Slashdot Mirror
Wounded Soldiers Find Videogames Good Therapy
Via Ars Technica, an article on the Washington Post site reports that the folks at Walter Reed hospital in DC are finding that videogames make excellent therapy sessions for soldiers wounded in the Iraq conflict. In addition to the obvious medical benefits of refining motor control via controllers, the entertainment allows soldiers to reconnect to experiences they may have had prior to their combat experiences. "Video games are all over Walter Reed. They're used for therapy or entertainment, or both. Alcibar doesn't have any hand injuries, but he's been trying to persuade some of his physical therapists to make Guitar Hero available to those who do. It would probably help some soldiers rebuild their hand strength and dexterity. And it's another excuse to play."
Everyone needs an outlet, in one form or another.
Granted the REAL gun toting maniacs have issues, but for the vast majority of people, they need an outlet in one form or another.
Some people lift weights
Some people do yoga
Some people play videogames
etc
I wonder what types of games do the wounded find help them recover (both physically and mentally) vs. the type of games soldiers in the field use to help them?
Do soldiers in the field play violent video games, rhythm games, fuzzy feel good games, etc?
As someone who loves games, I find it frustrating that the mainstream media consistently portrays video games as the reason behind children shooting up some school, or guy gamers as addicted anti-socials that kill themselves when someone steals their sword of blah-blah. I realize bad news sells, but I'm willing to buy good news too.
I guess it's not SoF that they get to play, is it? Or how about Battlefield?
And wounded officers get to play Supreme Commander? Or is that reserved to generals?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
And they get to (in the video game) slap the shit out of Rumsfeld , Cheney, and Bush, and say, "What the FUCK were you thinking?!?!?".
Alrighty, gimme the karma hit. I expect it. I needed to express what I said.
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
Exactly, but without the sarcasm. Except for voting in 2008, of course. Any candidate is a joke. If voting actually had the power to change the world, it would be illegal. That's the beauty of a volunteer army, you really get a good sense of which demographics are idiotically patriotic. Ironic that it seems to mostly be the poor, who are probably jerked around more than anyone else by the government. Maybe it should be included on euthanasia eligibility tests: a) Are you a Christian? b) Do you regularly watch sports, particularly pseudo sports like Nascar? c) Would you fight to defend something that has absolutely no interest in your personal well-being, like the United States government for instance? And, to make my previous bit of "flamebait" clearer, I didn't necessarily mean rape in the most literal sense. But to be sure, the armed forces are notorious for partaking in foreign prostitution where poverty stricken women are left with almost no other choice but to cheaply sell themselves out for the pleasure of every dumb farm boy in a uniform.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
If you're in physical therapy for a hand injury, guitar hero should probably be the last game you want to play. It's worse on your carpal tunnel than Diablo! I've had CTS for over a year until it got better a couple years ago. My hand started hurting again after 5 minutes with Guitar Hero when I tried it recently, and that was on the easy setting.
I firmly believe in the power of computer games to aid in recovery, because they helped me. About 10 years ago, I had a rather serious ear surgery that went wrong and resulted in a brain injury to Broca's Area, the location of language abilities. I remember being astonished at the post-surgical neuropsych tests I took, at one point I was asked to name all the words I could think of that started with the letter M, and I sat there for 60 seconds, unable to think of a single one.
But surprisingly, I accidentally stumbled into a theraputic game, I played Boggle on the computer. At first I was barely able to find a few words in the block of letters, but over time, I improved considerably. And as I improved at Boggle, I discovered my ability to read and write also recovered. As I see it, the pleasurable feedback I got from improving my pattern recognition skills helped rewire my neurons and route around the damaged areas of my brain.
This sounds like a job for Penny Arcade.
May I have another!
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
Nobody forced them into the military.
Exactly - they were tricked. "We need your help to avenge 9/11!", then Shrub & Co. shipped them off to the killing fields in Iraq, to totally fuck up the Mid-East's most secular country & create permanent military bases.
Now that they're wounded, they expect people to have sympathy for them?
I'd help them if they agreed to join a project to collect signatures for the recall of every politician who votes to continue the wars. Most republicans, Pelosi, Reid, etc. They're still human, they made some mistakes, but it's never too late to realize one was wrong & atone for your previous misdeeds.
Learn more about virtual reality exposure therapy at Virtual Reality Medical Center.
"Everyone needs an outlet, in one form or another.
Some people lift weights
Some people do yoga
Some people play videogames
etc"
Some people have sex.
"But to be sure, the armed forces are notorious for partaking in foreign prostitution where poverty stricken women are left with almost no other choice but to cheaply sell themselves out for the pleasure of every dumb farm boy in a uniform."
Well, those prostitutues should have thought about that before they signed up, like the soldiers. After all, they did volunteer.
See how dumb that argument looks now?
"But this one goes to 11!"
I didn't say that they're blameless, as people do allow themselves to be victimized. But it is a situation that is taken advantage of, and usually wouldn't even exist if their countries weren't being blown to bit by some imperialistic force. Sex tourism's sole purpose is to provide middle class assholes with largely unethical activities. So no, I don't see how dumb the argument is. I only see dumb some people are, clamoring for pity when they get an arm blown off and wake up to the fact that war isn't all Playstation with your butt-buddies and iPod tunes in a tank.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
What's with all of the nightmares in post-op? That post-traumatic stress treament using Battlefield 1942 Desert Combat isn't working out, is it?
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning