6 HappyNeuron Pro Exercises You Should Try For Your Clients With Aphasia
Using a digital cognitive therapy tool can be an exciting way to build and practice language skills. In this blog post, we share with you 5 of HappyNeuron Pro’s exercises that you can try with your clients with aphasia.
Embroidery
This is a language exercise that requires your client to find a word in a grid of letters. They will have a hint of a category and have to use that category along with the letters that they see to find the right word. This exercise targets executive function by requiring your client to plan their solution, working memory to help them remember which letters they have already connected, and semantic memory to help them retain the category of the word that they need to search for.
Split Words
Like Embroidery, this is a word finding exercise. After picking a category, your client will have to generate words out of word fragments. This is a great exercise to use as an icebreaker during a group therapy session, as participants can help each other piece together the fragments. This exercise allows clients to work on their semantic memory, lexical memory, and verbal fluency skills.
Root it Out!
Using the first few letters of a word, have your client generate as many words as they can. This exercise targets verbal memory and verbal fluency by making your client draw upon their vocabulary to create different words using limited information. This exercise also makes for a fun group activity that can help clients learn and remember new words.
Around the World in 80 Trips
This activity targets verbal and visual memory by having clients remember itineraries in some of the most travelworthy destinations in the world. Your client will pick a number of itineraries in their desired travel destination and have to recall the names of sites, cities, and recognize the places that they saw. You can make this activity more language centered by having your client describe in detail the sites within the exercise, as well as ask if they may have visited any of these destinations and have recommendations for you!
You’ve got Voicemail
This exercise is great for clients that may have difficulty understanding language and who want to feel more comfortable being social. In this exercise, clients will listen to a brief voicemail and be asked to recall details of the voicemail they have just heard. This exercise will allow your client to practice comprehension and memory skills, but you can also have your client paraphrase the voicemail and explain the main idea of what they have just heard.
Secret Files
This exercise relies on some trial and error. Your client will see words appear on the screen within a file. They will then have to guess which filing cabinet is the right one to put the file in, as each file pertains to a category of words. This will help your client practice semantic memory in addition to crucial working memory skills by having them identify and remember the categories of the filing cabinets they must place words in.
Conclusion
These are just some of the many exercises that HappyNeuron Pro offers for clients with aphasia. With 45 exercises, HappyNeuron Pro has a wealth of content that you can use for your clients to practice important cognitive skills that can help your clients with their ability to produce and understand language. To check out more of HappyNeuron Pro’s exercises, view our cognitive exercises or try us for free!