'Clinical Linguistics by Louise Cummings is a monumental undertaking. Cummings covers the discipline, from child language and speech disorders to failed communication in adulthood. Further, she covers each of the disorders comprehensively, from its biology and its medical features to its epidemiology; from assessment to treatment. And it is all done with a sound and disciplined scholarship. This almost encyclopedic text is even-handed and fair, focusing on the disorders and the individuals who have them, rather than on professional opinions concerning effective treatment. It is truly breathtaking, in scope and in consistency of purpose. I really can't think of anything like it.' -Audrey L. Holland, Regents’ Professor Emerita, University of Arizona.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists estimates that 2.5 million people in the UK have a communication disorder. Of this number, some 800,000 people have a disorder that is so severe that it is hard for anyone outside their immediate families to understand them. In Clinical Linguistics, Louise Cummings examines the various developmental and acquired communication disorders that constitute these large and growing figures. In chapters that are dedicated to the discussion of individual communication disorders, Cummings argues that no treatment of this area can reasonably neglect an examination of the prevalence and causes of communication disorders. The assessment and treatment of these disorders by speech and language therapists are discussed at length. This book contains up-to-date research into communication disorders and describes the various technological innovations that are integral to the work of speech and language therapists. Clinical Linguistics is appropriate reading for students, practitioners and researchers in speech-language pathology and related clinical and academic disciplines. It contains the following chapters: The Scope of Clinical Linguistics; Disorders of the Pre- and Perinatal Period; Disorders of Cognitive Development; Disorders of Speech and Language Development; Acquired Communication and Swallowing Disorders; Disorders of Fluency; Disorders of Voice.

Clinical Linguistics is available in North America from Columbia University Press.