Speech and Language Therapy - using iPad

technology

Jacqui Learoyd

Speech and Language Therapist

In the beginning…

• I was recruited to work on Milford House and Ellesmere House June 2013

• Assessment and treatment for people with learning disability

• Made a case for

iPad technology to

use with clients…

What was the case??• socially acceptable

• portable and can contain a range of resources in one easy location

• multi-modal approaches – sound, touch, music, pictures, voice• save SLT time making resources, storing equipment and printing a

huge quantity of paper based materials

• can be personalised to be motivating for clients e.g. with photos and known locations / preferred interests

• easy to use / does not require the dexterity of a keyboard and mouse

• vast range of apps - communication, swallowing, social skills, choices, mental capacity, literacy, signing, receptive language skills and expression of ideas

Had to Overcome Some Hurdles…• Funding / purchasing / IT

• Apps selection and funding for Apps

• Infection control

• Safety and storage of equipment

• Issues of connecting to the internet

• Issues of measuring outcomes of intervention

What can you do with an iPad??

We have all heard of people using a device to ‘talk’ for them.

The most famous example is Stephen Hawking and his VOCA device.

iPads are becoming an alternative to a VOCA.

These are the current Apps which have been designed to help a person ‘talk’.

Case study – inpatients

• 2 inpatient clients with learning disability

• Both identified by OT as hard to engage on their MOCA assessment

• SLT goal is engagement, social skills work, narrative building and recognition of emotions

• Worked with them in a pair with iPad using social skills videos, music, photos, apps

Examples of work

For ‘fun’ (sequencing / planning / food choices / awareness of cleanliness / engagement / listening / teamwork) – looking after a virtual pet

Social skills Monitoring volume of speech

Emotions

Narrative building

Working on ‘self’

Case study - dysphagia

• Clients in community and in inpatient settings

• Aim – understand own swallow / what is happening and why

Case study - dementia

• Inpatient – lady with dementia affecting her word finding and ability to state needs

• Aim – can this lady use an iPad to help her express her needs and talk to her family?

My friend Max

Other uses - video

• My SLT colleagues at Mytton Oak use their SLT iPad for videoing clients – either eating and drinking for dysphagia, or communication strategies.

• They can use the video for staff training, working with families, and promoting understanding of dysphagia to all stakeholders.

• Considering this for Ellesmere House – it might be a good way to review communication breakdowns and how they can be ‘noticed’ and ‘re-directed’ at an early stage. Need to consider contraband rules and consent issues.

Other uses - Assessment

• I’ve purchased paper based assessments and photographed the assessment materials with the iPad camera. It allows me to carry a library of assessments easily, and always have a range of assessments at my fingertips.

• Informal assessment with photographs is also a useful tool for communication, interaction, attention, naming etc…

Other uses – learning via ‘play’

• For building memory, attention and helping clients understand how they process sentences / instructions

Ongoing Hurdles (haven’t figured out the answers yet…)

• Still need to work out how to measure outcomes of interventions and capture this

• Need to keep up to date with technology and apps• May have an issue with funding of future app

purchasing• Need a long term plan for future proofing using

technology

Reporting

• It’s early days (only had the iPad three months)

• I have reported on the impact of SLT at Ellesmere House and Milford House. If you would like a copy please email me at jacqui.learoyd@sssft.nhs.uk

Thank you for listening

References / Further Reading• CALL Scotland (2014) iPad Apps for Complex Communication Support Needs:

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), CALL Scotland, The University of Edinburgh

• Constant Therapy (2014) Constant Therapy Launches iPad Solution for People with Traumatic Brain Injury, Stroke, Aphasia and Learning Disabilities, Business Wire (English).

• Haydon et al (2012) A Comparison of iPads and Worksheets on Math Skills of people with Emotional Disturbance, Behavioral Disorders, 37 (4), 232-243

• Helps and Herzberg (2013) The Use of an iPad2 as a Leisure Activity for a student with Multiple Disabilities, Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, May-June 2013

• I CAN Help (2014) Factsheet: iPad and Tablet apps, available online at www.ican.org.uk/help • King et al (2014) iPad® use in children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder:

An observational study, Child Language Teaching & Therapy. Jun2014, Vol. 30 Issue 2, p159-173

• Korner and Leske (2012) Apps for communication and everyday living, INDEPENDENT LIVING VOL 28 NO 1

• McClanahan et al (2012) How Use of an iPad Facilitated Reading Improvement, Tech Trends Volume 56, Number 3

• Mill (2012) iPads for Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning (iCALL), CALL Scotland, The University of Edinburgh

• Millar (2012) iPads, apps and autism, available online at www.nasen.org.uk• Sutton et al (2013) Trust and Evidence in an Online Community of Speech and Language

Therapists: The Case of iPad Use, available online• Sutton and Olivier (2013) Speech and Language Therapists, their Patients and Mobile Apps,

available online