The Importance of User Feedback

Let’s turn our attention to Sanapsis+ for a moment. This is the app designed for patients to practice their language skills independently.

The Breaking News: Sanapsis+ has been improved, thanks to our wonderful users!

The latest updates are now live in both the App Store and Google Play. This release includes general stability improvements, and more importantly: no more overlapping audio if you tap the image rapidly multiple times, and no more freezing for the recording function on the Naming exercise!

Spotlight on the Naming Exercise

I will take a quick moment to walk you through the Naming exercise here, as many of you might have experienced some frustration using it lately.

Today I selected Verbs as my category. It is a hot day today, so showcasing the verb DRINK felt appropriate. That water looks mighty refreshing!

The goal is straightforward: Name the word the image represents and say it out loud. In my example, I would aim to say “drink.”

1. Record your response.

- Tap the red microphone button to start recording (it will display “recording”).

- Speak at your own pace; the feature is intentionally slow to give you plenty of time.

- The recording stops automatically and the Play button turns white

2. Listen to your voice

- Tap the Play button to listen to the recording of your voice.

You can record the word and listen to the recording as many times as you like.

Need a little support?

If you need a little boost, you have several options:

- Tap the big image to hear the word.

- The green button with letters spells out the word letter by letter.

- The green speaker button plays a phonetic clue (like “dr...”) to get you started.

Note that there is no feedback on how you did. Sanapsis+ is a tool for you to evaluate and improve your spontaneous speech – not just talk to get a “green light” from a device. This is a good tool to take a moment and reflect. What did that sound like? How can I improve? And if that was perfect, how will I celebrate the success?

Thank You, Users!

We are so grateful for everyone who reports bugs, shares feedback, or simply lets us know they are using the app. We love to reach out and ask: How can we improve your experience?

We are here for you and because of you. Every update is designed to support your rehabilitation journey. Thank you for supporting us in this mission!

Update for the Writing category is live

Head over to the App Store to explore new content and enjoy an improved user experience in exercises:

• Copy Letters by Hand

• Copy Words Using the Keyboard

• Copy Words by Hand

• Fill in Letters by Hand

• Fill in the Blank

• Write a Sentence

• Synopsis

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We’re sharing a series of short spotlights on each exercise in this category over the coming weeks, practical tips and clinical applications included. Let’s go!

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Spotlight on Copy Letters by Hand

To kick things off, let’s take a closer look at Copy Letters by Hand. In this exercise, the patient uses either their finger or a stylus pen to copy a letter displayed on the screen into a box shown next to it.
The settings allow for multiple adjustments. 👉

For this task, a key option is Show background image. When you select  Show  the white box contains a dark gray outline of the target letter for tracing (see image with letter A). When you select  Hide, the box stays completely empty, inviting the patient to complete the letter independently (see image with letter B).

When you choose  Fading, (see video with letter N) the outline is gradually faded with each task, helping the patient build confidence and progress toward independent writing.

This exercise is a gentle way to work up to using pen and paper when a familiar task has become a new skill to learn.

It’s especially helpful for patients who need to strengthen motor skills in their dominant hand or adapt to using their non-dominant hand after a stroke.

NB. An occupational therapist can be a valuable partner in developing motor skills needed for writing, and many skills practiced in occupational therapy can also be reinforced in speech therapy. Collaboration is key!

This exercise also benefits patients with cognitive challenges, offering a clear, simple way to practice goal-directed work and cooperation. You can also add an element of interaction by taking turns to complete the tasks. Since SanapsisPro does not provide automatic feedback, the goals and success criteria can be set individually to suit every patient.

Thank you stopping by my blog and stay tuned! We will soon walk you through the next updated exercise in SanapsisPro Writing category.

While you wait

The update for our next category, Writing, is almost here! But while we wait for it to land, I wanted to share an exciting tool I came across lately.

As you know, I am always looking for solutions to support patients in their everyday life. With AI-powered tools being developed at a breathtaking speed, the possibilities are thrilling. However, when diving deeper, the user experience often feels… let’s be honest—gimmicky. Enthusiasm for the possibilities of AI easily turns to hype, and many tools aiming to provide solutions to real-life problems feel more like added work and confusion than solutions that truly enable and empower users as we navigate everyday life challenges.

