The Daily Mail published an article recently about a new form of therapy to help individuals with dementia in a number of cognitive domains, including speech and language. You can read the article in full here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2069244/A-little-known-drug-free-treatment-amazing-effect-Alzheimers-sufferers-So-does-charity-refuse-endorse-it.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
The article discusses Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST). Developed by researchers at University College London, it is a programme of structured activity sessions for small groups of dementia sufferers. A starter pack for prospective group loaders costs £13.50 and provides information about how to set up sessions, games, physical warm-up exercises and activities to stimulate thinking, speech and memory.
Experts in dementia research state that, “CST is the gold standard because the evidence is that it does produce an improvement in people’s memory scores and certainly in their quality of life”. Most importantly, its research and evidence base is so strong that it is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health (NICE, 2011).
The Daily Mail’s article reports on Joanne Knowles and her mother Ann, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2006. Joanne researched dementia treatment options and set up a local CST group for individuals with dementia. She reports that, “Mum met people in the same boat as her, with whom she could relax and share some laughs. The impact was incredible and her psychiatrist was amazed. He’d never heard of CST and Mum’s MMSE [Mini Mental State Examination, a verbal test to assess the severity of dementia symptoms] improved and stayed there for about a year.” The article reports that in most cases, frontotemporal dementia leads to complete loss of speech, but that Joanne credits CST with slowing the decline.
If you think that a friend or family member may benefit from speech therapy, Integrated Treatment Services could be of help. Contact us here: https://integratedtreatmentservices.co.uk/contact-us/enquiry
Further Information
CST – http://www.cstdementia.com/
NICE (2011) – http://www.nice.org.uk/
Sarah Bennington, December 2011
Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. Integrated Treatment Services is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Arts Therapists.
