[Non-pharmacological therapies of language deficits in semantic dementia]

Semantic dementia (SD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterised by a progressive disorder of semantic processing, word comprehension and anomia. This literature review reports behavioural studies about language therapies for SD. More precisely, the review presents the cognitive, participative and alternative/augmentative interventions reported in the literature to improve language performances or to compensate for language worsening associated with the disease. Most studies show that interventions are efficient. However, maintenance of improvement and generalization to untreated language abilities remain limited. Other studies are still required to establish the clinical relevance of interventions for language and communication disorders in semantic dementia. In these studies, the use of more ecological interventions focusing on the specific needs of people living with semantic dementia should be specifically addressed.