ID 4 the Web

PDA 4 Memory Project

Making Cognitive Connections™ for individuals living with brain injury and other cognitive challenges

The purpose of the PDA 4 Memory Project is to provide training materials for individuals living with brain injuries and other cognitive challenges. Training relates to the use of Windows Mobile and iPod Touch/iPhone PDAs and smartphone devices as memory/cognitive prosthetic devices. The training materials include books, videos, and booklets designed with the specific needs of those living with brain injury and other cognitive challenges in mind.

We use the PDA/smartphone training, applied in particular to memory compensation techniques, as a relevant, real-life activity. Not only do we teach how to use the device, but we also provide structured exercises to help make cognitive connections between what you are learning to do with the PDA and your life. So we are simultaneously providing general cognitive stimulation, attempting to build specific new neural pathways, preparing you to apply what you are learning to real life, and teaching you a highly effective memory compensation strategy.
Introduction to Memory Compensation Using the Pocket PC

Making Cognitive Connections

The principals of ID 4 the Web have worked in the field of cognitive remediation for well over 20 years and have designed online curriculum for Web design and accessibility for over 15 years. The PDA 4 Memory Project integrates this expertise in cognitive remediation and instructional design, leading to a training approach that we call "Making Cognitive Connections." This approach teaches the fundamental technical skills necessary to operate a PDA/smartphone while simultaneously drawing a parallel to the cognitive skills that underlie the development of those technical skills. Focusing on the cognitive skills required to use the device and then having the users apply those same cognitive skills to their everyday lives makes this approach practical, concrete, relevant, and transferable.

Each of the cognitive skills mentioned below (and many others) are integrated as a common thread throughout the training materials to create the cognitive connections:

Unlike a typical memory workbook or PDA manual, which many users find frustrating and technical, our training material is much more than a reference source; it is consciously structured to be a learning tool for cognitive challenges. For each PDA/smartphone function, users will:

  • Learn about what it is and how to do it;
  • Follow steps to perform that function on the device;
  • Make the cognitive connections by learning what cognitive skills are being used to perform the task; and
  • Identify real-life examples from outside the realm of the device which require use of the same cognitive skills.

Benefits of the "Making Cognitive Connections" Technique

Benefits for Those Living with Cognitive Challenges

  • Presents Information in easy-to-follow steps
  • Includes detailed training videos that can be watched, paused and reviewed whenever necessary
  • Focuses on practical day-to-day activities related to using a Windows Mobile or iPod PDA/smartphone for memory compensation
  • Includes integrated review and reference of cognitive skills throughout learning process
  • Bases its design on feedback from individuals living with cognitive challenges
"Improving my life organization and decreasing piles and piles of paper was my goal. I found my solution with this hands-on, easy-to-follow PDA training."
"The Pocket PC has been a transformative tool in my life. It has strengthened my ability to be independent, efficient, and productive. It has given me hope and a concrete vehicle with which to create a new fulfilling and fruitful future for myself."

Benefits for Professionals

  • Provides structured curriculum that can be used during therapy sessions 
  • Complements existing cognitive therapy
  • Integrates cognitive remediation strategies while teaching how to use a Windows Mobile or iPod PDA/smartphone 
  • Provides structured homework assignments
  • Includes training videos that can be used both during therapy and outside of therapy
  • Includes periodic reviews and references to cognitive skills
"First off, WOW! Tons of good stuff here by way of the level of detail, organization, comprehensiveness of the skills training across both the workbook and video clips."

Benefits for Caregivers

  • Teaches caregivers about cognitive skills and how a memory prosthetic device can help
  • Frees up caregivers' time by providing the following benefits for individuals with cognitive challenges:
    • Promotes more autonomy
    • Improves follow-through on appointments and tasks
    • Individual can work through training materials independently
    • Increases self-esteem
"My husband has a brain injury and he has both short-term and long-term memory problems. The Pharos device has helped him immensely with reminders of appointments. I also have the Pharos device and it has become very helpful in my keeping appointment schedules."

How Did The PDA 4 Memory Project Get Started?

The PDA 4 Memory Project evolved out of working with students from the Coastline Community College Acquired Brain Injury Program who suffered from severe memory deficits. The students successfully learned to use the PDA as a memory/cognitive prosthetic. We soon found the PDA training could open up opportunities for students to work on a wide array of other cognitive skills. Given students' natural interest in memory, we realized there is no better context for cognitive retraining than within memory compensation training itself, especially if we provide a cognitive connection to their own real-life experience. Coastline's ABI Program has implemented the PDA and book into its daily curriculum with great success and, in 2007, adopted the Pharos 535+ GPS/PDA as the device of choice.