Can author/customise

Designed to elicit basic to high level conversation.

Can be used for eliciting verbal or written language.

Can be used to work on any area of conversation: eliciting opinions, making descriptions, making inferences, giving definitions, reminiscing, talking about emotions, making predictions, telling stories or even working on fluency and speech clarity.

Could be used for self practise if the person has a means of recording their speech/writing or could be used during therapy sessions with the therapist.

Results (as rated by the therapist or conversation partner) are recorded and can be emailed.

Can customise the written content to elicit specific types of language or work on particular language areas.

The user can choose to have the questions read aloud.

Free trial available through Conversation Therapy Lite app

Supplier: Tactus

Customiseable photo flashcards text and audio cue.

Name the object and record your speech attempt.

Results are recorded.

You can share decks of cards with other app users for free

Lite version is free

Attach voice recordings to photos (recorded speech or text to speech) so the photo speaks out a message

When you press on a photo, the voice recording speaks out so you can explain your photos and use them in conversation if your speech is affected. You can also make stories to tell people/children.

You can also make visual schedulers to remind you how to carry out tasks (e.g. baking a cake)

You can make as many albums/stories as you like

AAC app using symbols, photos and keyboard with word prediction

Use ready made vocabularies or create/personalise your own

Uses text to speech voices

Promotes sentence construction

Alternative access modes: touch, switch, keyboard, native eye tracking, scanning

Available in English, French, Spanish and Dutch.

Available from Apple App store. Compatible with iPad, iPhone iOS 16 and apple watchOS 9 or later.

Brief description

• Reading & writing tool designed for children but can be very helpful for people with aphasia who need help with writing & spelling
• Word prediction (can be personalised)
• Word & phrase banks by topic or A-Z (can be personalised)
• Written or picture supported word banks
• Hear words before selecting
• Listen back to what you have written
• Make voice notes to rehearse a sentence before writing it

Who could benefit

• People who have some spelling but who need writing & spelling prompts
• People who have no spelling but who would like to write letters/cards
  
   

Type of exercises & brief description             

• Practise of speech sounds for apraxia of speech & other motor speech disorders
• Building speech –  to practise basic speech patterns & build up to sentence length utterances, (includes basic  functional phrases)
• Using speech – to practise continuous speech (includes phrases for the phone, & at a restaurant)
• Creating own speech samples
• The user is expected to produce the sounds in unison with the model provided
• They can watch their own production of sounds simultaneously if their device has a camera

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues: Video and audio clips of oral movements

Comments:

• It is recommended that headphones be worn to do the exercises
• Success relies on many, many repetitions so user needs to be motivated to do this kind of therapy
• For a fee, user can send own phrases to the company for them to create conversation scripts
   

Type of exercises & brief description             

• Practise of 21 consonant phonemes progressing to phoneme production in initial position of word/phrase
• The user is expected to produce the sounds in unison with the model provided
• They can watch their own production of sounds simultaneously if their device has a camera
• Sounds are organised into sound families and contrastive sounds

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues: Video and audio clips of oral movements

Comments:

• It is recommended that headphones be worn to do the exercises
• For a fee, user can send own phrases to the company for them to create conversation scripts
• Can designate specific exercises to be completed
• Only consonant phonemes provided

Brief description

• Word prediction, speech recognition & screen reader
• The program predicts to aid spelling, gives examples of word useage, reads aloud text on the screen (what you’re typing or what you’re reading).
• Can also use speech recognition to ‘type’ in words.
• Can customise the dictionary to improve prediction
• Screen reader, prediction & speech recognition works within all programs/web pages (e.g. can use within email, social networking sites & web searches)

Who could benefit:

• People who can spell the first 2-3 letters of a word before getting stuck
• People who can spell words but sometimes find it easier to say a word

Comments

• All parts of the program work on PC. Mac users only have access to the word prediction & screen reading parts of the program, not the speech recognition part
• Switch accessible only if using Wivick connection cable
   

Type of exercises & brief description             

• Spoken word finding of 418 common nouns (animals, body parts, clothing etc) and unlimited personalised items
• 4 modes: practise, test, picture-word naming & eliciting of adjectives to describe the noun
• 10-100 items can be selected per exercise
• In practise mode, the items are presented and a variety of cues are offered to aid spoken naming. In the other 3 modes no cues are presented
• In description mode, the user is encouraged to use a variety of adjectives to describe the noun depicted to aid them retrieve the spoken word
• If using independently, the user must monitor themselves whether they have named the item correctly or not
• A tutorial is provided to demonstrate how the app can be used

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues: In practise exercises, semantic, first letter, written word &  phonemic cues to choose from

Record results: Results are shown after the session with % of items named correctly with and without cues. It also highlights the cues used. Results can be emailed to a designated address.

Comments/N.B

• There is only one version for UK, US, Aus and there are a few American words (e.g. zipper, fries, cookies)
• The results recorded are reliant on the user self monitoring and knowing whether they named the item correctly or not. There is no facility for recording speech attempts and the app itself does not determine level of accuracy. This app would therefore not be appropriate for independent use by someone with poor self monitoring
• FREE TRIAL available through the languagetherappy Lite app

Supplier: Tactus
 

Type of exercises & brief description             

• Fill the blank, anagrams, picture spelling, spelling to dictation of nouns
• 3 levels (easy/medium/hard) - the harder levels provide more letters to choose from in the anagram exercises
• Can choose 10-50 exercises per session and 3-10 letter words
• Can designate upper/lowercase display

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues: Written and spoken word given as cues on request. In the harder levels, there is a 'hint' button which reduces the number of letters to choose from and will provide the initial letter if the user makes 3 errors.

Record results: Can email results to designated  email address. Details include score and which cues were requested.

Comments/N.B

• Written instructions provided on how to use the app. These would not be accessible to someone with compromised reading skills
• FREE TRIAL available through the languagetherappy Lite app

Supplier: Tactus