What is the Leeds Aphasia Technology Service?
- This is a speech and language therapy service
- We use technology to help your communication
How can we help you?
We use computer therapy programmes to help your communication.
Computer therapy programmes can help with:
- Reading
- Writing
- Talking
- Understanding
We find the best programme or app to help you with your goal.
We can help you use your iPad or laptop.
- We can help you to write and send text messages
- We can help you to use the internet
- We can help you to send emails
Where?
Chapel Allerton Hospital.
When?
Tuesdays or Thursday afternoons.
- 1.30 pm
- 3.00 pm
Up to one hour a week.
Who?
Speech and Language Therapist, Catherine Hayes
Speech Therapy Assistant, Ravinder Bhakar
Information for Families and Professionals
The Leeds Aphasia Technology service is a specialist out-patient speech and language therapy service.
We support people who have aphasia to use and access technology to achieve their goals. This support helps them to:
- Improve their aphasia
- Adapt to their aphasia
- Lessen the impact of aphasia upon their everyday life.
Aphasia is a language problem resulting from damage to the brain after stroke, head injury, brain tumour or dementia. It can affect a person’s ability to find words, spell words, understand words or read words.
Leeds Aphasia Technology Service has been running for over ten years. We provide expert evidence-based interventions and support.
Types of support:
We offer three types of support to a person with aphasia achieve their goals. A person with aphasia can access just one or all of these types of support depending on their goals:
• Computer therapy programmes
We use our specialist knowledge to help individuals trial and use a range of specialist speech and language therapy programmes and apps that can best help them address their communication goals. Personalised interventions are set-up, reviewed and progressed within clinic appointments by our speech and language therapist.
• Digital participation
We increase the ability of those with aphasia to participate in digital activities. These include use of text, social media (Facebook, Twitter), email, word processing, communication software (e.g. Skype) and internet browsing. We identify ways to help the person with aphasia to improve and compensate for their communication problems (e.g. use of predictive text packages, accessible interface software). We also help the technological skills required to access these digital services.
• Technology as a communication support tool
We support a person with aphasia, and their families, to use already established features of their personal technologies (e.g. cameras, voice recording) as a communication support tool and / or set up software to do so.
Home activity
Practice at home is supported and encouraged between clinic appointments for all 3 types of support. It is provided through:
- Equipment loan during the block of therapy (laptops and iPads)
- Setting up relevant software onto an individual’s personal equipment during or after a therapy block
- Sign-posting to the most appropriate software if they wish to purchase relevant software privately.
- Helping a service-user to apply for funding for personal use of appropriate software if needed
Sessions
Up to 12 weekly appointments are offered within a block of therapy. Sessions include an initial goal setting session, mid-block review and a final goal review session.
A person with aphasia can access the service multiple times if they have identified goals that can be met.
The service is run as a group – there may be several people at each session. There is the opportunity for refreshments and conversation with other people who are attending the session.
The sessions are held at Chapel Allerton Hospital on:
- Tuesday afternoons (1.30 pm to 2.30 pm and 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm)
- Thursday afternoons (1.30 pm to 2.30 pm and 3.00 pm to 4.00 pm)
Transport can be arranged for those unable to independently travel to sessions.
Carers are welcome to attend but may be asked at times to leave.
Staff
Sessions are run and supported by a specialist speech and language therapist and a speech and language therapy assistant.
Relevant links
Here are some links to organisations and institutions researching the benefit of technology for people with aphasia that may be of interest:
- SMCSE City – EVA Park: EVA Park is a multi-user online virtual world that gives people with aphasia unique opportunities to practise their speech and establish social connections.
- The CommuniCATE Clinic: The CommuniCATE Aphasia Clinic at City, University of London is exploring the use of computer technologies in therapy for people with aphasia. The clinic is headed up by the Director, Dr Celia Woolf.
- Big CACTUS research study: A study to assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of aphasia computer treatment versus usual stimulation or attention control long term post stroke (CACTUS).