Quality of Life and Neurogenic Communication Disorders

Neurogenic communication disorders not only cause impairments of speech, language, and communication in adults but also substantially impact individuals’ lives and the lives of family, friends, and others around them. Historically, much of speech pathology research and clinical practice has focused on the identification and remediation of the impairments of aphasia, dysarthria, and dyspraxia, with the functional communication consequences of these impairments not considered until the 1980s and 1990s. It was not until the 1990s that the psychosocial impact of these communication disorders was formally recognized and considered, and from 2000 onward, specific consideration was given to individuals’ quality of life (QOL) or well-being. QOL is, however, an ultimate outcome of speech pathology rehabilitation for adults with communication disorders, but progress has been hampered by ...