The Impact of Communication Disability Across the Lifespan

Impairments of language and communication have a profound impact on everyday life. Professionals working with individuals who have communication needs often deal with a range of wider issues in order to support their clients in the best way possible.

The Impact of Communication Disability Across the Lifespan brings together the most current evidence and expertise about the impact of a wide range of communication impairments. It covers a range of areas such as education, family, social relationships and activities, mental health and emotional wellbeing, employment and quality of life. Each chapter incorporates the most up-to-date knowledge base, drawing together themes and clinical implications for particular client groups and summarizing the current state of knowledge in each topic area. A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of chapters co-written by people with communication disabilities, which ensures that their voices also receive prominence.

Table of Contents

• About the Editors
• About the Contributors

Communication Disability Across the Lifespan: The importance of documenting and sharing knowledge about wider impacts – Nicola Botting and Katerina Hilari

Section I: The Impact of Communication Disorders in Childhood

1. Developmental Language Impairment – James Law
2. Autism Spectrum Disorder – Greg Pasco and Vicky Slonims
3. Developmental Speech Disorders – Barbara Dodd
4. Children with Learning Disabilities – Celia Harding
5. Stuttering – Mark Onslow and Marilyn Langevin
6. Deafness, Language and Communication – Ros Herman and Gary Morgan
7. My Speech, Language and Communication – ‘A real kind of overwhelming kind of challenge sometime’ – Victoria Joffe, with Abigail Beverly and Lavinia Scott

Section II: The Impact of Communication Disability in Adulthood

1. Aphasia – Katerina Hilari
2. Dementia – Kathryn Bayles, Nidhi Mahendra and Tammy Hopper
3. Acquired Motor Speech Disorders – Nick Miller and Lena Hartelius
4. Adults with Learning Disabilities – Karen Bunning and Susan Buell
5. Traumatic Brain Injury – Skye McDonald and Leanne Togher
6. Voice Impairment – Jennnifer Oates
7. Head and Neck Cancer – Mary T. Lee
8. ‘You’ve Got to Realize When You Have a Stroke it’s a Stroke for Life’ ř Madeline Cruice and Naomi Cocks, with Tess Lancashire, Stuart Midgley, and Mary, David and Felicity Morgan

What they are saying about this book:

…This terrific book really captures the spirit of how communication impairments affect individuals across their lives. Attractive and easy to read, the style is accessible and lively, while still maintaining a serious approach. There is a justified omission of an index, but the 16 chapter heads at the front of the book describe each chapter in detail, enabling the reader to track down specific client group aspects.

Careful attention is given to different life span phases; the reader never forgets the pervasive nature of communication impairment. Plenty of diverse information is given; early childhool, school experiences, employment and relationships are examples.

Each chapter takes a specific client group varying in style. All the material has its own space and can breathe, with the consequence that the individuality of each client group stands out. Highlights for me were chapters on specific language impairment and aphasia; both fully employing first person case study examples.

The Bulletin, May 2012. Rating *****

Publication date 30 September 2011 298 pages + prelims

ISBN 978-1-907826-03-0
Price: £24.99 paperback, [+postage and packing*]