A multimedia system for home-based delivery of language therapy

Information technology promises new possibilities for those with language disorders. So far more effort has been put into the development of augmentative communication devices, or prostheses, to assist those with limited speech output than into exploring the rehabilitation prospects for those with cognitive deficits resulting in impaired comprehension. Our work has focused on stroke victims with sentence comprehension difficulties. We have shown in a previous study using purpose built software known as 'Microworld for Aphasia', that given appropriately targeted treatment, some stroke victims are capable of significant and durable improvements in their language comprehension, even many years post-onset. Unfortunately, the position in the UK is that only a small amount of language therapy is provided by the National Health Service; this usually happens in the early months following a stroke, after which the client is discharged with the prognosis that further improvement is unlikely. We therefore decided to re-design our software with the aim of making it suitable for home use. A small trial has been conducted to test the usability and efficacy of this multimedia version. Preliminary results suggest that we have achieved a therapeutically useful tool, which requires no trained clinical input during use, and which offers the potential for clients and clinicians to exchange exercise files and progress reports electronically.