Biomaterial Database

Writing with voice: an investigation of the use of a voice recognition system as a writing aid for a man with aphasia. 2003

Carolyn Bruce, and Anne Edmundson, and Michael Coleman

Department of Human Communication Science, University College London, London, UK. c.bruce@ucl.ac.uk

BACKGROUND People with aphasia may experience difficulties that prevent them from demonstrating in writing what they know and can produce orally. Voice recognition systems that allow the user to speak into a microphone and see their words appear on a computer screen have the potential to assist written communication. OBJECTIVE This study investigated whether a man with fluent aphasia could learn to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to write. METHODS A single case study of a man with acquired writing difficulties is reported. A detailed account is provided of the stages involved in teaching him to use the software. The therapy tasks carried out to develop his functional use of the system are then described. Outcomes included the percentage of words accurately recognized by the system over time, the quantitative and qualitative changes in written texts produced with and without the use of the speech-recognition system, and the functional benefits the man described. RESULTS The treatment programme was successful and resulted in a marked improvement in the subject's written work. It also had effects in the functional life domain as the subject could use writing for communication purposes. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the technology might benefit others with acquired writing difficulties.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D003143	Communication Aids for Disabled	Equipment that provides mentally or physically disabled persons with a means of communication. The aids include display boards, typewriters, cathode ray tubes, computers, and speech synthesizers. The output of such aids includes written words, artificial speech, language signs, Morse code, and pictures.	Augmentative and Alternative Communications Systems,Communication Aids for Handicapped,Communication Boards,Speech Synthesizers,Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf,TDD,TTY Telephone,Text Telecommunication,Text Telecommunication Devices,Text Telephone,Communication Board,Speech Synthesizer,Synthesizer, Speech,Synthesizers, Speech,TTY Telephones,Telecommunication Device, Text,Telecommunication Devices, Text,Telecommunication, Text,Telecommunications, Text,Text Telecommunication Device,Text Telecommunications,Text Telephones
D006236	Handwriting	Manual writing with a pen or pencil.
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001037	Aphasia	A cognitive disorder marked by an impaired ability to comprehend or express language in its written or spoken form. This condition is caused by diseases which affect the language areas of the dominant hemisphere. Clinical features are used to classify the various subtypes of this condition. General categories include receptive, expressive, and mixed forms of aphasia.	Aphasia, Acquired,Dysphasia,Word Deafness,Alogia,Anepia,Aphasia, Ageusic,Aphasia, Auditory Discriminatory,Aphasia, Commisural,Aphasia, Functional,Aphasia, Global,Aphasia, Graphomotor,Aphasia, Intellectual,Aphasia, Mixed,Aphasia, Post-Ictal,Aphasia, Post-Traumatic,Aphasia, Progressive,Aphasia, Semantic,Aphasia, Syntactical,Dejerine-Lichtheim Phenomenon,Dysphasia, Global,Lichtheim's Sign,Logagnosia,Logamnesia,Logasthenia,Acquired Aphasia,Ageusic Aphasia,Ageusic Aphasias,Alogias,Anepias,Aphasia, Post Ictal,Aphasia, Post Traumatic,Aphasias, Commisural,Auditory Discriminatory Aphasia,Auditory Discriminatory Aphasias,Commisural Aphasia,Commisural Aphasias,Deafness, Word,Dejerine Lichtheim Phenomenon,Discriminatory Aphasia, Auditory,Discriminatory Aphasias, Auditory,Functional Aphasia,Functional Aphasias,Global Aphasia,Global Aphasias,Global Dysphasia,Global Dysphasias,Graphomotor Aphasia,Graphomotor Aphasias,Intellectual Aphasia,Intellectual Aphasias,Lichtheim Sign,Lichtheims Sign,Logagnosias,Logamnesias,Logasthenias,Mixed Aphasia,Mixed Aphasias,Phenomenon, Dejerine-Lichtheim,Post-Ictal Aphasia,Post-Ictal Aphasias,Post-Traumatic Aphasia,Post-Traumatic Aphasias,Progressive Aphasia,Progressive Aphasias,Semantic Aphasia,Semantic Aphasias,Sign, Lichtheim's,Syntactical Aphasia,Syntactical Aphasias
D012984	Software	Sequential operating programs and data which instruct the functioning of a digital computer.	Computer Programs,Computer Software,Open Source Software,Software Engineering,Software Tools,Computer Applications Software,Computer Programs and Programming,Computer Software Applications,Application, Computer Software,Applications Software, Computer,Applications Softwares, Computer,Applications, Computer Software,Computer Applications Softwares,Computer Program,Computer Software Application,Engineering, Software,Open Source Softwares,Program, Computer,Programs, Computer,Software Application, Computer,Software Applications, Computer,Software Tool,Software, Computer,Software, Computer Applications,Software, Open Source,Softwares, Computer Applications,Softwares, Open Source,Source Software, Open,Source Softwares, Open,Tool, Software,Tools, Software
D014584	User-Computer Interface	The portion of an interactive computer program that issues messages to and receives commands from a user.	Interface, User Computer,Virtual Systems,User Computer Interface,Interface, User-Computer,Interfaces, User Computer,Interfaces, User-Computer,System, Virtual,Systems, Virtual,User Computer Interfaces,User-Computer Interfaces,Virtual System
D014956	Writing	The act or practice of literary composition, the occupation of writer, or producing or engaging in literary work as a profession.
D016896	Treatment Outcome	Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.	Rehabilitation Outcome,Treatment Effectiveness,Clinical Effectiveness,Clinical Efficacy,Patient-Relevant Outcome,Treatment Efficacy,Effectiveness, Clinical,Effectiveness, Treatment,Efficacy, Clinical,Efficacy, Treatment,Outcome, Patient-Relevant,Outcome, Rehabilitation,Outcome, Treatment,Outcomes, Patient-Relevant,Patient Relevant Outcome,Patient-Relevant Outcomes