Analysis of the possible applications of Skype in telepractice with individuals affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. Experience with two clinical cases
Angela Dellai, Fabiola Gaio, Donata Gollin, Carlo Gabelli
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other forms of dementia are a priority for public health in terms of economics, health care and family life. Therefore, it is necessary to improve possibilities of access to speech therapy for AD patients, taking advantage also of telecommunication via the Internet: Skype provides the opportunity to perform targeted therapy from a distance, taking the therapist directly into the patient’s house (Vestal et al., 2006). The feasibility of this approach has been tested with two subjects affected by AD: patient A belonged to a light-moderate phase of dementia while patient B belonged to a moderate-severe one. The aim of the study is to analyse the modalities and the applications of telepractice with patients showing a different degree of cognitive impairment. Results demonstrate a positive effect of the therapy for both patients, in particular regarding pragmatics, perceived wellness and compliance, supporting the forcefulness of cognitive telepractice with AD patients. This experience, even though it refers to clinical cases, represents one of the first studies that has ever addressed the topic of telepractice with individuals affected by AD.
Keywords
Telerehabilitation, Telepractice, Skype, Alzheimer’s disease, Speech therapy.
