Personal Digital Assistants as Cognitive Aids After Brain Injury

Research Update: Personal Digital Assistants as Cognitive Aids

A brief summary of current research.

Personal digital assistants as cognitive aids for individuals with severe traumatic brain injury: A community-based trial

Gentry, T, Wallace , J, Kvarfordt , C, Bodisch Lynch, K. Brain Injury , Volume 22(1) , Pgs. 19-24.

After being trained to use personal digital assistants (PDAs) to help remember and complete everyday tasks, study participants felt their abilities were improved in the home and community. In addition, they felt better about their capabilities.

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Posted on BrainLine October 29, 2009.

Comments (3)

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Yes, I totally agree with the comment from Dec 29th, 2015!!!


I am a severe TBI survivor (10 years post-crash on 11/23/15). In reading the Personal Digital Assistant cognitive aid, I felt overwhelmed and anxious just thinking about the prep work, maintenance, etc. that this device would require of me, in order for it to actually "assist" me.

Tried-and-true strategies, paired with lots of sticky notes, detailed alarms and calendar appointments in my iPhone, and keeping a big planner notebook with me are the combination of things that help me. Not saying it's easy, not at all, but keeping it simple is totally KEY to my survival in life! :-)

-the learning mama

What is discussed in this is what the cognitive remediation classes I took in the Rusk were all about. Recognizing your injury enough to be able to take appropriate notes. The notetaking teckniques were mentioned by people as they developed their ways of doing it. The gadget that I see displayed here I believe would be ineffective. Let me explain. A person with head injury has distractibility as one of his symptoms. It needs to be properly understood with awareness through practice. Taking out a machine like this, deciding what to write on it...and finally writing would take too much in regards to properly coordinating these things. I use, and have been using,an index card. Quick, easy...and no problem if you lose it...you can easily make another...

yes, it is empowering