Towards a more complete picture of discourse in dementia studies

Abstract

Although research at the intersection of language and dementia has matured over the past several decades, much still needs to be accomplished in the quest to understand how discourse relates to the quality of everyday life for individuals living with dementia. Toward this goal, this essay proposes four concrete steps that scholars can take in the design and execution of their studies to move collectively and incrementally toward a more complete picture of discourse in dementia: (1) move beyond interviews and casual conversations as primary sources of data; (2) video record activities to allow for multimodal analyses; (3) develop sustained collaborative relationships with families, institutions, and/or individuals with dementia; and (4) seek out partners in other disciplines.