Assistive technology for the rehabilitation of language using a cognitive approach

For paralyzed and aphasic children, communication is often reduced to poor physical signals, unlike real language. Alternative augmentative communication uses communication boards with icons, so that “speaking” becomes “pointing.” This substitution raises crucial questions about visual language and about the links between language and images, if one wishes to computerize the communication board. Automating communication boards as a substitute for defective oral functions is the last step in a cognitive process which links perceptions coming from images and from language, at a mental level. The model described, which leaves the control of the semantics to the user, appears to work better than semantic networks. Indeed, because the machine leaves some of the sentence-building up to the users, it shows that they have good control of their production