Communication Bridge Speech Therapy Research Study

Communication Bridge Speech Therapy Research Study: Using Internet-Based Speech Therapy to Improve Quality of Life and Access to Care

Alzheimer's Association, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, Illinois Department of Public Health, National Institutes of Health (NIH)

This is a study on Internet-based video-practice speech and language therapy for persons with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), or related conditions.

The purpose of this study is: To evaluate the effectiveness of speech and language therapy on a person's ability to communicate immediately after treatment, 6-months after treatment, and 12-months after treatment. To identify the most effective speech and language therapy strategies for persons with these conditions. To determine the feasibility of Internet-based video-practice of speech and language therapy for persons with these conditions. The study will involve 12 to 15 session over the course of 12 months. Some of these sessions will be in-person at the Northwestern Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center (Chicago, IL), while others will take place over the Internet, using an online study portal.

primary progressive aphasia, progressive nonfluent aphasia, progressive aphasia, frontotemporal dementia, frontotemporal lobar degeneration

Subjects in the Check-In group will undergo three check-in sessions with the speech therapist. These sessions will happen remotely, via video-chat, and will last less than an hour. They will occur at 3-, 4-, and 5-months from the subject's enrollment date.

Subjects in the Check-In group will have an online session with a speech-language pathologist 3-, 4-, and 5-months from the subject's enrollment date.

Functional Communication Abilities will be assessed through questionnaires about the participant's language and communication, neuropsychological testing, and speech and language therapy evaluations.

Inclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of dementia with language as a primary symptom (i.e. aphasia) An informant who knows the participant well and can answer questions the participant's communication ability Adequate hearing to follow conversation (correction permitted) Adequate vision (correction permitted)