On the Importance of Tailor-made Speech Relearning Software for Stroke Rehabilitation Awais Ahmad and Peter Mozelius Department of Computer and System Science, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden Keywords: Speech Relearning, Stroke Rehabilitation, User-centred Design, Independent Living, Older Adults. Abstract: Post stroke rehabilitation is a global issue with increasing challenges today when the percentage of older adults is increasing. There is a need for new solutions to better assist stroke survivors' normally long way back to a good and independent life. The various post stroke impairments can be divided into the categories of cognitive, motoric and speech impairment, and the three also have their interrelations. This position paper has a focus on rehabilitation of stroke survivors' speech impairments, and the use of technology-enhanced systems to assist the speech relearning. The current reuse of language learning software for primary school students is doubtful, and should better be replaced by tailor-made and adaptable tools that fit the target group. Finally, the recommendation is a long-term strategy where some initial costs should fund the design, development and evaluation of new digital tools for speech relearning. This should be conducted in a collaboration between researchers, speech therapists, stroke patients. The approach should be iterative and user-centred, with both speech therapists and stroke patients as the end-users. 1 INTRODUCTION Stroke is a major cause of disabilities in adults where a stroke survivor may suffer from long term physical and mental impairments (Palmcrantz et al., 2017). Due to a rapidly increasing percentage of older adults all over the world, age-related chronic diseases are also increased and stroke is one of those diseases (Ahmad et al., 2019). It has some serious impacts on the patient’s overall daily life activities and often, the friends and family of the patients are also affected (Mozelius et al., 2019). Stroke impairments and their rehabilitation are generally divided into speech, motoric and cognitive disabilities (Ahlin et al., 2019). This position paper focuses on speech impairments and the use of technology-enhanced systems to perform different types of rehabilitation exercises. After the stroke, patients’ ability to read, write, speak and listen can be decreased (Tousignant et al., 2018). Consequently, patient’s social and professional life is deeply affected and usually, they fail to continue their professional work and social activities that may lead them to an isolated and depressed state of mind (Ahmad et al., 2019). Intensive and long-term rehabilitation is needed right after the stroke that involves different kinds of therapies and exercises (Palmcrantz et al., 2017). However, the human and financial resources needed for the rehabilitation after stroke are not enough in the hospitals and rehabilitation centres (Zhang et al., 2016). The compromised independent life of stroke survivors is also an issue with traditional speech rehabilitation therapies where patients need to stay in the rehabilitation centres for a long time. Recent studies highlighted that living independently in the home environment has some positive impacts on the patient’s health condition and the process of healing becomes faster and more effective (Christophorou et al., 2016, Ahlin et al., 2019). Different types of technology-enhanced systems (TES) such as software applications to perform relearning exercises can be useful in this context (Ahmad et al., 2019). However, several studies highlighted that acceptance of TES also has some critical factors that need to be addressed such as trust, e-health literacy, personal integrity and usability (Ahmad & Mozelius, 2019, De Veer et al., 2015). Another critical factor that has got less attention is the lack of tailor-made software solutions for speech learning with a design that builds on the target group’s special needs. Speech therapists today, frequently use software applications that are developed for primary school students in the relearning process for older adults (Ahlin, Ahmad & 176 Ahmad, A. and Mozelius, P. On the Importance of Tailor-made Speech Relearning Software for Stroke Rehabilitation. DOI: 10.5220/0009561201760179 In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health (ICT4AWE 2020), pages 176-179 ISBN: 978-989-758-420-6 Copyright c  2020 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved