Shrier Family Topics In Rehabilitation Science Seminar: Dr. Anna Volkmer, April 2026

Dr. Anna Volkmer, an associate professor and consultant speech and language therapist at University College London, presents her work on developing and trialing interventions to improve conversation for people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). She begins by defining dementia and PPA, explaining the three main variants (nonfluent, logopenic, semantic) and their underlying pathologies. She highlights that while PPA is rare, secondary progressive aphasia is common in other dementias, making her work broadly applicable. Volkmer describes her journey from clinical practice to research, motivated by the need for interventions beyond single-word retrieval. She conducted a systematic review of compensatory interventions and surveyed UK speech therapists, finding a gap in conversation-focused therapies. She co-designed the ‘Better Conversations with PPA’ intervention with people with lived experience and therapists, based on conversation analysis and behavior change theory. The intervention involves four sessions where dyads analyze their own video-recorded conversations to identify and practice strategies. A pilot trial with 18 dyads showed high treatment fidelity, positive participant feedback, and objective improvements in targeted conversation behaviors. However, challenges included partner availability and measurement issues. Volkmer then discusses an international core outcome set study with over 100 participants to identify what matters most to people with PPA, emphasizing participation in conversations with family and friends. She concludes by outlining future directions, including remote delivery and further research.