It is well documented that engagement in arts and cultural activities contributes to improving and maintaining the health and well-being of older people. Despite this, many health and social care professionals do not recognize or accept arts and cultural activities as relevant to their care remit. To address this, a team of 17 individuals…

Purpose: Various directional hypotheses for the observed links between aging, hearing, and cognition have been proposed: (a) cognitive load on perception hypothesis, (b) information degradation hypothesis, (c) sensory deprivation hypothesis, and (d) common cause hypothesis. Supporting evidence for all 4 hypotheses has been reported. No studies…

Purpose: Studies suggest that deficits in auditory processing predict cognitive decline and dementia, but those studies included limited measures of auditory processing. The purpose of this study was to compare older adults with and without probable mild cognitive impairment (MCI) across two domains of auditory processing (auditory performance in…

The construct of cognitive reserve has primarily been defined in terms of a single proxy measure, education. There may, however, be alternative, potentially additive, proxy measures of cognitive reserve, such as rural or urban residence. Using a large sample of 10,263 older Canadians, ranging in age between 64 and 99 years (mean age = 75.7 years,…

The number of people with intellectual disability living into old age and developing dementia continues to increase. Dementia presents a wide range of challenges for staff due to progressive deterioration. This article presents the findings from a narrative literature review of professional caregivers' experiences of caring for individuals with…

Technological devices help extending a person's sensory experience of the environment. From sensors to cameras, devices currently use embedded systems that can be used for the main goal they were designed but they can also be used for other objectives without additional costs of material or service subscription. Emotional assessment is a useful…

Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) describes a heterogeneous group of language-led dementias. People with this type of dementia are increasingly being referred to speech and language therapy (SLT) services. Yet, there is a paucity of research evidence focusing on PPA interventions and little is known about SLT practice in terms of…

In order to discover an effective treatment for dementia it is necessary to include dementia patients in clinical research trials. Dementia patients face an increased risk to lose the capacity to consent to research participation, and research possibilities with incompetent participants are legally strictly limited. One solution is for patients to…

Background: This study investigated the application of a newly developed neuropsychological assessment, the Wolfenbütteler Dementia Test for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (WDTIM) in combination with the Dementia Screening Questionnaire for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (DSQIID). Methods: The instruments were evaluated in…

Purpose Propositional density (PD) is a measure of content richness in language production that declines in normal aging and more profoundly in dementia. The present study aimed to develop a PD scoring system for Czech and use it to compare PD in language productions of older people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and control…

Continuing education on dementia for health-care providers has been shown to have positive effects on diagnostic confidence, knowledge, and care management. Technological approaches to educational delivery have been found to have comparable effects in terms of quality and efficacy. The purpose of the systematic review was to compose and present an…

The availability of user-friendly technological tools is allowing instructional designers and subject matter experts to create innovative online instruction. This article describes the implementation of a multimedia case-based approach that employs narrative to create a fully online course on complex continuing and long-term care for older adults.…

Background: A population sample of people with Down syndrome, studied from infancy, has now been followed up at the age of 50 years. From the original sample of 54, there were 27 still in the study at the age of 50, all but four of the losses resulting from deaths. Methods: Intelligence and language skills were tested and daily living skills…

Purpose: Our purpose was to create a comprehensive review of speech impairment in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and progressive apraxia of speech in order to identify the most effective measures for diagnosis and monitoring, and to elucidate associations between speech and neuroimaging. Method: Speech and…

Background: There is a considerable body of evidence to suggest that behavioural activation for depression is an equally effective but less complex treatment than cognitive behavioural therapy. It may therefore be more suitable for those who are cognitively impaired (i.e. early-stage dementia or mild cognitive impairment) or have a learning…