Dementia
Service Delivery

Format (e.g., Individual vs. Group Treatment)

External Scientific Evidence

Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines

Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists; Department of Health (UK); National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)   Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Clinical Guidelines: 5.10 Disorders of Mental Health & Dementia Taylor-Goh, S., ed. (2005). RCSLT Clinical Guidelines. Bicester, Speechmark Publishing Ltd.   Added: July 2011

 

Description

This guideline provides recommendations for the assessment and management of communication and swallowing in children and adults with mental health conditions, including dementia and psychiatric disorders. Separate recommendations specific to individuals with dementia are provided in one section of this review and are listed below. The target audience of this guideline is speech and language therapists. Levels of evidence are provided and defined as follows: Grade A evidence includes “at least one randomised controlled trial as part of the body of literature, of overall good quality and consistency” (p. 387) that addresses the specific recommendation. Grade B evidence includes “well-conducted clinical studies but no randomised clinical trials on the topic of recommendation” (p. 387). Grade C evidence indicates the absence of “directly applicable studies of good quality” and is from expert committee reports on opinions and/or clinical experience. 

 

Recommendations

• Group language stimulation may be used to stimulate communication (Grade C Evidence).
• Training should be offered on an individual or group basis (Grade C Evidence).

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Evidence-Based Systematic Reviews

Cognitive Training in Alzheimer's Disease: A Meta-Analysis of the Literature Sitzer, D. I., Twamley, E. W., et al. (2006). Acta Psychiatr Scand, 114(2), 75-90. Added: July 2011

 

Description

This is a meta-analysis of controlled trials that examined the effects of  cognitive training, including restorative and compensatory treatments, to improve the cognitive performance of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. 

 

Conclusions

Individual cognitive training sessions appear to be more effective than group sessions. 

 

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