Conversational Computer Programs for the Brain-Injured

The objective is to use natural language programming techniques to develop a computer program that can communicate with people in plain English on a limited range of subjects. The program is designed for people with cognitive deficiencies to enable them to practice communicating in English, and at the same time testing their knowledge and recall of the subject matter of the conversation. Patient responses are typed using a keyboard. For this population the program must be extremely flexible, accepting answers that are words, phrases or complete sentences, recognizing answers that are incorrectly capitalized and punctuated, pointing out words that are misspelled and providing hints where appropriate. The work consists of upgrading an existing computer program that tests the degree to which a patient is oriented. The upgrades consist of adding pre- and post-processing modules for use by the therapist to provide input and quantitatively evaluate patient progress. Graphics will be added and additional conversations will be written. This work provides a new approach to interacting with computers that could be both interesting and beneficial for brain-injured patients. The primary customers for this software will be clinics that provide treatment for people with cognitive deficiencies.