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Software to Assist in Recovering from a Stroke?

Posted by Cliff on from the massaging-the-mind dept.

jshaw001 asks: "My mother recently suffered a stroke. She is not that old, only 55, and she is out of the hospital now but still has a long road to recovery. The doctors said she should be able to recover, but it's up to how hard she works at it. She is an accountant, so numbers and being able to memorize lots of stuff is very important. In short, her memory is very important. I'm in college right now, and my father has to work all day so we can't be there to help her out with her memory exercises all the time. I was wondering if anyone knows of good software I can get for her to help her with her memory, reasoning, and typing. Free software, shareware, commercial code -- cost is not a factor. Games are also a plus. Please note that we are limited to Windows software. Any other advice on things I can use to help her, or your experiences, are welcomed. Thank you."

5 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. slightly off topic but helpful stroke information. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    i know this isnt related to memory, but since reovering from a stroke has other complications i figured i would post this... its software that helps stroke victims regain vision loss after a stroke..

    http://www.novavisiontherapy.com/english/index.asp

    personal experience with my grandmother is long term memory comes back after a short while and stays, but new short term seems to be difficult i cant wait to see what others suggest... good luck, and God bless....

  2. Re:Some Basic Info by King+Fuckstain · · Score: 1, Interesting
    Wouldn't it be more beneficial for the largest number of people if a wide variety of available software was discussed here and the types of symptoms associated with people who should use mentioned software? Sure, he could have been very specific and asked for exactly the right software. But then his mother would have her solution but someone else's wouldn't - because her symptoms are different.

    Instead of criticizing - why not list some software that you know of and what symptoms you'd expect to see in someone that should be using it?

    --
    Update For for the dupe. Not going well. Appreciate all the hate mail. Really encourages improvement.
  3. Re:Some Basic Info by Ieshan · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wasn't criticizing. I was informing.

    There's a difference. Recovery from a stroke isn't like anything you've ever experienced in your adult life. It's not like learning a new skill, in many cases, it can be learning a skill without the placticity of a younger brain, the ability to generalize from other skills you know, or the ability to re-learn that skill at all.

    A stroke is essentially the functional equivalent of someone taking a chainsaw to your computer's internals, or writing a script that deleted random files and core functions, then repartitioned various sectors and screwed with your wiring. Suppose someone had posted a question on Slashdot saying, "My computer is broken and I'd like to purchase products to fix it?" Wouldn't the first questions be: "What's wrong, what are the symptoms, what is the prognosis?"

    I think it's far more important that he understands the quality and etiology of his mother's injury so that he can properly administer care and so that he can understand the Doctor when he gets information. Playing computer games is one thing - understanding exactly what happened will be far more beneficial in the long term.

  4. Non-traditional methods by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Weed, and a lot of reading. No, I'm not kidding. Look into it.

  5. a foreign language by Glog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Some of the best exercise a brain can have is trying to learn a new foreign language. Even if the end goal is not to be exactly fluent in it. There is plenty of self-paced software out there - notably the Rosetta Stone series. Good luck!