The utilization of story retell strategies by people with moderate Alzheimer's dementia

Abstract

Dementia is a group of symptoms related to memory loss and overall cognitive impairment (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2016). Of all of the etiologies of dementia, Alzheimer's ranks as the most common, accounting for up to 70% of cases (American Speech Language-Hearing Association, 2016). While efforts to understand and treat this disease continues to progress, professionals (e.g., speech-language pathologists) work to create appropriate and effective therapy strategies for clients and caregivers. In this study, I look to analyze the effectiveness of story retell strategies in moderate Alzheimer's dementia patients. Pictello, a story application, provides patients with visual and textual cues to help eliminate conversational breakdowns, enhancing the conversation experience for both the speaker and listener. This method is supported through evidence that written and picture cues have been shown to improve conversations of people with dementia, yet no studies have investigated its use on tablets for study retell (Bourgeois, 1990).