M.Sc Acquired Communication Disorders

Course description

This course is for speech and language therapists/pathologists, linguists, psychologists or others with a relevant background who have an interest in acquired communication disorders such as aphasia, dysarthria and the communication difficulties secondary to dementia or traumatic brain injury.

The course will develop your knowledge and skills of evidence-based practice so that you can effectively support people with acquired speech, language and communication difficulties.

You’ll have the opportunity to take part in a range of clinical observations with speech and language therapy clients (adults and children) throughout the course.

The MSc will provide you with an up-to-date understanding of the main theoretical and clinical issues and approaches in this field and the implications of these findings for clinical intervention.

What will you learn?
On the course you’ll develop:

• an understanding of current research and recent clinical developments within acquired speech and language disorders, including aphasia, dysarthria, and the communication difficulties associated with dementia and traumatic brain injury
• an understanding of both impairment-focused analytic approaches to these disorders, including neuropsychological and psycholinguistic perspectives, and functional approaches, including communicative, psychosocial and interactional perspectives
• knowledge of current intervention methods in the treatment of acquired communication disorders that draw on both impairment-focused and functionally-focused approaches
• competency in quantitative and qualitative research design and methods relevant to analysing and carrying out intervention for these disorders