Something to ask your speech therapist about.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-speech-language-therapist-trial-technology.html
Of the 152, 000 individuals in the UK to survive a stroke each year,
approximately 20-30% of them will experience slurred speech
(dysarthria). Dysarthria is caused by muscle weakness and is known to
impact significantly on psychological well-being and recovery after
stroke.
The study, led by speech and language therapist
Claire Mitchell at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI), will pilot an app
called ReaDySpeech that Claire developed with funding from Central
Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The app is
designed to provide patients with a more personalised speech and language therapy,
as it creates a tailored programme for each individual. The individual
programme will then be adapted based on patient feedback, as they work
through the programme, depending on how easy or hard they find tasks.
The app is a step away from the traditional therapy where paper
worksheets are used, and can be accessed on any device with an internet
or Wi-Fi connection, including tablets, PCs and mobile phones. This
allows the patient to have more independence around following their
rehabilitation programme.
Claire Mitchell, who is also Clinical Education Lead for Speech and
Language Therapy at The University of Manchester, explains the reasons
behind the ReaDySpeech app: "This study has only come about because of
patient feedback to me as a clinician. After patients and families asked
for alternatives to paper copies of exercises, I decided to look at
other solutions. After consultation we decided we could use technology
more broadly to support rehabilitation and this is when I first started
to develop the app ReaDySpeech.
"Rehabilitation after a stroke
can often be a stressful and frustrating time for patients. I hope that
by trialling this app, we have the potential to provide a more
personalised therapy plan that will improve their journey to recovery."
By trialling the new technology with a small number of clinicians
and patients, Claire aims to collate enough evidence to demonstrate
whether the app is acceptable for patients as a form of therapy, and the
feasibility of conducting a larger trial of the app therapy. Future
research has the potential to reshape how speech therapy services are
delivered to provide a better quality of provision with increased levels
of support without increasing service costs.
63 year old Alan Moore suffered a serious stroke in 2005 and has
since been an active member of the NIHR Clinical Research Network:
Stroke speciality. Alan was one of a number of patients to input into
the development of the app. Alan explains: "I wish this study and the
new system had been available when I was recovering from my stroke.
"As part of my rehabilitation I used paper based resources, which
worked well, but I was keen to recover my IT skills which I previously
used in my day-to-day life. If this app had been around then, it would
have been a perfect opportunity to combine both.
"As part of Claire's research I used the app and found it very user
friendly. I was able to follow a course through the exercises at my own
speed and progress through them as and when I was ready. I also found it
very motivational because as I went through one stage, I really wanted
to get on to the next.
Many people live a long way from a rehabilitation centre and this app
gives them the flexibility to progress in exercises between visits with
their therapists, meaning patients have more control over their
rehabilitation."
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