Conversation Analysis Profile for People with Cognitive Impairment

The CAPPCI was developed as a resource for speech and language therapists for use with people with generalized cognitive impairment - as in dementia or after head injury - and their key conversational partners. It comprises: a structured interview to be conducted with the key conversational partner of the person with cognitive impairment; a method for analysis of a 10-minute sample of unscripted conversation between the conversational partner and the person with cognitive difficulties; and a summary profile that combines the interview and conversational sampler. The CAPPCI is based on analysis of natural discourse using the methodology of Conversational Analysis (CA). This method drives both the content of the interview and the analysis of the conversational sample. Focusing on the interaction between the person with cognitive impairment and his/her conversational partner, and the ways in which the interaction is managed between them, the assessment procedure is designed to drive individually targeted intervention and measure changes in interaction over time.
The motivating principle of the CAPPCI is recognition of the need for therapists to work in collaboration with people with cognitive impairments and their key conversational partners.