Toward a conversation partner agent for people with aphasia: Assisting word retrieval

Abstract

Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder marked by difficulties in understanding the language or expressing oneself using language. In order to support communication of a person with aphasia, a concept of supported communication has been proposed, wherein a conversation partner assists a person with aphasia in communicating. We are designing a conversation partner agent, a software agent that embodies the functions of a conversation partner. In this paper, we focus on the function of assisting a person with aphasia who has difficulty retrieving words. More specifically, multiple choice questions are generated using a domain ontology and presented in appropriate order to a person with aphasia. Through this question and answer process, the system infers the word that a person with aphasia wants to express.