MAC

Talking word processor (speaks out letters, words, sentences)

Talking spell checker (identifies potential mistakes and offers alternatives which you can listen to before selecting)

Talking dictionary (simplified definitions given which you can listen to before selecting)

Homophone checker (alternatives suggested with a definition to aid selection)

Who could benefit

• People who struggle to write long sentences
• People who make frequent spelling and/or grammar mistakes

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
  
   

Brief description

• Speech recognition program
• As the user speaks into the microphone, the speech is automatically turned into text
• Can read back &/or listen back to what has been typed

Who could benefit

• Someone with good speech & listening skills but compromised spelling &/or reading skills

Comments

• Need to train the program to recognise your speech
• Noise reducing microphones work best
• Requires good cognitive skills to remember commands & adapt speaking rate

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:

• Listening exercises from pre-word level up to conversation level
• Auditory discrimination (pre-word)
• Understanding words
• Understanding sentences
• Understanding conversations

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: Based on SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts:N/A

Customisation/personalisation:No

Error handling:None

Prompts/cues given:None

Free trial:Yes

Support:Free lifetime technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• No reading required at all, purely listening exercises
• The module covers a huge ability range.
• Each area covered has many sub sections and up to 7 levels within those subsections.
• The conversation level exercises also work on auditory memory to some degree
• This program can be purchased as a monthly subscription which gives access to all the React2.com modules. This may work out cheaper than purchasing the stand alone module, depending on how long it is needed for. A stand alone, offline version exists for those without internet access.
• Requires use of a mouse only

Supplier: React

Type of exercises:

• Semantics
• Sequencing
• Spelling
• Homonyms & synonyms

Developed with SLT: Yes



Theory based: No, based on clinician experience



Record own speaking attempts: N/A



Correction of own speaking attempts:N/A



Easy to use?: No. The user must click on an answer, then click again to input their answer and then click again to move onto the next question.



The internet subscription exercises are very slow to accept the answer making multiple activations possible and therefore potentially confusing.



Customisation/personalisation: No



Error handling: None



Prompts/cues given: Only for one set of exercises



Tutorials: Yes, online



Free trial: Yes but not the complete program



Support: Via Livechat or the supplier can take over the user’s PC. All support takes place 9am-5pm New York time



Comments:

• The online subscription allows access to all the modules available so as the user progresses they don’t need to purchase new modules. It feels like an app when downloaded on an ipad
• The CD version has more functions than the internet version
• Need reading skills (single word and simple sentences)
• Sequencing exercises work on functional, everyday activities (e,g, parking, dressing). They go from 2 step to 5 step sequencing
• Remote access to results is possible as long as the SLT has the user’s login & password.

N.B:

    US terminology/vocabulary

    Voice is American and computer generated

    No visual rewards for correct answers

 

Type of exercises:

• Category discrimination & reasoning (semantics)
• Category naming & completion (semantics)
• Cause & effect (what would happen if…)
• Conditional statements (if X then Y…)
• Deductive reasoning (semantics)
• Form & function (semantics)
• Inferential naming (semantics)
• Logical thinking
• Problem solving (pragmatics)
• Reasons why (pragmatics)
• Situation Reasoning (pragmatics)
• Things in common (semantics)

Access: Mouse for all exercises except inferential naming which also requires keyboard

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No, based on clinician experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Easy to use? No. The user must click on an answer, then click again to input their answer and then click again to move onto the next question.

The internet subscription exercises are very slow to accept the answer making multiple activations possible and therefore potentially confusing.

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues given: None

Tutorials: Yes

Free trial: Yes but not the complete program

Support: Via Livechat. The suppliers can also log onto the user’s computer. Support takes place 9am-5pm New York time

Comments:

• The online subscription allows access to all the modules available so as the user progresses they don’t need to purchase new modules. It feels like an app when downloaded on an ipad
• The CD version has more functions than the internet subscription version
• A download version exists for $19.95 per program but works only on Windows, not mac
• The pragmatics exercises are aimed at ‘what if’ scenarios
• Remote access to results is possible as long as the SLT has the user’s login & password.

N.B:
    US terminology
    Voice is American and computer generated
    Need single word/simple sentence level reading or good auditory comprehension to complete the tasks
    US terminology & vocabulary
    No visual rewards for correct answers
 

Type of exercises:

• Time problems
• Money handling
• Calculator maths
• Timed mental maths
• Traffic sign recognition

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No, based on clinician experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Easy to use? No. The user must click on an answer, then click again to input their answer and then click again to move onto the next question.

The internet subscription exercises are very slow to accept the answer making multiple activations possible and therefore confusing.

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues given: None

Tutorials: Yes, online

Free trial: Yes but not the complete program

Support: Via Live chat or the suppliers can take over the user’s PC. However all support takes place 9am-5pm New York time

Comments:

• The online subscription allows access to all the modules available so as the user progresses they don’t need to purchase new modules. It feels like an app when downloaded on an ipad
• The CD version has more functions than the internet version
• A download version exists for $19.95 per program but works only on Windows, not mac
• The calculator maths exercises provide real life calculations
• The time management exercises provide real life time concepts and problems
• Remote access to results is possible as long as the SLT has the user’s login & password.

N.B:
    Money exercises all use US $
    Voice is American and computer generated
    Need sentence level reading or sentence level auditory comprehension to complete the tasks
    No visual rewards for correct answers
 

Type of exercises:

• Pre-reading, reading comprehension (single word to paragraph level), spelling, word identification, homonym judgement tasks.
• Includes:
      picture, shape, photo, symbol, letter and number recognition
      word to paragraph level reading comprehension
      grammar exercises (e.g. correct verb forms)
      anagrams for simple spelling exercises

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: Based on SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues given: None

Record results: Yes

Tutorials: Yes

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free lifetime technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• Highest level word building is high level
• When building words, can see what the word would look like before making a selection
• Vast selection of exercises covering a very wide ability range.
• Paragraph level reading includes high level inference exercises
• Spelling includes exercises with phonemic chunks which can be confusing

N.B:
    Distractors aren’t always visual, phonemic or semantic
    Some people may find some line drawings confusing
    All spelling exercises are based on anagrams. There are no exercises for generating whole word spelling
    British accent

This program can be purchased as a monthly subscription which gives access to all the React2.com modules. This may work out cheaper than purchasing the stand alone module, depending on how long it is needed for. A stand alone, offline version exists for those without internet access.

Supplier: React
 

Type of exercises:

• Associations
• Relationships
• Odd one out
• Classification/categorisation
• Opposites
• Synonyms (words that mean the same)
• Homonyms (words that sound the same)
• Elimination (finding something by what it isn’t)

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: Based on SLT experience & traditional paper exercises

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues given: None

Tutorials: Yes

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free lifetime technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• Wide range of different semantic exercises. Most require auditory comprehension. Only the very basic odd one out & association exercises don’t.
• Exercise complexity increases by providing more semantically similar distractors
• Some exercises on adjectives and prepositions
• All exercises have a picture and written word version so they cater for anyone wishing to work on semantics whether they can read or not
• This program can be purchased as a monthly subscription which gives access to all the React2.com modules. This may work out cheaper than purchasing the stand alone module, depending on how long it is needed for. A stand alone, offline version exists for those without internet access.

N.B:
  British accent
 

Supplier: React