Looking for a mid-tech tool for your clients with agraphia? Check out electronic spellers! ✍🏼 ⌨️
When trying to correctly spell a word, electronic spellers are typically programmed to look for correct spellings that best match the 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰 spelling of what your client just wrote (searching for words that 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 similar) 👂
This is different than the default spell check that is installed on most computer word processors, which are programmed to find 𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 spellings (searching for words that 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 similar) 👀
Assistive Technology: Speech-to-Text Software
What kinds of technology supports are available to people with agraphia? ✍🏼 💻
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵-𝘁𝗼-𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 allows spoken material captured by a microphone/headset to be transcribed into text for computer programs. 🎙
Though many softwares exist, here are some popular options that you may consider looking into for your clients.
Alexia Treatment: Life Participation Approach
In order for therapy to make the biggest impact, therapy tasks need to be centered around meaningful activities 🗣
The 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗮 utilizes a model known as the 𝗔-𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 (Living with Aphasia: Framework for Outcome Measurement). The A-FROM has 4 distinct domains that all contribute to living with aphasia.
Alexia Classifications
When diagnosing an alexia, there are 2 major types of classifications: 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗮𝘀 and 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗮𝘀
𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘢𝘴 affect the early stages of the reading process and involve difficulty perceiving the written word. In a Peripheral Alexia, individual letters may be misidentified and lead to errors such as reading “book” for BOOT.
𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘢𝘴 affect the later stages of the reading process and involve impairments of lexical processing and sublexical processing. In a Central Alexia, the semantic system may be impaired which results in the word COW being misread as “horse” (thereby making a semantic substitution).
Assistive Technology: Text-to-Speech Software
Assistive Technology: iPhone Speak Screen
Many people are familiar with text-to-speech apps that are downloaded onto a computer or phone, but did you know that many smartphones have their own built-in text-to-speech programs? 📱
𝗶𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 is an accessibility option that will enable the iPhone to read aloud all the text on the phone screen. Whether you are browsing through the IG app, checking the weather on your phone, or reading online news articles on Safari, iPhone Speak Screen can read aloud almost any text displayed! 📚