Written by Heather McCurdy, M.S., CCC-SLP, CBIS
Heather provides in home speech therapy services in Northwest IN, and virtual services for the IN residents.
Question: For whom are these homework exercises appropriate?
Answer: Individuals who have a mild cognitive impairment or have an early stage of dementia may benefit from the cognitive stimulation that these exercises provide.
Question: Will these exercises help my memory?
Answer: Yes, your memory may benefit! These exercises are intended to stimulate your brain in a way it might not otherwise be stimulated, especially compared to watching television or completing another mindless activity. These exercises are not a replacement for cognitive therapy.
Question: Are there other activities that may help me/ my loved one improve memory/ attention/ planning or prioritizing?
Answer: Some popular applications include Elevate, Constant Therapy, NBack, Logic Puzzles or Brain Yoga. A note of caution though: brain games do NOT generalize to functional tasks. In other words, if you/ your loved one performs well on a memory task on an application, it doesn't mean that it will assist with remembering a familiar persons name.
Question: What strategies should I use to complete these?
Answer: Because training for strategies is individualized and part of the skilled services SLPs provide, I am unable to provide information about strategies. If you or your loved one has difficulty remembering conversations, difficulty attending, misplaces items and/or has difficulty planning/ prioritizing, speech therapy can help!
Heather McCurdy is the owner and speech-language pathologist (SLP) at Mindful Speech Therapy. She is particularly passionate about those who sustain traumatic brain injuries and strives to provide functional, meaningful and relevant treatment.
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