Toward Supporting Communication for People with Aphasia: The In-Bed Scenario

Abstract

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) solutions allow people with communication difficulties, such as Aphasia, to express their needs and opinions to others and, consequently, improve their independence, safety, and overall quality of life. However, the available AAC systems, often involving the use of devices with a touchscreen (e.g., smartphone, tablet), do not provide adequate support during the whole day, particularly while the user is in bed. To address this gap, we propose a system for people with Aphasia that supports two-way communication between them and other people, such as a caregiver. This contribution presents the current status of the system prototype, developed in the context of AAL project APH-ALARM, and demonstrates how it can be used by a person with Aphasia (PWA) lying in bed alone (wearing a smartwatch) to communicate with a caregiver. The PWA can rely on predefined gestures to send simple messages to the caregiver's smartphone. An application can then be used by the caregiver to send a confirmation or a question with Yes/No answer, which is transmitted to the PWA through synthetic speech output, using a speaker in the bedroom. The PWA can answer back using gestures associated with Yes or No meaning. The demonstration shows the potential of the proposed system to support communication for users with Aphasia, in the in-bed scenario.