Discourse Analysis in Adults With and Without Communication Disorders: A Resource for Clinicians and Researchers provides state-of-the-art information about discourse analysis with sections on Aging, Aphasia, Cognitive Communication Disorders, and Neurodegenerative Diseases. The three renowned editors are actively engaged in the area of discourse. Expert clinical researchers introduce and organize each section, and chapters are authored by leaders involved in discourse research worldwide. Discourse is considered the most natural unit of language. Effective production of discourse requires complex interactions among linguistic, cognitive, and social abilities that are sensitive to even mild disruption in any one of these elements. This book covers the examination of discourse in adults with acquired communication disorders, including selecting elicitation tasks, streamlining transcription processes, expanding analysis methods, and translating findings for treatment application. Key Features * Provides a global perspective on discourse assessment for clinicians * Dedicated chapters on aging, aphasia, traumatic brain injury, right hemisphere disorder, primary progressive aphasia, Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Disclaimer: Please note that ancillary content (such as documents, audio, and video, etc.) may not be included as published in the original print version of this book.

Since discourse analysis is a relatively new area, there is no consens us as to the types of discourse that should be elicited, or the method s of analysis that should be applied. This book demonstrates a differe nt way of analyzing discourse, along with step-by-step guidelines and extensive exhibits to illustrate the analysis. Evaluation and treatmen t are included throughout the chapters.

Application of analytic discourse techniques to clinical practice is relatively recent. This book's contributors begin with the notion that systematic examination of discourse provides a rich source of data for describing the complex relationships among language, social context, and the cognitive processes that underlie discourse comprehension and production. Evidence is provided that when discourse is studied across different clinical populations, analysis yields an optimal opportunity for developing dynamic models of brain and language that more thoroughly account for the complexity of language use in social contexts. Accordingly, studies presented in this volume have a dual focus -- to examine the implications of discourse research on neurolinguistic theories and to evaluate the contribution of discourse analysis to understanding the clinical status of patients with brain damage. As such, this volume reports patterns of preserved and impaired discourse behavior in normal adults and in different adult clinical populations. It also describes numerous tasks designed to elicit a variety of discourse genres and a host of techniques created to describe how subjects order information and relate ideas across sentences. In addition, it includes numerous abstract units and linguistic devices targeted to examine those aspects of discourse that govern cohesion, organization, and topic manipulation. This volume is unique because it presents both theoretical and clinical papers that examine a variety of communication pathologies. Clinicians often report dissatisfaction with formal test batteries in that results are often at variance with clinical observation of performance in real life situations. To address this concern, this work proposes methods for examining discourse that move the examiner closer to naturalistic sampling. The research presented demonstrates that discourse analysis provides clinically significant information that contributes to the understanding of the cognitive, linguistic, and social status of people with communication disorders. These studies also offer a framework to support continuously evolving diagnostic and treatment paradigms for adults with neurological communication pathologies.

The Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA) is an evolutionary change in the way practitioners view aphasia intervention. By focusing on meeting the needs of individuals affected by aphasia, LPAA can produce real, meaningful enhancement to the quality of life. Neurogenic Communication Disorders and the Life Participation Approach: The Social Imperative in Supporting Individuals and Families breaks down the past, present, and future of the LPAA movement with contributions from a range of new and experienced practitioners. In addition, this text provides a roadmap for professionals interested in incorporating person-centered intervention for aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders, including primary progressive aphasia, dementia, and traumatic brain injury. Within this book, clinicians will find tips, tools, and guidance for integrating a life participation approach into their practice, as well as first-hand descriptions of the positive benefits this approach can have for those living with neurogenic communication disorders.

This book is the definitive reference guide to clinical models, as well as specific clinical techniques, for providing client-centered group treatment for aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders. It provides a wealth of insight and global perspective in the provision of care in aphasia and related conditions for students, clinicians, and professionals in other health-related disciplines. Key Features: * The book is designed for day-to-day use for busy practitioners * Expert clinicians are the authors of each of the chapters giving the reader authoritative guidance * Each chapter follows the same basic outline for quick and accessible reference * Tables, charts, and summaries enhance the text

There is currently considerable focus on psychosocial issues for persons with aphasia and their significant others. However, there has been little unifying work that brings diverse interdisciplinary perspectives together to understand the impact of aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders on the social construction and mediation of self or identity. In this book, the authors explore this idea of social construction of self as it relates to the human need to create, share, and modify life stories, particularly when confronting major life changes. Their premise is that impaired communication can have a profound impact on one’s perception of self and one’s ability to negotiate the social reconstruction of self in the context of a neurological disorder. The nature and extent of impact varies, as seen in the book’s in-depth examination of narrative self for persons living with aphasia, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia, as well as those aging without impairment. The authors present theoretical grounding for using the concepts of self and the idea of a social and cultural tool kit that enables clients to interact with others and to define themselves in the context of those around them. The text moves from theory to qualitative analyses of living with neurogenic disorders to implications for clinical interventions for individual clients and their significant others.

Analysis of discourse production among speakers with acquired communication disorders is an important and necessary clinical procedure. This book provides a comprehensive review and discussion of aphasia and its related disorders, their corresponding clinical discourse symptoms that speech-and-language pathologists should address, and the different methods of discourse elicitation that are clinically and research oriented. This edition has been thoroughly updated throughout to include the latest research, including advances in word retrieval and discourse production, cognitive and multicultural aspects of disordered discourse production, application of technology to understand and evaluate spoken discourse, and evidence-based intervention of discourse impairments. Contemporary issues related to disordered/clinical discourse elicitation are added. Recent advancement in discourse analysis is covered and discussions of various treatment options of discourse symptoms are provided. Finally, the manifestation of discourse symptoms as a function of speakers’ multilingual/multi-cultural status and specific considerations related to clinical assessment and remediation are explored. As the only introductory text to include comprehensive coverage of basic knowledge of neurogenic disordered discourse, it is a must-read for students, clinicians, and researchers in various fields. Readers will also benefit from plenty of examples that provide a connection between the theoretical contents presented in the text and application to real-life contexts of discourse production.