Improvement of oral naming by unsupervised computerised rehabilitation

Abstract

The effects of unsupervised, computerised rehabilitation of anomia in aphasia were investigated with three single-case studies. The training was carried out in the patients' own homes without any supervision. It included semantic and phonemic tasks as well as written naming tasks. The computer was programmed to progress through a preselected set of tasks according to set criteria of performance. The patient could not alter the preselected sequence, but could start and stop a session at any time. The length of the training was determined by the time it took the patient to work through the full set of tasks. Comparison was made of their progress in naming of trained and untrained words. A cross-over design was used, and baselines were established with two patients. All patients improved in their general naming performance, but to different degrees. A relatively specific effect for the trained words was found in two patients, whereas the third showed a somewhat more general effect. The chosen therapy was probably not equally appropriate for all three patients. It is concluded that oral naming can be improved with unsupervised computer rehabilitation in the home even though the patient is not required to speak during the training.