between hearing loss and dementia. They include the following:

It is possible that the mechanism proposed by each of these hypotheses is not mutually exclusive, and that each contributes individually or in combination to increase the risk of dementia. Further investigation is needed to clarify the relationship between hearing loss and dementia .

Roles and Responsibilities

Music Brings Back Memories It Brings Back Good Feelings It Can Also Facilitate Language

Meanwhile, personally meaningful music can help people recall old memories and how they felt about past events associated with a certain song. It can lift peoples mood, and spur conversations, sing-alongs and physical movement.

Music brings back memories, Fukuhara said. It brings back good feelings. It can also facilitate language.

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Finding Creative Avenues Of Expression

Fukuhara noted that many people retain their ability to draw in the early stage of dementia. While some may have lost their childhood interest in drawing, she said art therapy can not only help individuals rediscover their creative nature but also encourage speech.

Surprisingly enough, oftentimes drawing can be very intact, especially at the beginning part of the progression and some of them surprise themselves at what they can draw, Fukuhara said of her patients. It indirectly may bring out more language. So I love doing art, I love doing graphics with color. It helps patients also know that there are creative and colorful sides that we can tap into.

Eating And Swallowing Difficulties

Tips for Daily Routines

Swallowing function changes as we age. These changes may be more pronounced in individuals with dementia, and swallowing difficulties may appear sooner . Overall, 13%57% of individuals with dementia have swallowing impairment . Rates of swallowing impairment for individuals with dementia in long-term care may be as high as 53%60% .

Difficulties are not limited to swallowing dysfunctioncognitive and behavioral changes associated with dementia can also have an impact on eating. Early on, individuals may have difficulty shopping for groceries and planning and preparing meals independently . They may forget to eat, initiate eating less often, or have difficulty determining the need to eat . As the disease progresses, they may become more distracted during mealtime or have difficulty self-feeding, recognizing foods, or using various eating utensils .

Eating and swallowing difficulties may place an individual at greater risk for choking and aspiration pneumonia and may eventually result in malnutrition, dehydration, and weight loss .

Causes

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for approximately 70% of all cases .

The remaining cases are accounted for by vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and mixed dementia types . See ASHA’s resource on common dementias.

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What Type Of Dementia Affects Speech

Theres a reason that not all dementia patients end up with reduced speech or no speaking abilities at all by the end of the disease process. Different types of dementia affect different cognitive areas.

Only certain forms of dementia affect speech. One form is vascular dementia, which is caused by a blockage or reduced blood flow to the brain. Another is frontotemporal dementia, which is actually a group of disorders.

Frontotemporal dementia occurs mostly in the brains temporal and frontal lobes, which are the same parts of the brain that influence language skills, behavior, and personality. Progressive nerve cell loss and atrophy leads to a loss of in these regions.

To compound that, the brain begins building up substances that can further interfere with how well brain cells function.

Eating And Swallowing Assessments

Speech-language pathologists or SLPs will first assess how your senior one eats and swallows. You might wonder, what in the world does this have to do with your seniors speech inabilities?

A lot, actually.

If a senior cant eat, then theyll also struggle with mouth coordination that can limit their speech. By addressing mealtime difficulties, the senior with dementia might have an easier time with speech.

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What Are Areas That Speech Therapy Targets

I was a primary caregiver for my Dad and I was constantly wracking my brain for ways to keep him engaged and independent throughout his illness. I always tried to find ways to work on language and cognitive skills when we did activities together. Here are some areas a speech therapist may work on during a session.

The Target In Alzheimer’s

5. 5 Unmet needs of Dementia Patients- explained by Speech Therapist, Crystal Thomas

Speech therapy for an individual with Alzheimer’s will typically target language and cognitive skills. It is well known that Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease with no cure. This means that those therapy sessions will most likely focus on maintaining the skills of the individual.

A speech therapist can provide strategies to help with “finding their words,” certain cognitive tasks like following directions with one or more steps, and as the disease progresses, ways to assist with eating and swallowing food safely. The overall goal of therapy is to help the person be as independent as possible for as long as possible.

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How Is Dementia Diagnosed

Dementia is diagnosed by a medical professional, working within a multidisciplinary team and will take many different aspects into consideration. It may take a few assessments until a final diagnosis is given. The speech and language therapist plays a key role in assessing, identifying and treating individuals with dementia.

Final Thoughts On Speech Therapy

Dementia is a heartbreaking condition that claims millions of new victims each year. Patients eventually lose the ability to communicate and use other cognitive functions. Thats why its imperative they find the right treatment.

