When Language Breaks Down: Analysing Discourse in Clinical Contexts

Doctors, nurses, and other caregivers often know what people with Alzheimer's disease or Asperger's 'sound like'-that is they recognize patterns in people's discourse, from sounds and silences, to words, sentences, and story structures; Such discourse patterns may inform their clinical judgements and affect the decisions they make. However, this knowledge is often tacit, like recognizing a regional accent without knowing how to describe its features. The absence of explicit knowledge of dis...