Language and communication disorders are early signs of neurodegeneration that can seriously impact quality of life in people with neurodegenerative disease. This handbook provides a synthesis of current communication disorders research and clinical practice for patients with a range of neurodegenerative conditions.

(2025). The Oxford Handbook of Communication Disorders in Neurodegenerative Diseases. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198888482.001.0001   Laura Murray

Parkinson’s disease is known to affect movement, but it is less clear if it also impacts how people understand and use words for actions. To investigate this, researchers asked participants with PD and a control group to produce verbs and rate their association with instruments and locations.

Aveni, K., McRae, K., Borovsky, A., Katz, B., & Roberts, A. (2026). Action and event-based lexical-semantic processing in Parkinson’s disease. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 41(1), 2-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2025.2580970   Angela Roberts

Technologies designed to assess Parkinson's disease through voice and speech analysis are available, but their clinical validation varies and real-world use is limited. Researchers reviewed the literature and searched online sources to identify these commercially available tools, which were then grouped based on their previous use, feasibility, and testing.

Dean, J. M., Iankova, V., Roberts, A., & Schneider, S. A. (2026). Characteristics and Validity of Commercially Available Technologies Analyzing Voice Features to Assess Parkinson's Disease. Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 13(1), 60-70. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdc3.70214   Angela Roberts

This research addresses the challenge of translating the findings from a telemedicine speech-language therapy trial for persons with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) into routine clinical practice. Researchers assessed readiness for this implementation using data from an international, video-chat based behavioral randomized controlled trial and post-study interviews with participants.

Rogalski, E. J., Fegter, O., Rademaker, A., Wang, S., Schafer, R., Bona, M., & Roberts, A. C. (2025). Building clinically meaningful and implementable interventions for persons with primary progressive aphasia and their communication partners: Lessons from the Communication Bridge Trials. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 21(S4). https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70858_100321   Angela Roberts

Recruiting and retaining individuals aged 80 and older for aging research, particularly from diverse communities, presents a specific challenge. To address this, researchers developed a community-engaged strategy that included a branding campaign, collaborations with community partners, and training participant volunteers to serve as ambassadors.

Roberts, A. C., Finger, E., Culum, I., Narayan, E., Jeff, R., Wiley, L., Oklikah, D. O., Orange, J. B., McIlroy, B., Ooteghem, K. V., Lim, A., Swartz, R. H., Bartha, R., Timpo, P., Maher, A. C., Rogalski, E. J., & (2025). Community‐University Partnerships for Successful Aging Research: The Canadian SuperAging Research Initiative Site. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 21(S3). https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70857_104887   Angela Roberts