Great Speech delivers speech therapy services virtually to clients of all ages. Those seeking treatment for dementia no longer have the need to go into an office. They can tap into the power of speech therapy right from their homes.

Reach out to the team at Great Speech. Well help you identify your unique needs and goals, and put together an effective speech therapy plan. You can get started with an introductory callby clicking the link below to discuss how a licensed speech and language pathologist on our team can help you achieve your goals.

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Analysis: How Is Constant Therapy Being Used With This Population

A recent analysis of Constant Therapy users took a look at individuals using the app, who identified as living with dementia, and what tasks are assigned to them most frequently by their clinicians.

We looked at data on 30,200 users who identified with a diagnosis of dementia at sign-up. This group of users completed an average of 218 tasks each, for a total of 6.5 million tasks.

The Constant Therapy tasks listed below are the 10 most frequently assigned by clinicians for their clients with dementia.

The Role Of The Speech And Language Therapist In Dementia

More Short

As dementia takes a hold on an increasingly ageing population the Speech and Language Therapist has a key role to play in the care of a person with this disease.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists says therapists have clinical expertise in the areas of communication disorder and dysphagia and are therefore essential in the care and management of this population by the contribution of specialist knowledge and skills within the specialist mental health team. All people with dementia should have access to these specialist services.

A speech and Language Therapist is key in distinguishing the different types of the disease, especially as certain types of dementia have specific language impairments.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists states:

How to help a person with dementia communicate

The Alzheimers Society has produced a factsheet that provides tips and advice for communicating with someone with dementia and on how to encourage the person to communicate in whichever way works best.

How to speak

What to say

References and resources:

To read the full fact sheet go to www.alzheimers.org.uk/factsheets

For details of Alzheimers Society services in your area, visit alzheimers.org.uk/localinfo

For information about a wide range of dementia-related topics, visit alzheimers.org.uk/factsheets

This document is available from the RCSLT website: www.rcslt.org/resources/publications

Image rights -www.pixabay.com

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What To Expect When Speaking To Someone With Dementia

Communicating can be difficult for patients with dementia and their families. If you are experiencing dementia, it is important to remember to speak at your own pace and take your time. Dont worry about what other people may think. Try to keep your environment free from distractions and as quiet as possible. Speaking to familiar people like family members or about topics youre comfortable with may help. If you need something repeated, do not be afraid to ask. If youre having a difficult time thinking of words, try to use gestures, pictures, or try describing things the best that you can.

When speaking to someone with dementia, be sure to be patient and kind, and keep finding new ways to encourage communication. Patients with dementia can benefit from speech-therapy services to help train patients and their families on the best ways that they can communicate with each other. Niagara Therapy, LLC offers speech and language therapy for adults. Our trained therapists are experienced working with dementia patients and their families to help encourage new forms of communication and improve the quality of life for patients and their loved ones. Contact Niagara Therapy, LLC to inquire about our speech and language therapy program.

How Speech Therapists Can Help Individuals With Dementia

May 7, 2020 by Norma Loeb

Dementia affects numerous aspects of an individuals life, and later stages of the progressive disease may impact speech. Difficulty processing language is a common symptom of many types of dementia, including Lewy Body Dementia . As your loved one progresses through the stages of dementia, you may notice signs such as struggling to recall words, decreased ability to concentrate, and slower response time when conversing. If youve noticed any of these signs, a speech-language pathologist may be able to help. If youre considering including a speech therapist in your loved ones Lewy Body Dementia treatment plan, heres what you should know about how they can help:

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The Symptoms Of Dementia May Cause Individuals To Withdraw From Activities And Relationships

Dementia affects a variety of cognitive functions including attention, memory, communication & speech, reasoning, and visual perception, and can also result in:

  • Apathy & Depression
  • Behavioral Changes

Due to these symptoms, dementia can cause individuals to withdraw from activities, family and friends. However, maintaining these activities and relationships are the very things that may reduce the effects of cognitive impairment. Therefore, it appears beneficial for people with dementia to explore treatments that may provide some relief of symptoms and help maintain a level of independence longer.

