Doris Detter-Biesl BSc MSc

Assessment tools to evaluate the communicative abilities of people with dementia for healthcare professionals: a scoping review.

People with dementia are already affected by impairments in their communication skills in the early stages of the disease. This can lead to misunderstandings in daily communicative situations with relatives or carers. These problems in social interactions lead to people with dementia reducing their social contacts and participating less in leisure activities. Relationships, including with family members, can be difficult to maintain and lead to social withdrawal, which can negatively impact the quality of life of those affected and their relatives. One way of counteracting social withdrawal is to intensify the communication opportunities offered by family members or carers. To maintain dialogue, it is crucial to specifically collect and assess communication skills.

In Austria, nursing predominantly takes place at home. Mainly relatives or informal caregivers working for agencies which provide personal assistance are involved. Professional nurses and medical specialists are often contacted at a very late stage. This leaves both family and informal caregivers with a variety of challenges.

Early detection of language development disorders and a timely delivery of appropriate measures derived therefrom can prevent the secondary consequences of language learning disorders. In particular, phonologically delayed disorders, can have an impact on the development of literacy and placing the child at risk for dyslexia. Due to the high demand for speech therapy, however, many children wait up to 4 months before therapy can be started.

The aim of stroke rehabilitation is to significantly increase the patient’s quality of life. In addition to traditional therapy, the use of more widespread consumer electronics (e.g. smart phones, tablets, gesture-controlled devices or virtual reality devices) can help to support the rehabilitation.

Language acquisition is a precondition for oral communication, literacy, and social aspects of life. Up to 16.3 % of all children in Germany are affected by speech sound disorders. Difficulties with the speech processing system (e.g. listening, discriminating speech sounds, etc.) can have an impact on the development of literacy and placing the child at risk of dyslexia.