Remotely Delivered AAC Interventions for Persons with Dementia: A Scoping Review

Globally, dementia is seen as a public health crisis due to the high prevalence, which is predicted to be 153 million by the year 2050 (Livingston et al., 2024). According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) dementia is a major neurocognitive disorder which results in the irreversible cognitive decline of individuals in various areas, such as communication (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2022). Communication is impacted by a decline in receptive and expressive language skills, which presents as word-finding difficulties, challenges with auditory comprehension and pragmatic use of language in everyday conversation (APA, 2022; Murray et al., 2022). These challenges create communication breakdowns and affect persons with dementia in their functional communication and socialization (Murray et al., 2022). Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is one type of intervention that has an established evidence base for supporting communication in persons with dementia using various forms of strategies, tools and techniques (Murray et al., 2022). AAC interventions provide support which may include aids such as communication wallets and boards (Bourgeois, 1993; Fried-Oken et al., 2012); and training the communication partners of persons with dementia through imparting knowledge and skills of implementing communication supports (Folder et al., 2024; González-Fraile et al., 2021). Despite the evidence that AAC is greatly beneficial to persons with dementia, access to these interventions is a major area of concern (Pujol et al., 2021). Restrictions in access to services could be because of a range of issues such as financial restraints; geographic constraints; mobility restrictions; lack of access to specialized personnel with AAC expertise; and physical resources or skills to implement the level of support required for these individuals (Muttiah et al., 2025). Due to barriers to accessibility of AAC interventions, innovative solutions, such as remotely delivered interventions, are required to increase the accessibility of persons with dementia to these services (Pujol et al., 2021). There is growing interest in collating research of remotely delivered interventions, in the field of AAC for adults (Weidner & Lowman, 2020). However, the full scope of remotely delivered interventions available that support communication for persons with dementia is not yet known. This scoping review will synthesize the literature and evidence that is related to remotely delivered interventions that support communication for persons with dementia (Arksey & O’Malley, 2005).