Conceptualizing Participation and Communication Disorder in Dementia Research

Abstract

PurposeThe overarching aim of this article is to explore the relating concepts of participation and communication in dementia care research and to propose future avenues of research within the field of communication disorders. Individuals with dementia comprise speech-language pathologists' largest clinical population. In the context of a growing international movement toward ending discrimination and increasing social participation of persons with dementia, understanding how communication disability and participation interact warrants attention in this field. Previous literature has yet to explore links between communication disability and social citizenship in dementia care.MethodThis is a viewpoint article. A search was performed on three literature databases, followed by a snowball technique, in order to identify relevant literature on social citizenship.ResultsIntegrating a social citizenship–based understanding of participation in dementia would provide a framework for communication disorders researchers to examine systematic communicatively disabling conditions in communities and societies.ConclusionsIt is highlighted that a deeper understanding is needed of how stigmatization of both communication disability and dementia might interact to prevent the active participation of individuals with dementia.