Remote results access

6 levels of reading, listening and topic vocabulary exercises for those with moderate to mild reading difficulties who are keen to practise independently

Within each level, there are 10 everyday topics (e.g. making a journey, reading a paper, reading an email, how to lose weight), each with 6 different exercise sets

Web based program - exercises can be allocated remotely & results can be accessed by the SLT remotely

The clinician purchases a yearly license and patients have free access to the software on a computer or via an app on a tablet or phone device

The software is designed for learners of English as a foreign language but can be useful for people with aphasia

Exercises for working on short-term memory, working memory, attention and processing.  There is an added function of adding in background noise

Exercises have 2-3 levels of difficulty with 240 exercises in total

·       Recall of visual scenes: 2-6 questions about what the scene depicted. The user must provide a verbal response & decide whether or not it was correct

·       Recall of visual objects: the user must provide a verbal response about the 5 objects seen or the items missing & decide whether or not their attempt was correct

·       Visual/auditory recall of written/spoken words & sentences: read or listen to words/sentences and select from written selection or verbalise the items & decide whether or not it was correct

·       Recall of personal information: verbalise answers to spoken questions or repeat lengthy sentences back & decide whether or not it was correct

·       Recall of recent information: very lengthy auditory information is presented for the user to then verbally respond to questions relating to the information

If using independently, the user must monitor whether their spoken attempts were correct. There is no facility to record own spoken attempts.  There are only a few exercises where the answers are selected from written options

Error handling: none

Prompts/cues: none

Record results: Results are recorded by exercise or by date within the app and can be emailed

Comments:  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

Exercises to practise speaking at a sentence or conversation level.  The topics are all around problem solving situations

50 problem solving scenarios where the user must identify the problem, cause and solution in the photo.  The user can record their spoken responses and/r  they can choose from a selection of 3 written choices 

16 exercises providing written scenarios or questions to which the user must respond with a spoken response which can be recorded

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues: the written scenario is also spoken aloud, on the multiple choice exercises, 3 options are provided to choose from

Record results: spoken attempts can be recorded. On the multiple choice exercises, results are recorded. On the exercises where the user is invited to provide spoken responses, the user must judge for themselves whether their response was correct however the fact they attempted the exercise is logged in the reports section of the app so they can look back at previous exercises completed. It is also possible to organise results by date. Results can be sent by email

Comments: after successful completion of tasks, the user is given a jigsaw to solve as a reward.  This option can be disabled

By turning off the audio, the  exercises could be used as  reading exercises

4 sets of sentence and conversation level exercises:

1. Using verbs to make sentences

250 concrete & abstract verbs. A verb is provided and the user must make 3 sentences by generating content or choosing from multiple choice options. They can write and/or speak & record their options.  The user is then encouraged to expand on their sentence.  6 activties are generated from each verb, encoraging more autonomy with differing levels of cues.

2. Comparing similar items

206 concrete & abstract items are presented in either image or text form.  The user is invited to verbalise how the items are alike and different.  They can record their spoken attempts.

3. Category association naming

320 concrete and abstract categories are provided.  The user must name from 3 to an unlimited number of associated items (e.g. things starting with /r/, appliances). This activity can be timed. There is also the possiblity to carry out a 1 minute semantic fluency test and a 1 minute phonemic fluency test to assess verbal fluency

4. Generating conversations

507 images are provided (e.g. funny food, unusual objects) to prompt description and/or conversation. Questions are provided to prompt the description or conversation.

Error handling: none. The user must decide themselves whether or not the got an item correct

Prompts/cues: In the verb sentences exercises, multiple choice items are provided.  The user can also opt to hear their sentences spoken aloud. Keywords are also provided as hints. No cues are given on the other exercises

Record results: a score is given at the end of each exercise and results can be emailed. The user cannot look back at previous results within the app

Free trial: yes, free trial available through Advanced Language Therapy Lite app

Comments: On-screen, aphasia friendly instructions on how to use the app are provided. Comprehensive written instructions are also provided however these would not be accessible to someone with compromised reading skills

Supplier: Tactus

Personalised word lists for spelling practise

Create your own, personalised spelling lists & record the associated spoken word

2 functions:

Spell to dictation

Unscramble anagrams (spoken word also provided)

Results are recorded & errors are highlighted. Can select to correct errors at the end of each exercise

Results can be emailed

No prompts or cues

3 exercise sets:

• sequences (automatic speech such as ABC, alphabet)
• 1-6 word phrases (7 levels)
• 2-5 syllable words (4 levels)
• 175 exercises in total

The words/phrases are of a functional nature, useful for conversation

Rate of speech can be altered

Visual (video & text) and auditory (spoken) cues given

5 stepped approach to verbal production (listen/tap rhythm/say with model/say with model fading out/say with verbal but no auditory model)

Items can be presented in stepped order of difficulty or randomised

User needs good self-monitoring skills to be able to self-rate whether they got the response correct

Self-ratings and audio recordings can be emailed to SLT

NB audio recordings are with an American accent

A free trial is available through Apraxia Therapy Lite app

Supplier: Tactus

Exercises for following written and spoken multi-step instructions with 100 stimuli items

Choose from 2-6 information carrying words

Features worked on include size, colour, before, after, first, then

There are preliminary exercises to check the person has understood all the concepts, before moving onto the full exercises

Results can be emailed or consulted in-app

No prompts/cues are provided

Exercises to work on understanding numbers in the written & spoken form, speaking numbers & writing numbers

Choose to work on numbers in different formats (e.g. money, years, time, fractions, ordinals)

Option to add personalised phone numbers

Option to record spoken attempts

3 difficulty levels

A Free trial is available through the Number Therapy Lite app

Suppliers: App store & google play store

Supplier: Tactus

Everyday problem solving scenarios and dilemmas around household problems, money, heath issues and personal dilemmas. May be useful with people who have had a brain injury

US voice and vocabulary

User needs good self monitoring to know whether their responses are appropriate, would be best used alongside a therapist or carer

2-way &  group conversations are possible

Initiate and respond to conversations with a variety of language: questions, observations, change the topic

The user can record and save conversations as well as email them to their therapist

There are 8 conversation themes and they are very adolescent focused. However, with creative use, it could be used by adults.

The user has to select the correct response from a written choice of 3 and then record their response. However, they could choose to record an alternative spoken response