Problem Solve It vs SentenceShaper Speech Therapy

Research suggests that performance on cognitive tasks resembling daily challenges (i.e. everyday problem-solving tasks) is a better indicator of functional cognitive abilities in individuals with cognitive deficits (e.g. Gold, 2012; Kimbler, 2013). The Problem Solve It app is designed to help individuals with cognitive impairments resulting, for example, from a stroke or early stages of dementia. The problems selected in this app are functional in nature and relate to social communication, management of finances, health, literacy, education, and personal thinking. Problem solving is an important skill in our day-to-day activities, and while performing various tasks in this app such as problem-solving based on case scenarios and sentence completion with “if,” the user will be able to identify the problem, examine the possible options, and think creatively to seek strategic approaches to problem solving. The app has six different types of tasks geared toward problem solving. The tasks pertain to everyday math problems, analysis of short scenarios, case-based solutions, sentence completion, missing links in a sequence of activities, and predictions of problems in given scenarios. Problem Solve it is engaging, with real photographs, multiple-choice options and open ended questions. Problem Solve it is easy to navigate and allows users to employ several tools to perform the following: - enter multiple users - change settings - save selected targets for the next session - select auto-scoring - select alternate counts for multiple users - enable or disable special effect sounds - audio record users’ responses - track correct and incorrect responses - view reports in table and graphical forms - e-mail results at the end of the game References: Gold, D. A. (2012). An examination of instrumental activities of daily living assessment in older adults and mild cognitive impairment. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 34, 11-34. Kimbler, K.J. (2013). Everyday Problem Solving and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living: Support for Domain Specificity. Behavioral Sciences, 3, 1, 170-191. Author: Jayanti Ray, Ph. D. CCC-SLP Developed by: Virtual Speech Center Inc.

SentenceShaper has been studied and used successfully for over a decade. Research studies* have shown that the program's unique support allows many people to record more grammatical and content-rich speech than they could produce on their own. These effects can be quite striking, and often lead to improvements in spontaneous speech. FOR LANGUAGE THERAPY: A set of built-in workbooks helps users practice sentence structures ranging from simple to complex. There are also workbooks to elicit speech on different topics such as family, likes and dislikes, memories, and advice. Or use the program to create speech on ANY topic of interest to the user. FOR SOCIAL CONNECTIVITY: SentenceShaper allows you to share your enhanced speech productions from within the program. Your speech and pictures are turned into videos that you share via email, messaging apps, Facebook, Instagram, or other options in the iOS Sharing Menu. SUMMARY OF FEATURES: -- Sentence-building tool, to create sentences from speech fragments -- Built-in workbooks -- Ability to insert your own personal photographs -- Sharing tool: turns your speech and photos into a video, and lets you share it from within the program -- Text area to add your own text, in any language -- Editing tool to create personalized materials -- Export/import feature to share treatment materials you create. WHO CAN USE IT? SentenceShaper was developed for people with non-fluent aphasia, but the rich support it provides for speech production may be helpful with fluent aphasia, children's language disorders, or even speech intelligibility disorders. The integration of text makes it an excellent tool for reading programs. *RESEARCH-BASED SentenceShaper was studied in over a decade of research funded by the National Institutes of Health and other organizations, with internationally recognized neuropsychologists. The idea behind the program: There is a lot of evidence that people with aphasia still know their language. Unfortunately, however, their language processing is slowed down – it takes them longer to think of words, and words vanish from memory before they can be combined into sentences. SentenceShaper can help you tap into these hidden language abilities. How? By letting you hold words and phrases in memory long enough to combine them into sentences. Once you record a word, you will not have to keep it in memory — just click its icon and it will be played back. And when you are creating sentences, you can play back the sentence in progress to make sure it is correct and to activate more words and phrases. While we recommend the guidance of a language therapy professional, SentenceShaper can be used on your own at home. SentenceShaper’s unique ability to help you create and share your own speech encourages practice, which is crucial to the recovery process.