Training conversation partners of persons with communication disorders related to Parkinson's disease--a protocol and a pilot study.

This paper reports on the adaptation of a training programme for conversation partners of persons with Parkinson's disease, and a protocol for assessment of possible changes in conversational interaction as a result of intervention. We present data from an explorative multiple case study with three individuals with Parkinson's disease and their spouses. Repeated analysis of natural conversational interaction and measures of the participants' perception of communication as well as measures of different cognitive abilities were obtained. The results show that the communication in all three dyads was affected by both speech and language problems and that the conversation training model and the assessment protocol may work well after minor adjustments. Influence of different aspects of cognition on communication is discussed.