Brain Waves: UAB Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Newsletter Volume 15 | Number 1 | Page 4

TBI INFORMATION SPOTLIGHT
Center for Aphasia Research & Treatment
The Center for Aphasia Research & Treatment was
created in 2001 at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly
known as the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago) to
respond to the challenge of “living with aphasia.” The
Center’s mission is to promote the development and
implementation of rehabilitation practi ces that enhance
the communication skills of individuals with aphasia and
facilitate their engagement in life activities.
One outcome from this mission is Aphasia treatment
Software Products for People with Aphasia. With Oral
Reading for Language in Aphasia, the person with
aphasia repeatedly reads sentences out loud, together
with a speech therapist. Research studies showed that
some people with aphasia also improved in:
• Speaking
• Listening and understanding
• Writing
Another outcome is the AphasiaScripts software. The
onscreen Personal Animated Therapist helps coach
the Player, which is simple and easily operated by most
people with aphasia. It allows for repetitive practice of
pre-recorded individualized scripts with varying degrees
of support for the person with aphasia. The player
interface has three components.
1. The user listens silently to the whole conversation.
2. The user practices each sentence of the conversation
repeatedly.
3. The entire conversation is rehearsed in turn-taking
with the virtual therapist.
Various forms of assistance are provided including
highlighting the written word, observing the virtual
therapist’s corresponding mouth movements, and
speaking the sentence in a choral manner. The person
with aphasia also has an opportunity to play back and
listen to his or her utterances recorded by the computer.
The Player includes 20 prerecorded scripts (10 basic
and 10 more advanced) that can be practiced by the
person with aphasia. Scripts that have been created
and recorded by a
family member or
speech-language
pathologist using
the Editor can be
added to the person
with aphasia’s
Player on their
home computer for
home practice.
Communication Matrix
The Communication Matrix is a nonprofit project
created by a small group of researchers, speech-
language pathologists and educational experts
headquartered at Oregon Health & Science University.
Although it was originally designed for educators working
with children with disabilities, many therapists, caregivers,
and individuals have used it to create communication
profiles for people with aphasia and other communication
disorders. the field, and offer and receive support.
The Matrix Is Free
The Matrix is the only free online communication
assessment for individuals in the beginning stages of
communication. It is kept free because the developers
believe in its power to help people. It’s Made to Last
The Matrix can be used both online and offline. Results
appear in a table format that is the same across online
and paper versions. Take one assessment online, another
offline, and still easily compare the results.
It’s Easy to Use
The Matrix guides you through a series of questions to
answer based on your observations and experiences with
the individual. It lets you track and understand progress at
a glance. Check out Using the Matrix for video help. It’s Available in Multiple Languages
The Matrix can be used online in English, Spanish,
Czech, Dutch, Chinese (traditional), Russian, Korean and
Vietnamese.
Join the Community
Our Community includes an active forum where
speech-language pathologists, teachers, families, and
researchers can connect, share information, learn from
4
uab.edu/tbi
It Helps the Community
Each assessment you create is converted into
completely anonymous data. The data collected
helps researchers find out more about how people
communicate. The data that users contribute is put into
an easy-to understand visual format and shared with you
in Shared Science.
It’s Based on Established Science
The Matrix is based on decades of communication
research, organizing various schemas into a streamlined
tool for tracking progress over time. Learn more about the
scientific foundations of the Matrix.