Product Review
Bungalow Software
For Aphasia
By Polly Perez
May 2002
I was asked
to review some of the Bungalow Aphasia Software 3 1/2 years after my stroke and
resulting aphasia.
The hardest
thing about starting was waiting for the software to load. Since it is very
graphic intensive, it seemed to take forever.
I started
with Aphasia Tutor Module 1- Words.
I started
off with the word matching section. I was asked to match 70 words and I was
given several choices from which to choose. The feedback was immediate. When I
chose the right answer I got a verbal OK like "That's right." My
favorite verbal OK was the applause. It made me laugh each time I heard it and
to hear it again I kept answering the questions. Obviously, that was the
software designers’ intent!
I purposely
answered several items wrong to see would happen. I got an immediate response
that said, "Try it again" or “That was hard, try it again."
When I
completed that section I printed out my results: Attempts Needed, Hints Given,
and Questions Answered Correctly. The attempts were also rated by 1,2,3, or
>3
On to
section two- words: picture-word matching, verb- multiple choice. I was given
58 words, which I tried to complete fast as possible. That was a mistake as I
missed several, not because I didn’t know the answer, but because I was too
involved in trying to answer quickly and I had not taken enough time to
differentiate the subtle differences in the multiple choices. Another lesson
learned!
I was given
70 nouns to match with a picture. I noticed that this section would be helpful
for re-learning to spell. I made the section harder for myself by looking at
the picture and saying the word out loud before looking at the multiple
choices. I did note that I missed several questions by not noticing the
plurals-i.e., bags not bag.
I progressed
on to letter copying. This one was easy for me as I use the computer all the
time. While doing this section I reflected back to the time immediately after
my stroke when I couldn't figure out the difference between the lower case
"a" and the upper case "A" on the computer keyboard. This
section of the software would have helped me at the point in my rehabilitation.
My results
on the section-Word copying- showed that I missed some letters in the middle of
a word. Throughout my recovery time, and even now, I have trouble spelling the
middle of some words. I can always spell the beginning AND the end of the word
but the middle of the word disappears into the nether land.
I went on to
Aphasia Tutor Module 2 -Sentences. I was given 74 phrases to complete with one
of several choices. I did this section by memory and used the multiple choices
to check my memory. Again, I reflected back to the time in my recovery when I
couldn't complete the simplest phrase. This software would have been helpful
with my self-imposed homework each day.
In the
section on sentence completion, I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that
the software designers misspelled a word. The sentence said "netwok
television" NOT “network television.” I used this as an example of how far
I have come - from a woman who had only one word in her vocabulary
"brank" to a woman who could pick out a misspelling in the program.
Not bad for someone who was mute 3 1/2 years ago!
I was
frustrated when I was writing this review to find that every time I pulled up
Bungalow to check a fact I couldn't minimize the program and return to my word
processing software. The only way to continue was to exit Bungalow completely.
Each time I entered the program it subtracted one trial from the total even though
I didn't work on the program. Oh well…
I think
every hospital that treats stroke patients should have this software available!
I was glad to have been asked to review this program and am wondering if they
have more advanced programs that could help me still.
Editor’s
note: Bungalow offers free trial of their software. Visit their site at http://bungalowsoftware.com.
Copyright © May 2002
The Stroke Network, Inc.
P.O. Box 492 Abingdon,
Maryland 21009
All rights reserved.