Memory and Communication Aids for People With Dementia
Michelle S. Bourgeois, Ph.D., CCC/SLP, is currently Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders, College of Communication, an Affiliate of the Pepper Institute on Aging and Public Policy at the Florida State University, and the Co-Principal Investigator and Research Coordinator of the Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Memory Disorders Clinic. She has received grants from the National Institutes of Aging (NIA) to investigate interventions for spousal and nursing home caregivers designed to improve the quality and quantity of communicative interactions with residents with dementia, to evaluate memory interventions for persons with dementia and traumatic brain injury, and to develop training programs for institutional caregivers. She also has received funding from the Alzheimer s Association to systematically investigate the use of memory aids with persons with dementia residing at home and in institutional settings.A clinical researcher, Dr. Bourgeois has published numerous research articles and training manuals. Her Memory Book treatment was featured on a nationally syndicated public television program for the elderly entitled, "Agewise - Living Better," and her interactive CD-ROM training program for nursing aides received several awards. She was the Past-President of the Behavioral Gerontology Special Interest Group of the Association of Behavior Analysis, and she has served on the editorial boards of several professional journals. She is an active member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Gerontological Society of America. She is currently the Past-President of the Alzheimer Resource Center of Tallahassee.