technology

[bikerlifestyle]

i am a gadget freak, and its amazing how useful they are for remembering things

i have a laptop, tablet and phone and they are all synced together so i get reminders for when i have to take my tablets or hospital appointments

they bleep at me and nag me so i cant forget, reminders for hospital appointments are set for a reminder two days before, then 1 day before, then 4 hours before, then 2 hours before, i don't have chance to forget

BUT i have to input the data into my calendar as soon as i get an appointment or receive a letter otherwise i forget

my phone make my life so much more manageable

how does technology help you

[formula]

ive spent a lot on gadgets , mainly a PC but if you think about it , a PC gives back no matter what you spend on it , its a form of communication , watch films , listen to music , type letters , fax , copy , print , play games .. a wealth of information at your finger tips .. meet new friends , the list is endless and now mobile device's put all these things at your finger tips help you to utilize these things on the road ... so it cant get any better then that!

[pleyland]

Likewise! I'd be lost without my iPhone.

It kept me connected through my recovery.

I also use it to remember where I parked my car. I did this initially by taking a photograph. Now I have found a car finder ap. what I need now is a find my way out of large shops. Always find that tricky.

[fuzzyhead]

I totally love tech too...it's decent for appts but I still struggle with remembering to actually do tasks...cursed executive function! I've been trying for years to develop ways of remembering to do stuff and actually doing them! I think tech is probably my best bet though. Any suggestions for apps, etc?

[bikerlifestyle in reply to fuzzyhead]

i use the google calendar as it can be accessed anywhere on anything, i set multiple reminders for each event

i have to take m pain killer patches every three days so i set a calender reminder that goes off every three days and it works brilliantly, there are so many options

my headway club is 2nd tuesday of each month and it allows me to set a reminder that goes of at the frequency

then i use the alarm function for daily reminders

but i must set the functions as soon as i know about them otherwise i forget to add them

as regards tasks what sort of tasks do you need reminding about i find the calender is suitable for most things

i am on android, what do you use?

[fuzzyhead in reply to bikerlifestyle]

Yeah I'm on android too. I just forget (or don't notice) stuff I can do to help my wife around the house, or stuff to do for uni - even though there are always things to read up on and do my wife will ask me what I have to do tonight and I will answer nothing, and most of the time genuinely believe it. I'm easily distracted once I sit down to do stuff too.

It's interesting because I'm doing software engineering, so if I could write a program to help myself, maybe it could help other BI survivors too (or just people who are a bit absent minded at times). I would really love to develop software to assist in rehabilitation and coping with those aspects of a brain injury that can't be "fixed".

[bikerlifestyle in reply to fuzzyhead]

the calender allows you to break your day down into 15 min slots so you could just add things and it will remind you that way

[fuzzyhead in reply to bikerlifestyle]

Haha, already tried that! My evenings are all broken down, I just don't seem to be able to adhere to the timetable I set for myself. I think I'm going to try an old fashioned white board next to my computer..............

[bikerlifestyle in reply to fuzzyhead]

sometime the oldies are the goodies

[zainey-lainey]

I dont no what tech there is out there coz I am thick now!!lol.no one tells me or offers it. aprt from hospital. they do text the week before but by the time it comes i have forgot!.

[bikerlifestyle in reply to zainey-lainey]

do you have a smartphone?

if so android or iphone

[zainey-lainey]

no i dont just a lap top and a standard phone. I feel the more a device can do the more complicated it is for me hun

[bikerlifestyle in reply to zainey-lainey]

i love technology

cant wait for the day they turn me into a cyborg lol

[fuzzyhead in reply to bikerlifestyle]

I'm really excited about Google Glass, I'm sure that will be able to help quite a number of people with BI's

[bikerlifestyle in reply to fuzzyhead]

me too, i think it will be amazing, but the downside, wearing them out in public will just increase your chance of being mugged

[nick_01]

I also like gadgets and have set reminders i also use them to communicate as i have lost my speech so being able to use my smart phone to communicate has helped alot i just write messages like text messages but instead of sending them i just tap the talk button on a speech app but the downside of it is its not very loude but they can also be read also so it doesn't really matter

[bikerlifestyle in reply to nick_01]

i can see a smart phone or tablet being ideal for your communication needs and definitely making your life easier

i can wait to see what the next 5 years of tech brings,

[CuriousConnie]

I have a basic Nokia phone & I do use the reminder functions, I've not upgraded to a more modern handset as I know I'd struggle to learn & retain how to use it. The model I have now is simply a follow on to the one I had prior to my injury, so I already knew how to use it. New appliances are a nightmare for me.

[bikerlifestyle in reply to CuriousConnie]

your best bet would be an iPhone as they are very easy to use and the one thing about the iPhone is that it doesn't matter who you bought it from, you can go into an apple shop and they will show you everything you need to know and even set it up for you free of charge and ypou can go back as many times as you like for help,

i personally prefer android, but you have to hand it to apple, they know how to make things simple to use

[Alicedenham]

I would not be writing again so soon if it wasn't for technology. The stroke (via a ruptured aneurysm) knock out my communication part of the brain, unable to speak fluently and couldn't write a sentence. My speech therapist told me to practice, practice, practice. For me the best way was to try and send emails to friends or use Facebook to communicate in simple sentences. Because I spent a lot of time in bed I was lucky enough to have a iPad which made the task much easier. I could also research everything about SAH, aneurysms, strokes etc but at my own pace, bookmark the site and come back to it (many times!). Technology allowed me to feel part of the world even if it was just looking in at times: with out a voice or a way to communicate the world becomes a very lonely place. Technology, you were my friend during this difficult time and I am grateful!

[Hidden in reply to Alicedenham]

well said!

[Billybb]

I found an app recently for Brain training. Not the usual "games" type, it is actually endorsed by neuro surgeons.

The Exercises are split into 15 different catagories from things like sensory memory to Problem solving etc.

Its good for monitoring progress and giving an idea where strengths and weaknesses are.

I will look up the name later and post it on here, since I have found it quite useful.

[bikerlifestyle in reply to Billybb]

excellent, is it android or ios

as i have android

[Billybb]

Its android. In fact, I use it on my Amazon Kindle Fire.

[bikerlifestyle]

excellent

[Billybb]

Hi. The app is called mind games which is free or you can buy the pro version. Hope you find it. You can keep score and make progress each day. If you find the one i use it will have about 14 different categories like memory spacing, word memory problem solving etc. Good luck and thank you for your help today.

[bikerlifestyle]

am downloading it now for my nexus 10