Differentiating the language disorder in dementia from dysphasia--the potential of a screening test

A considerable amount of information is now available about the way in which senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) affects language performance. Speech and language therapists may have the requisite knowledge to work in the field, but they have few assessment materials to facilitate improved differential diagnosis between language breakdown in dementia and dysphasia. This study highlights the differential diagnostic potential of a short screening test with a weighted scoring system. The best discriminatory effect was in the areas of action picture description, verbal description and confrontation naming. Neither age nor sex appears to have a significant effect on results, and re-test results contribute little to the test's discriminatory power in terms of differential diagnosis between the two groups. The possibilities for future test usage and development are discussed.