As some of you know, in my 'other' life (when I am not a student), I am an occupational therapist. It has been awhile since I have worked clinically as most of my practice these days is centred around teaching the next generation of therapists! :-) However, I do try to stay up to date with what is going on in terms of effective assessment and treatment for some of the types of patients/clients that I used to work with.
When we have our discussions about whether technology is 'good' or 'bad' (I don't mean to over-simplify), I often find myself trying to think from the perspective of someone with a disability, or as a therapist trying to help that person recover, live, and function independently. Technology has so much to offer in these situations, yet at the same time it can also create a 'dependence' on the device(s), that may well defeat the very independence that is the goal.
I wanted to start first by sharing some videos of the use of 'games' for treatment. The first one gives a brief overview of how the Wii can be used to help engage patients in therapy:
If that short clip piqued your interest, you might also be interested in this clip about individuals who have had a stroke:
The study they refer to is published in the journal Stroke (from the American Stroke Association) and was conducted at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. Here is a link to the "official"abstract:
And here is a link to the article in the Toronto Sun that explains it in lay terms:
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