Naming Nouns and Actions

To kick things off for the Speech Production category, I will cover not just one, but two tasks in this first post! These tasks are Naming, Nouns and Naming, Actions.

As you can guess from the names, one of the tasks contains images for eliciting noun responses and the other ups the stakes by introducing images that show an action. I will save the discussion of the images themselves for a separate post. (That one will be a fun one. Plenty of stories behind the real life images in SanapsisPro!)

Technically these two Naming tasks are very similar. The tasks are the familiar speech therapy flashcard-type tasks. This is propably the first task format you think of when thinking about speech therapy.

In SanapsisPro you can use the Settings to filter the images by category.  You can also choose how many images (1–4) are shown on screen at a time. When you launch the exercise, you see the image(s), and swipe forward or back to go through the images. So simple, so useful and so versatile.

But hey, wait a minute! When you tap an image, it disappears. When you tap the screen again, the image comes back. This seems a bit odd. Why does the image disappear? Seems like something that should be fixed! Or… hmm… is it maybe surprisingly clever? A feature, not a bug? Well, I like to think it is surprisingly clever (as I designed it, hah).

This feature allows you to work on delayed naming or repetition. Ask your patient to name or repeat the object in the image. Then tap the image and ask them to tell you what is hiding behind that black screen.

When I have multiple images on screen I sometimes get my patients to go the extra mile by asking them to:

1. Memorise the items on screen

2. Close their eyes (as I hide one of more of images on screen) and

3. Tell me which one is missing.
   =>  Instant, playful fun featuring memory and naming challenges!

This can work well in group settings too. You can have patients team up for the memory challenge!

You can also change the task up by taking turns to add an element of reciprocal communication. Images are easy to hide and reveal for the patient, and having them quiz you can be a fun challenge. This can target many goals, such as taking a leading role in the exchange, practising memory and attention, and listening and verifying your answers.

With over 500 images in Naming, Nouns and more than 300 real-life action images in Naming, Actions, there is plenty of material to keep your sessions fresh and engaging for a long time. Hope you have fun mixing up the familiar Naming task!