The Top 10 Constant Therapy Exercises Assigned By Clinicians To Their Clients With Dementia

Speech and Language Therapy: Alzheimer’s and Dementia

1. Match pictures: In this working memory task, the patient must recall the location of everyday pictures. Individuals Assigned: 14,327 Percent of Users Identified As Living With Dementia: 47%

2. Find the same symbols: Targets a variety of skills often affected by dementia, including attention, visuospatial processing, and executive functioning. With 10 levels of difficulty, higher levels provide an increased challenge by adding more symbols in the grid and more distractions.Individuals Assigned: 13,810 Percent of Users Identified As Living With Dementia: 46%

3. Put steps in order: Sequencing steps to daily activities often affect people living with dementia. In this executive functioning task, you are presented with the steps to daily activities and must drag these steps into the correct order. Individuals Assigned: 13,633 Percent of Users Identified As Living With Dementia: 45%

4. Do clock math: Dementia can affect an individuals ability to do daily tasks such as reading a clock or calculating time. This task target skills in visuospatial processing, memory, and calculations. Do clock math has 3 levels of difficulty where individuals must calculate the time . Individuals Assigned: 10,091 Percent of Users Identified As Living With Dementia: 33%

References:

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Roles And Responsibilities Of Audiologists

Audiologists play a critical role in the assessment and care of individuals with dementia. The professional roles and activities in audiology include clinical services related to hearing loss prevention and advocacy and education, administration, and research. See ASHA’s Scope of Practice in Audiology .

Appropriate roles for audiologists include the following:

As indicated in the Code of Ethics , audiologists who serve this population should be specifically educated and appropriately trained to do so. Given the relationship between hearing and dementia, audiologists who serve individuals with dementia require knowledge and skills in both areas as well as knowledge of cognitive-communication problems associated with dementia.

Most of the common dementia-associated diseases are progressive in nature, and audiologists have an ethical responsibility to provide appropriate services that will benefit the individual and maximize communication functioning at all stages of the disease process.

Assessment

See the Assessment section of the Dementia Evidence Map for pertinent scientific evidence, expert opinion, and client/caregiver perspective.

The diagnosis of dementia is made by a medical team. The role of the SLP is to assess cognitive-communication deficits related to dementia and to identify cultural, linguistic, and environmental influences that have an impact on functioning.

Helping Dementia Patients Recall Grandchildrens Names

CHICAGO – A novel web-based speech therapy program for people with language problems due to dementia significantly improved their ability to recall words they had lost, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

One woman could once again identify the tulips and daffodils in her garden. And a man restored his ability to issue commands to his border collie to herd the sheep on his farm and order his favorite meal from the drive-through at Steak n Shake.

People with Alzheimers dementia or primary progressive aphasia often have language problems, struggling to retrieve the name of a grandchild or find the words to order dinner in a restaurant.

But their aphasia often goes untreated because most speech-language pathologists are trained to help children or individuals with stroke, not those with dementia.

Northwestern scientists are closing that gap by developing a new program called the Communication Bridge in which specially trained speech-language pathologists offer personalized therapy over the web to those with dementia-related language impairment, also known as aphasia.

A new pilot study shows the participants made significant improvement in recalling the words they had found troublesome after two months of therapy, and maintained that improvement after six months.

The new study showing the feasibility and early results of the program is published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.

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Liaisons With Adult Caretakers And Medical Staff

All along, an SLP works with adult children and caretakers, as well as occupational therapists, physical therapy, and the rest of the medical staff supporting your senior.

If the SLP notices an issue with your seniors health, whether thats related to their speech or not, theyll bring it to your attention, as well as alerting your seniors doctors, nurses, and other caretakers.

Together, this multidisciplinary team plays an important role in the dementia care of your senior and their ability to carry out activities of daily living for as long as possible after their initial diagnosis.

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25 Nov, 2019

Dementia is not a normal part of aging- it is the leading cause of disability in Australia for people over the age of 65 years. According to the World Health Organisation , the number of people living with dementia worldwide is currently estimated at 50 million and is predicted to triple by 2050.

What is Dementia?Dementia is a chronic and progressive syndrome resulting from acquired brain disease. It is characterised by a progressive decline in memory and cognitive areas such as: complex attention, executive function, learning and language. Over time, the severity of dementia has an impact on independent functioning and daily living activities .

The impact of cognitive change on communication can have a significant impact on day- to day communication. For example, a decline in memory, attention, executive function and or language processing can make it challenging to follow or participate in a conversation . In conjunction, loss of memory and problems with judgment can cause challenges in relation to eating and nutrition for many people with dementia.

What is the role of Speech- Language Pathologists for people with dementia?

Speech- Language Pathologists play an important role in dementia related communication or swallowing difficulties. The role of SLPs include screening, assessment, diagnosis and treatment of people with dementia- they work as part of multidisciplinary team . Within the scope of practice, the SLPs role includes but is not limited to:

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