Grindrod discusses study on language, communication in older adults on WABI

Christopher Grindrod, an assistant professor of speech-language pathology at the University of Maine, visited the studio of WABI (Channel 5) to discuss research that is being conducted on language and communication in older adults. “We’re interested in looking at age-related changes in terms of language and communication in older adults, and we’re also looking at those connections between other cognitive skills, such as memory and attention and how those might interact or affect language and communication as we age,” Grindrod said. “The secondary goal is also to look at comparing how healthy, older adults perform in language compared to stroke survivors.” Researchers are looking for participants who are right-handed, a native English speaker, 55–85 years old and have good hearing and vision. In early sessions, the participants will be asked to complete tests of hearing, vision, handedness and thinking processes. In later sessions, they will be asked to complete tests of their attention, memory and language, WABI reported.