Supporting Family Caregivers of Adults with Communication Disorders

Family caregivers are those who provide continuous, unpaid care to family members and friends who are unable to care for themselves. Caregivers can be trained by speech-language pathologists and audiologist to augment goals established to remediate communication disorders and can be instrumental in motivating clients to complete a program of therapy. However, family caregivers are themselves vulnerable to a number of debilitating conditions as a result of the physical and emotional toll that daily caregiving can take. The stressors are well documented, including the development of chronic diseases, premature death, fatigue, and depression. In addition, caregivers and their coping styles differ according to cultural expectations, and these differences are described in detail here. The book also includes information on caregiver resources that specialize in support areas such as transportation to and from the clinic, financial literacy, respite care, meals, end of life care, advance directives, and home health services. It is a much needed resource for clinicians who provide education and counseling to adult patients and their families.