Online therapy support for individuals with aphasia...

Within Üsküdar University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, the Online Aphasia Therapy Program was adapted into Turkish to support the communication skills of individuals with aphasia.

Drawing attention to the difficulties experienced by individuals with aphasia in various skills of language such as naming, auditory comprehension, repetition, verbal fluency, grammar, reading and writing, Deputy Head of the Department of Speech and Language Therapy Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz expressed that "The primary purpose of speech and language therapy in individuals with aphasia is to support and improve the communication skills of individuals."

Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences Speech and Language Therapy Department Vice Head Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz shared information with Memik Yıldız, a graduate student of the Department of Speech and Language Therapy at the Graduate School of Health Sciences, about the Online Aphasia Therapy Program, which they adapted to Turkish to support the communication skills of individuals with aphasia.

Aphasia is an acquired linguistic communicative disorder that occurs as a result of damage to language-specific areas in the left hemisphere of the brain

Stating that aphasia, which usually occurs as a result of damage to the areas of the brain responsible for language after stroke, is an acquired linguistic-communicative disorder. Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz stated that the Online Aphasia Therapy Program was adapted to Turkish culture to facilitate the access of individuals with aphasia to therapy and home therapy practice.

Noting that the program, developed by Dr. John Pierce from La Trobe University in Australia, will support the language skills of individuals with aphasia online free of charge and will make the rehabilitation process more efficient by integrating traditional language therapy into technology. Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz explained that the program is currently accessible free of charge and the site can be used.

Please click here for the program.

There is no standardized therapy approach for individuals with aphasia

Stating that there is no standardized, suitable for everyone, uniform therapy approach for individuals with aphasia, Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz emphasized that therapeutic programs systematically created individually can make a great contribution to the faster and more effective improvement of language skills.

Improve communication with technology-assisted therapy

Stating that "The way the approaches used in aphasia therapy are presented to individuals is also changing day by day," Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz expressed that the use of digital devices such as computers, tablets and phones in aphasia therapy has increased with the developing technology.

Asst. Prof. Özlem Oğuz stated that the effectiveness of software-supported applications in this field has been proven by many studies, and that the development and dissemination of technology-based interventions will facilitate the access of individuals with aphasia to language therapy and support the therapy process.

What are the features of the Online Aphasia Therapy Program?

Giving information about the Online Aphasia Therapy Program, Dr. Oğuz continued her remarks as follows:

"Online Aphasia Therapy Program consists of 11 tasks for 4 different language skills such as listening, reading, writing and naming. The program includes 566 words and 200 yes/no questions belonging to different categories. Audio recordings of each word, alternative words, semantic, phonemic and sentence clues, and two different pictures are also available to users. The words are presented in 10 different categories and with tasks of three different difficulty levels sorted according to their frequency. It is thought that the program will provide additional support to face-to-face language therapies, increase the frequency of working of individuals, and the relatives of individuals with aphasia may be more involved in the process. In this way, their relatives will be able to help individuals with aphasia more and the effectiveness of therapy will increase."

Please click here to access the Online Aphasia Therapy Program free of charge.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a linguistic-communicative disorder that occurs as a result of damage to areas of the brain specific to language skills in the left hemisphere. Aphasia can often occur as a result of conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, tumors, or neurological diseases. This disorder can affect a person's language skills such as speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing. After aphasia, language skills are not only skills that are affected. In addition to language skills, people with aphasia may also experience paralysis, depression, negative emotions, a decrease in quality of life, a decrease in social participation, and cease of employment. Aphasia can be seen in different ways. For example, some people may simply have difficulty finding words, while others may have serious problems with all aspects of language. Some people may not understand what is being spoken, while others may understand but may not be able to speak. This situation varies according to the location and size of the damage.

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)