This exploratory Intergenerational Program (IGP) focused on reading to determine whether it affects mood and communication in older adults with mild dementia and neurocognitive deficits, and if it influences school-aged children’s perceptions of older adults over time. Six older adults with cognitive-communication deficits and 12 school-aged children, identified with language and reading concerns, participated for 45 min weekly for 8 weeks in this IGP. The Mini-Mental State Exam, an adult mood and communication questionnaire, and a questionnaire about the children’s perceptions of older adult were administered. No significant findings were obtained from measures of the older adults. Significant findings were obtained for the school-aged children’s perceptions of older adults. Changes in reading behaviors were noted by the teacher and parents. Through observation and comments, the participants indicated mutual enjoyment of this IGP. This IGP is novel because it includes two populations with communication disorders and warrants further investigation.
This exploratory study evaluated the effectiveness of Apple (Cupertino, CA) iPad(®) (second generation) to deliver telepractice speech and/or language services. Five children and their parents/guardians, as well as four adult participants, received services for communication disorders in a university clinic setting over two academic semesters. The children met some of their speech goals and all of their language goals. All adult clients met some of their communication goals. Personal opinions about telepractice did not change statistically before and after therapy. The major problem identified during the study was skipping and/or freezing of images on the iPads during interactions with FaceTime(®) (Apple). Further studies are needed to investigate the feasibility of using Apple iPads in telepractice.
Two male participants with chronic (> 2 years), non-fluent aphasia and their family members participated in script training using videoconferencing. Functional scripts were developed by people with aphasia (PWA) and their family members. Accuracy of scripts was measured by total target words produced per turn. Participant 1 with Broca’s aphasia produced scripts with 0% accuracy pre-treatment and 87.5% accuracy post-treatment. Participant 2 with Transcortical Motor aphasia produced scripts with 20.2% accuracy pre-treatment and 63.5% accuracy post-treatment. Pre- and post-questionnaires for communication effectiveness and the use of telepractice for speech therapy indicated improvements in answering yes/no questions, participating in conversations with strangers, and increasing confidence and satisfaction with technology delivered treatment. The use of videoconferencing to deliver script training appears beneficial for individuals with chronic aphasia.
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