Typing Spoken Sentences

SKILL: Writing

DIFFICULTY: 3

LEVELS: 8 based on sentence length

BRIEF RATIONALE: Typing-to-dictation involves keen listening, spelling, and working memory abilities.

In Typing Spoken Sentences, you will hear a sentence and type it exactly as you hear it. The treatment auto-adjusts in difficulty based on performance.

STRATEGIES:

1. Use the Slower button to hear the sentence with pauses.
2. Press the Speaker button again to replay the sentence.

HINT: A hint button is available in the lower-left corner of the screen to reveal the written sentence. Using the hint will mark the item as incorrect (as it was not answered with the auditory stimulus only, but may help you type the sentence.

FOR THE CLINICIAN:

Spelling difficulty is a common and persistent feature of aphasia, often continuing into the chronic stage (Johansson-Malmeling et al., 2021). And it's not just single words. People with aphasia also produce more errors at the sentence level than non-aphasic peers (Vandenborre et al., 2018).

Editing is the other half of the picture. For this population, it tends to be slow, effortful, and often inaccurate. Those difficulties only grow as text length increases (Johansson-Malmeling et al., 2021).

The Typing Spoken Sentences treatment involves a known target- this allows the clinician to analyze lexical versus phonological spelling errors. It also provides the opportunity to practice self-monitoring and editing strategies (e.g., reading text aloud) in a structured way before submitting for feedback.

To make this treatment functional, the stimuli include sentences that someone might send in a text or email, since technology-based communication is often a real barrier for people with aphasia (Menger et al., 2025). Writing goals typically reflect this barrier, and addressing it directly will help patients stay connected with family and friends.

Selected Reference:

1. Johansson‐Malmeling, C., Wengelin, Å., & Henriksson, I. (2021). Aphasia and spelling to dictation: Analysis of spelling errors and editing. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 56(1), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12591