Within the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, the Online Aphasia Therapy Program has been adapted into Turkish to support the communication skills of individuals with aphasia.
Highlighting the difficulties experienced by individuals with aphasia in various language skills such as naming, auditory comprehension, repetition, verbal fluency, grammar, reading, and writing, Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz, Deputy Head of the Speech and Language Therapy Department, stated, “The primary goal of speech and language therapy for individuals with aphasia is to support and develop their communication skills.”
Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz, Deputy Head of the Speech and Language Therapy Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, shared information about the Online Aphasia Therapy Program, which they adapted into Turkish with Memik Yıldız, a master's student in the Speech and Language Therapy Department at the Institute of Health Sciences, to support the communication skills of individuals with aphasia.
An acquired linguistic communicative disorder resulting from damage to language-specific areas in the brain's left hemisphere; aphasia…
Stating that aphasia is an acquired linguistic-communicative disorder usually resulting from damage to the language-responsible areas of the brain after a stroke, Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz noted that the Online Aphasia Therapy Program was adapted to Turkish culture to facilitate access to therapy and home therapy practice for individuals with aphasia.
Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz stated that the program developed by Dr. John Pierce from La Trobe University, 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 with technology. She also explained that the program is currently accessible free of charge and the site can be utilized.
There is no standardized, one-size-fits-all therapy approach for individuals with aphasia
Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz stated that there is no standardized, one-size-fits-all, single type of therapy approach for individuals with aphasia, emphasizing that systematically personalized therapeutic programs can greatly contribute to a faster and more effective improvement of language skills.
Increase communication power with technology-supported therapy
“The way approaches used in aphasia therapy are presented to individuals is also changing day by day,” said Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz, stating that with developing technology, the use of digital devices such as computers, tablets, and phones in aphasia therapy has increased.
Assistant Professor Dr. Özlem Oğuz stated that the effectiveness of software-supported applications in this field has been proven by many studies, adding that the development and widespread adoption of technology-based interventions will facilitate access to language therapy for individuals with aphasia and support the therapy process.
What are the features of the Online Aphasia Therapy Program?
Providing information about the Online Aphasia Therapy Program, Dr. Oğuz continued:
“The Online Aphasia Therapy Program consists of 11 tasks targeting 4 different language skills such as listening, reading, writing, and naming. The program includes 566 words from different categories and 200 yes/no questions. An audio recording for each word, alternative words, semantic, phonemic, and sentence cues, along with two different pictures, are also provided to users. Words are presented in 10 different categories and with three different difficulty levels arranged according to their frequency. It is thought that the program will provide additional support to face-to-face language therapies, increase the frequency of individuals' practice, and allow relatives of individuals with aphasia to be more involved in the process. This way, relatives will be able to help individuals with aphasia more, and the effectiveness of the therapy will increase.”
To access the Online Aphasia Therapy Program free of charge:
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is a linguistic-communicative disorder resulting from damage to language-specific areas in the left hemisphere of the brain. Aphasia can typically 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, understanding, reading, and writing. After aphasia, not only language skills are affected. In addition to language skills, individuals with aphasia may also experience conditions such as paralysis, depression, negative emotions, decreased quality of life, reduced social participation, and job loss. Aphasia can manifest in different ways; some individuals may only have difficulty finding words, while others may experience severe problems in all aspects of language. Some people may not understand what is being said, while others may understand but be unable to speak. This situation varies depending on the location and size of the damage.