Harnessing AI for aphasia: a case report on ChatGPT's role in supporting written expression.
Avery K Allen, Christine Brennan, Christina Riseman and 2 others
PMID 40519984WHAT IT FOUND
A 75-year-old man with chronic aphasia used ChatGPT to help write his autobiography.
With the AI tool, he produced more sentences with fewer errors, though he still needed significant clinician guidance to use it effectively. He reported increased confidence and enjoyment.
Key findings
01Written output with ChatGPT contained more sentences and fewer errors compared to writing without it, though the AI-generated sentences were shorter.
02The patient relied heavily on clinician support, visual flow charts, and specific prompts to use the tool, limiting his independence.
03The patient reported slight increases in writing confidence and attitude toward AI, but a slight decrease in confidence using the AI tool itself.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This is a single case report, so findings cannot be generalized to other patients with aphasia. The patient was highly technologically savvy and had prior experience with ChatGPT, which may not reflect the typical patient population. The intervention was not blinded, and the clinician provided substantial support during both conditions, making it difficult to isolate the effect of the AI tool from the therapeutic relationship and clinician cues. The patient's independence with the tool was limited; he did not continue using ChatGPT for everyday writing (emails/social media) after the study ended. Open-ended survey responses were too brief for meaningful thematic analysis.
Declared interests
The authors declare that no financial support was received for the research or publication of this article.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume ChatGPT will enable independent writing for most aphasia patients. In this case, the patient relied heavily on clinician guidance and structured prompts, and did not continue using the AI for daily writing tasks after the intervention ended.