Communication difficulties following brain injury, such as stroke, can lead to social isolation and reduced opportunities for speech practice, which is vital for recovery. People with speech impairments often experience embarrassment and reduced confidence, leading to withdrawal from social interaction and worsening outcomes in both mental and physical health. Inspired by feedback from stroke survivors and drawing on principles used in physical activity tracking, we developed Talk-More, a wearable device that monitors speech activity without recording content, aiming to motivate increased speaking time and support speech rehabilitation. In collaboration with engineers at the University of Manchester, we developed a prototype and conducted a focus group with individuals with lived experience of speech impairment and caregivers. Qualitative data from this group was anonymised and thematically analysed. Key themes included perceived usefulness of the device for self-motivation, concerns about comfort and discretion, and enthusiasm about its potential to reduce isolation. These insights are informing further development and user-centred design refinements of the device. The collection includes the qualitative data retrieved from this focus group of people with lived experience or experience of caring for someone with speech impairment after brain injury or neurological disease.I am developing a device to monitor talking time to support speech recovery after brain injury such as stroke. This device is like an exercise tracker but for speech and is called Talk-More. We know that the best way to improve speech after any sort of brain injury is to practice, practice and then practice some more. I'm a speech and language therapist and know that people who have a stroke or brain injury are at high risk of social isolation. Talking can be hard work, particularly if it sounds unclear or different to how it did before. People can feel embarrassed about their speech and cut down on socialising. Social isolation and loneliness can happen more as people get older anyway and we know that this leads to poor physical and mental health. Talking to stroke survivors they suggested that a device to track talking time could motivate people in the same way exercise trackers motivate people. I spoke to some engineers at the University of Manchester, and they have worked with me to develop a prototype of this speech tracking device. It does not record people but monitors each time the person talks. We need to do some more work to see what people think of it, how easy it is to use and how comfortable they feel using it. Hopefully this device will encourage people to think about engaging socially and increase their talking time to both help their speech recovery and reduce social isolation. This funding allowed us to carry out some market testing of our end-users and we carried out a focus group with a patient, public involvement group of people with lived experience of speech difficulties after brain injury or as a result of neurological disease.

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