TalkAround IT Men

Talk Around IT Men helps people with word finding difficulties to develop language and communication skills. It also helps their friends and family learn key communication skills.

Skills – Talk Around IT Men may help to develop:
•Word finding or naming skills
•Receptive and expressive language
•Self-cuing to help word finding
•Circumlocution skills i.e. talking around a word
•Vocabulary
•An understanding of how words are related

How it works
Every Version of Talk Around IT is based on a widely practiced speech and language therapy technique called Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA). SFA is commonly used to improve word finding skills. We aim to help word finding by providing opportunities to practice using spoken and written cues as well as circumlocution (i.e. talking around a word). This activity is designed to be used with a friend or family member. As they help you to improve your word finding, they learn skills and techniques that will enhance their ability to communicate with you.

At the start you will see a picture that you should try to name. You will also see six questions about the semantic features of the object and a button that gives you an example. In addition there is a set of cues to help you to find the word, including the first syllable of the word and a sentence to complete by using that word.

There are several versions of Talk Around IT. This is Talk Around IT Men. In this version we have chosen a library of objects that are commonly associated with masculine interests such as sports or vehicles.

Features
•Talk Around It is based on the commonly used Speech and Language therapy Semantic Feature Analysis
•We present 50 familiar masculine objects one at a time for you to name
•A set of six semantic questions are available to help you to find the word
•There is a button to give you an example
•There is a set of buttons that provide cues to help you find the correct word
•Your friends and family can learn key communication skills

Including vocabulary related to outdoor activities, tools, clothes, sport and common objects.
Backpack, baseball, basketball, bicycle, boat, bowling, boxing, bricks, briefcase, bus, canoe, car, cards, chess, crane, cricket, digger, dominoes, drill, football
Forklift, golf, helicopter, helmet, ice hockey, jetski, karate, level, measuring tape, motorbike, nails, paintbrush, plane, pliers, racing car, rocket, rugby, sail boat, saw, screwdriver, skateboard, skiing, snooker, spanner, suit, suitcase, swimming, sword, tennis, tie., toolbox, train, trowel, truck, van, watch, weights.


About Neuro Hero
Neuro Hero is creating a range of apps, short training videos and support tools for people living with communication difficulties following a stroke, brain injury and a range of other conditions. Working with therapists, we aim to help the process of rehabilitation. We always include the potential for interaction with friends and family members to help break the isolation that so often accompanies a communication difficulty. Many of our products also incorporate elements designed to teach friends and family essential communication skills: http://www.neurohero.com/.

Neuro Hero was inspired when our CEO’s husband survived a stroke that left him with severe expressive aphasia. Everything we create comes from a genuine understanding of why these products are important and a desire to support other families with affordable, effective tools to help them meet some of the challenges they face. 

In May 2012 Neuro Hero received the prestigious Arthur Guinness Fund award. In September 2012 we received the sought after Impact award from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland.