Computer-aided relearning activity patterns for people with acquired brain injury

People with disabilities constitute a collective that requires continuous and customized attention, since their conditions or abilities are affected with respect to specific standards. People with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), or those who have suffered brain injury at some stage after birth, belong to this collective. The treatment these people require is mainly a continuous relearning process, as they must relearn to walk, read or even interact with their environment. This relearning is critical during the first two years after suffering brain damage. Thus, any assistance in the relearning process in the first two years is of paramount importance for their recovery. This paper describes the activities carried out in the course of developing a tool, HABITAT, to assist people with ABI. A description of the activity patterns that are used in the relearning process is provided. This paper also describes the experiment conducted in collaboration with ADACE (Association of Acquired Brain Injury of Castilla-La Mancha) to evaluate if the use of a computer-based treatment is accepted by people with ABI. This experiment was developed by recording several treatment sessions and passing out questionnaires. The analysis of the questionnaires reveals that computer-based treatment is especially accepted by younger people, increases the motivation of the patient, and reduces the activity completion time.