Enter Wispr Flow. This is a voice dictation tool, powered by AI and designed to provide clear, concise, and informative output from real-life, messy (in a word, human!) input. In short, you can use your regular way of speaking, filler words, pauses, hesitations, and all, and Wispr Flow transforms the message into clear written language that fits the platform you are using.

I have been playing around with this for a few days now and am pleasantly surprised by how natural and effortless it feels to use Wispr Flow to transcribe my natural, messy speech into well-formed written language. Of course, I am just bursting with ideas on how to use it in therapy too! I also think that getting comfortable with a tool like this could be a powerful support system, empowering some of our patients to communicate more independently and with confidence.

As I’ve been trying out different communication styles and ways of natural speech with Wispr Flow, I am impressed by how many communication styles it can support. Experimenting with different communication styles, like searching for the right words and expressions or taking longer to form sentences, Wispr Flow very rarely fails to structure my speech into a clear, well-structured message. Give it a go and let me know what you think! I look forward to testing this with many people with varying communication styles and learning what they think too.

Listen to a Story – Non-Fiction Stories for Auditory Reasoning

The fourth exercise in the Comprehension category is called Listen to a Story. If you’ve already used Questions Based on Text, this task might feel familiar.  Here the focus shifts from identifying small details to grasping the broader theme of a longer passage. It’s your go-to option when you want more substantial content while still keeping the listening task simple and well-structured.

In Listen to a Story -task, you’ll see a short non-fiction text along with three possible answer choices. You read the text aloud to your patient and then present the options. Here’s an example:

“Wristwatches tell time and can show hands or digital numbers. They replaced pocket watches in the 1800s and were first made for women. Today, everyone uses them. Watches can also show status or style. Most run on quartz movements, which are more accurate than mechanical ones. About 90% of modern watches use quartz.”

After reading the passage, you ask your patient: What was the story about? And prompt them to select an answer from the options shown:
– Pocket watches
– The work of a watchmaker
– Wristwatches

Only one option corresponds directly to the content of the story (wristwatches), but the others are plausible enough to require careful listening. This encourages your patient to focus, retain details, and evaluate the information logically.

On Level 1, each story is under 100 words. On Level 2, texts range from 100 to 300 words. With the latest update, both levels now include more than 20 unique texts. All nonfiction, all structured to support auditory reasoning.

Just text and options? Yes and No.

At the surface level it is very simple. You read a text, give option on what the story was about and the patient tells you what they think is the correct answer. They are either right or wrong. End of story? Not at all!

This listening task is an excellent tool for targeting auditory memory, sustained attention, and verbal recall. After your patient selects their answer, you can invite them to explain their choice: How did you know the text was about wristwatches and not pocket watches? Reflection supports skills like verbal memory, organizing information, and planning and expressing a persuasive response. Always a good idea to take the opportunity to include elements that encourage reciprocal interaction!

You can turn this into a stronger memory challenge by sharing the answer options before reading the text. For example, say:

“I’ll read a short passage. It’s either about pocket watches, the work of a watchmaker, or wristwatches. When I’m done, tell me which one it was about.”

Working through several tasks in a row can also provide valuable insight into what the patient struggles with when comprehension breaks down — both in therapy and in real-life situations. Learning when and how confusion arises can reveal important patterns, whether it’s fatigue, difficulty retaining earlier information, trouble shifting between topics, or challenges keeping information separate across tasks. Can they recall the gist of the watch story later, after hearing two or three other stories? What answer did they give the first time they heard it? Can they remember any specific details?

Exploring these questions can guide the use of helpful strategies, such as recognizing when details start to feel fuzzy, finding ways to ask for clarification or repetition, taking notes, or pausing to summarize key points. Learning about these insights together can support shaping personalized support strategies that carry over into everyday communication.

As Always, You’re in Control

As with all SanapsisPro tasks, you are free to adapt the task to meet your patient’s individual needs. The app does not impose rigid right–wrong feedback, and allows you to guide the session naturally and flexibly. You can adjusting your approach in real time based on your patient’s current goals and abilities as well as your professional style.