Working with Communication and Swallowing Difficulties in Older Adults

This accessible resource offers valuable guidance for all student and practising speech and language therapists (SLTs)who are working with older people with communication and swallowing difficulties. Chapters provide up-to-date theory on age-related changes alongside practical strategies for clinicians to use in their daily work, from help with mental capacity decisions to supporting older people with good palliative care. Promoting a holistic approach for ageing well, this resource dispels myths that surround the ageing process while detailing the normal physiological and psychological effects of ageing on communication and swallowing, as well as diseases and conditions associated with older age, such as frailty. Illustrated throughout with clinical case studies and helpful photocopiable resources to use in practice, this book is a key part of the tool kit for any speech and language therapist working with older adults.

Rebecca Allwood is a practising speech and language therapist specialising in older adults.. She has been practising for over seventeen years and has worked in a variety of clinical settings with older adults who have communication and swallowing difficulties.

1. An Overview of Ageing and an Introduction to this Resource 2. Physiology of Ageing, Risk Factors and Rehabilitation 3. Working with an Older Client Group 4. Communication in the Context of Older Age 5. Clinical Assessment and Management of Communication in Older Adults 6. Eating, Drinking and Swallowing in the Context of Older Age 7. Clinical Assessment and Management of Eating, Drinking and Swallowing in Older Adults 8. Decision Making in Later Life 9. Management of Communication and Swallowing at the End of Life 10. Reflecting Back and Looking to the Future of Healthcare Provision for Older Adults