A primary goal for a speech-language pathologist working with a late-stage dementia patient is to

• A. Restore lost vocabulary
• B. Increase attention span
• C. Improve reading comprehension
• D. Assist daily communication routines

Answer: (A)

At this stage, the emphasis is on rebuilding a basic vocabulary that supports essential communication. In late-stage dementia, while many language skills decline, reactivating a core set of words that the person can reliably retrieve helps them name familiar objects, request help, and express needs, which directly impacts daily interactions and quality of life. Therapy uses cues, repetition, semantic associations, and multimodal prompts to strengthen word retrieval and preserve meaningful expression, even if broader language and cognitive functions remain limited. This focus on restoring those core words provides the most practical, immediate benefit for daily communication, more than attempting to improve reading or attention or trying to overhaul daily routines without a usable vocabulary.