Föreläsningar och seminarier Gästseminarium: Anja Lowit
Communication Impairment in Progressive Ataxia: what are the influencing factors and how do we manage them effectively?
För deltagande via Zoom: kontakta Therese Forsberg
Anja Lowit
Department of psychological sciences and health,
University of Strathclyde
Communication disorders are common among adults with neurological conditions, with dysarthria being one of the most frequently observed impairments (Duffy 2019). Many individuals in this group have progressive disorders such as Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or Progressive Ataxia. While the impact of these conditions on speech varies in timing and severity, most people will experience some degree of dysarthria as the disease advances.
Research estimates dysarthria affects up to 90% of individuals with Parkinson’s (Schalling et al., 2018) and 50% with MS (Hartelius et al., 2000). Additionally, communication difficulties may be influenced by cognitive and language impairments, as well as personal (e.g., fatigue, depression, confidence) and environmental factors (speaking setting, conversational partners, etc).
This talk will explore these features with a particular focus on Progressive Ataxia. Characteristics of communication related aspects will be explored, focusing on parallels and potential differences across ataxia types, based on information from experimental studies as well as patient reports.
Furthermore, recent advances in clinical management of the communication difficulties in progressive ataxias will be presented and discussed, focusing particularly on client’s views on outcome measures and what therapy elements are important to effective management in their view.