Once in a while a remarkable story comes along to remind us that for some people technology isn’t just for enjoyment but rather is a very important part of their life. This, I think, is one of those stories and I’d like to share it with you.
Recently I was having a conversation with Dr. James Oyang of Pharos Science and Applications when he mentioned a project that Pharos has been a part of but which almost no one knows about. This project has been helping people overcome the effects of cognitive disorders ranging from traumatic brain injury, mental disorders, Alzheimer’s, developmental issues, and so on. It is designed to assist both those individuals living with these problems personally and their caregivers—including doctors, nurses, and family members.
Coastline College, ID 4 the Web, and Pharos have been working together to make real progress. The project integrates Coastline and ID 4 the Web’s expertise in cognitive remediation and instructional design with Pharos’ proficiency in system integration and Pharos’ Smart Navigator and Follow Me services to provide a cost-effective solution for traumatic brain injury or cognitive disorder rehabilitation.
The ID 4 the Web Making Cognitive Connections training takes advantage of Pharos 3.5G Windows phones, and the Pharos Smart Navigator and Follow Me applications. The Pharos’ phones front webcam and rear camera allows a see-you-see-me or see-what-i-see interactive health care interview when needed. Pharos’ Smart Navigator helps individuals find their way home or reach their destinations confidently. The Follow Me services let caregivers monitor an individual’s location, remind them of activities, and keep space-time records. The course teaches the fundamental technical skills necessary to operate a Windows PDA/smartphone while simultaneously drawing a parallel to the cognitive skills that underlie the development of those technical skills.
Some of the comments that have been made include “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.” and “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.”
Michelle Wild, who developed the course, told me that the 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 Windows Mobile PDA as a memory/cognitive prosthetic. The PDA training could open up opportunities for students to work on a wide array of other cognitive skills.
If this was the whole story it would certainly be interesting enough, but I also spoke with Bob Serafini, former Vice President at Pharos who told me a bit more that really blew me away. Bob had received a call from an Iraq War veteran who had suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of a roadside bomb. The veteran was hoping that Pharos would be able to give him a discount on a GPS device so that he could work on putting his life back together. It seems that the veteran had contacted Garmin and Tom-Tom without result (they are much larger than Pharos so I guess this wasn’t important enough for them). He was having trouble because his brain injury caused him to get lost even a few blocks from home so finding a job was virtually impossible. What Bob told the gentleman completely changed his life.
As Bob explained, the Veteran’s Administration has seen such great results with this program that they are willing to provide it without charge to affected veterans. The VA considers it a prosthetic similar to an artificial leg. The catch is that almost none of the veterans or their doctors know of the program’s existence. Here we have a tool that can help wounded soldiers recover their independence but unless they hear about it somewhere they’ll never get that help. That, in a nutshell, is why I’m relating this to you. Perhaps there are people you know who could benefit from or know others who could benefit from this program. The links in the third paragraph should help you get started.
I hope you decide to share the story.
Brian