Professor Presents Research at 2 International Conferences
Adithya Chandregowda, Ph.D., fields questions after his presentation.
Adithya Chandregowda, Ph.D., associate professor from the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at NSU’s Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences, presented a research poster at the British Aphasiology Society (BAS) International Conference, 2024, held in England in September. His presentation was titled “Addressing agitation in individuals with acute onset Wernicke’s aphasia.”
His presentation synopsis: Individuals with Wernicke’s aphasia, which is often caused by a stroke, have severe difficulty understanding others’ speech and monitoring their own speech. This results in substantial communication breakdowns with others (e.g., family, healthcare professionals) which in turn could trigger agitation in these patients.
Agitation in new onset Wernicke’s aphasia could be misdiagnosed and mismanaged as a psychiatric condition in acute hospitals. Chandregowda’s research has generated suggestions for health care professionals to prevent or minimize agitation in this context. Even though he presented his research poster virtually, it was well received, with a conference attendee expressing that the poster was logical, useful, and aesthetically appealing.
Chandregowda also gave an oral presentation at the 34th Alzheimer Europe Conference, Geneva, Switzerland in October. His presentation was titled “End-of-life interaction between individuals with dementia and their loved ones: Incorporation of nonverbal communication and nondeclarative memories.” His presentation synopsis: There is a lack of literature on how to interact with individuals in advanced stages of Alzheimer type dementia when their declarative (explicit) memory and verbal communication could be severely impaired. With specific clinical suggestions, Chandregowda advocated for considering nonverbal communication and nondeclarative (implicit) memories to facilitate interaction in this context. His presentation generated substantial interest, with questions from multiple attendees during the post presentation Q & A and beyond.
“Attending events like this have immensely helped me with my professional growth and given me opportunities to represent my department (speech-language pathology), the college, and university internationally. I am also thankful that I can bring in these experiences to my classroom teaching to provide global perspectives to my students.”