Clinical Perspectives on Primary Progressive Aphasia

Primary progressive aphasia is a type of dementia that progressively impairs language abilities (speaking, understanding, reading and writing) and may eventually affect other aspects of thinking, movement and/or personality. For the person with primary progressive aphasia, these problems have a profound effect on their ability to communicate, which in turn impacts their relationships, social networks and ability to participate in everyday activities that depend on communication. Recent understanding of primary progressive aphasia has grown enormously, however, and this book provides an up-to-date survey of research relevant to the clinical care of people with primary progressive aphasia. It covers initial diagnosis, neuropathology, genetics and typical patterns of progression from early- to late-stage disease, with a special focus on management and intervention for a range of different language symptoms and everyday communication activities.

This book is suitable for a wide readership, from neurologists, geriatricians and other medical specialists, to general practitioners, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and students in these fields. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Aphasiology.

Professor Lyndsey Nickels is a speech pathologist and Research Professor at Macquarie University, Australia. She is known internationally for her theoretical and applied research on language impairments and their treatment.

Dr Karen Croot is a lecturer in Applied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Sydney, Australia. She is a respected authority on primary progressive aphasia, having been researching in the field since 1993.