Forum

Citation

Jenkins, K.G. (2014), "Forum", Social Care and Neurodisability, Vol. 5 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/SCN-09-2013-0036

Forum

Article Type: Forum From: Social Care and Neurodisability, Volume 5, Issue 1

Welcome to the Forum section of Social Care and Neurodisability, your opportunity to post responses to articles from previous issues and to raise awareness of forthcoming events, consultations, policy initiatives, etc. This edition of Forum has been compiled by Dr Keith Jenkins, who looks forward to your responses by e-mail or post.

Dr Keith G. Jenkins, CPsychol, CSci, AFBPsS, National Brain Injury Centre, St Andrew's Healthcare, Northampton, NN1 5DG, Tel: +44 (0)1604 616767, e-mail: mailto:KJenkins@standrew.co.uk

Technology-2-Go

Has the technological revolution reached your workplace and service users yet? Since the introduction of smart phones and tablet computers, there has been an explosion in the number and range of applications (apps) – that is, computer programs that can support a person with managing their cognitive impairment. This is in addition to the variety of alarm watches, pagers, movement sensors and so on, that have been available for much longer. I must admit that the reality of my clinical practice for cognitive rehabilitation has been very low-tech up until recently. I suspect that this may be the case for many Forum readers too, so in this edition I thought that some “alerts” to potentially useful technology might be beneficial.

Memory impairment is one of the most common consequences of a neurodisability and the range of devices and programs that can serve as memory prostheses is now vast. For prospective memory difficulties (i.e. remembering to do something) there are various potential solutions available. NeuroPage can send a reminder message to a dedicated pager, or do so via text message to a mobile phone, and in some cases it has even been shown to improve prospective memory. An even cheaper alternative, but without the background administrative support, is to set reminder alarms on a mobile phone. When the memory requirement is very specific, for example, taking medication, there are a number of reminder systems available that can contain the tablets as well as prompting the person to take them. If you need help for remembering what you have done, what about a personal video (SenseCam)? This involves the user wearing a camera that takes photographs at pre-determined intervals throughout the day. These are then downloaded onto a computer to create a personalised film that enables the day's events to be reviewed. Research even suggests that memory can be improved as a consequence of using SenseCam.

Communication impairments are another area where acquired difficulties can be supported by tablet computer or smart-phone based apps. An example is ProLoQuo2Go 3.0, which can turn typed text to synthesised speech, or convert pictures or symbols into words or sentences. For a useful overview of aids for people with dementia, the Alzheimers Society has a factsheet on assistive technology; particularly interesting is their description of how a person can be supported in their own home using a combination of telecare (access to support over the telephone) and sensors that can, for example, detect flooding (a bath left to overflow), extreme temperatures (a room so cold that there is a risk of hypothermia), when the gas is left on, or when the person leaves their home at an unusual time. This seems to provide access to a benign “Big Brother” to watch over you.

I hope that this Forum has wetted your appetite and raised awareness of the potential for supporting greater independence for people with neurodisability via the use of technology. If you cannot face searching the internet to explore what is available out there, why not visit the Foundation for Assistive Technology (FAST) at www.fastuk.org ?

Key sources:

1. NeuroPage:

* www.neuropage.nhs.uk/

* Wilson, B. et al., 2001. Reducing everyday memory and planning problems by means of a paging system: a randomised control crossover study. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 70, 477-482.

2. SenseCam:

* http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambridge/projects/sensecam/

* Hodges, S., Berry, E. and Wood, K., 2011. SenseCam: a wearable camera which stimulates and rehabilitates autobiographical memory. Memory, 19, 713-722.

3. ProLoQuo2Go:

* https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/proloquo2go/id308368164?mt=8

4. Alzheimer's Society:

* Assistive technology factsheet:

* www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=109

Forthcoming events/announcements

19-22 March 2014, San Francisco, CA. Tenth World Congress on Brain Injury, available at: www.internationalbrain.org/congress-page-tenth-world-congress-on-brain-injury/

25-26 March, Oxford, UK. Alzheimer's Research UK Conference 2014, available at: www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/conference-2014/

31 March-1 April 2014, Lille. The Third European Conference on Clinical Neuroimaging, available at: www.euroccn.com/

16-17 April 2014, Washington, DC, USA. The 4th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference, available at: http://tbiconference.com/home/

22 May 2014, Kettering, UK. What Really Matters in Rehabilitation. Northamptonshire Acquired Brain Injury Forum 3rd Annual Conference, available at: www.abifnorthants.co.uk/

10 June 2014, Hyderabad, India. IFA 12th Global Conference on Ageing, available at: www.ifa-fiv.org/ifa-activities/ifa-conferences-meetings/ifa-12th-global-conference-on-ageing/

5-9 July 2014, Milan, Italy. 9th Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Forum of Neuroscience, available at: http://fens2014.neurosciences.asso.fr/

For even more event details, see this World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation site: http://wfnr.co.uk/en/events/

16-18 September 2014, Valencia, Spain. 2nd International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, available at: www.omicsgroup.com/alzheimers-disease-dementia-conference-2014/

22 October 2014, Istanbul, Turkey. 9th World Stroke Congress, available at: www2.kenes.com/stroke2014/Pages/Home.aspx

8-11 December 2013, Geneva, Switzerland. XX World Congress on Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders, available at: www2.kenes.com/parkinson/Pages/Home.aspx

Brain Injury Social Work Group (BISWG) Bursaries

Each financial year BISWG Ltd will be offering two exceptional bursaries of £1,000 for international conferences and 16 bursaries of £500 to attend training and conferences in the UK (www.biswg.co.uk/html/bursaries.html).

And finally

If you would like your event(s) featured, send an e-mail with details at least three months before the event to allow for publication lead times.

If you have any questions or opinions that you would like to share with the wider neurodisability community, why not send them in to Forum. I look forward to hearing from you.

Keith G. Jenkins