Adapting cognitive stimulation therapy for people with comorbid dementia and visual impairment : effects on language and a feasibility study of virtual reality technology application

Abstract

There is currently limited understanding of the language improvement brought by Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) and lack of objective measurement to evaluate functional communication of people with dementia. Effects of CST on people with comorbid dementia and visual impairment (PwVID) are also contentious. Meanwhile, using virtual reality (VR) technology is an emerging approach in cognitive rehabilitation. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of CST on language improvement of PwVID; and evaluate the feasibility of applying VR technology in CST for PwVID. Twelve elderly with comorbid dementia and visual impairment were recruited to receive CST. Five and seven participants were assigned to the VR-CST and the conventional CST conditions, respectively. Their performance was evaluated using two functional communication measures and three language tasks at multi-linguistic levels, analyzed by Tau-U and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The feasibility of VR-CST was evaluated qualitatively based on the criteria of technical execution and implementation, and participant’s receptiveness. Results indicated that functional communication was significantly improved through CST with pragmatic competence being the major area of language improvement, suggesting CST is also effective for PwVID. Application of VR to CST was also technically feasible, which established preliminary evidence for future development of CST.