Posted by Emily Shearing Oct 23 2014
David Samuels doesn’t use a tablet just to browse the Web and catch up with his grandchildren on Facebook—he uses it as a major part of his stroke recovery.
For at least an hour per day, Samuels uses mobile apps geared toward stroke survivors with aphasia to gain back mental strength and communication skills. In the three years since his stroke, wife Linda Samuels says her husband is still making strides. “Without [the apps], he wouldn’t have improved as much,” she says.
App Adherence
The two main programs David Samuels uses on his iPad are Lingraphica and Constant Therapy, both of which offer free applications available for download in the iTunes app store. The apps offer a variety of reading, speech, and other tools specifically tailored to people with aphasia.
But the apps alone won’t help stroke survivors reach their potential—it takes a commitment to utilizing them on a regular basis.
“It’s about brain plasticity—the more you use it, the better you’re going to get,” Linda Samuels says. “I’ve found the more [David] uses [the apps], the better he is.”
Even a more mainstream app like Pinterest, which is traditionally used as a virtual inspiration board, plays a part in his recovery, serving as a memory booster. “My husband isn’t going to pin recipes, but he can pin the jobs he’s had or favorite restaurants in the area … it’s more like telling your story through Pinterest,” she says.
Scaled Improvements
Most of the tech-aided therapy is prompted by classes David takes three days a week at the Snyder Center for Aphasia Life Enhancement (SCALE) in Baltimore. There he was even involved in a clinical study to determine if Google Glass could assist people with aphasia.
Although using new technology might seem intimidating, Linda says the apps are very user-friendly. Many are also adaptable to varying levels of cognitive abilities. “[David] doesn’t get bored with it, let’s put it that way,” Linda says. “If he’s not so good at one activity, he stays at one level and we can change it.”
When it’s time for his app exercises, Linda sometimes gives her husband a gentle nudge. “If I have to push him a little harder one day well that’s OK because he knows the outcome is going to be good,” she says. “[Motivation] has to come from the patient—no matter what anybody else might say, if they don’t want to help themselves then they won’t.”
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