share
Time to read: 5 minutes

10 therapy tasks practiced most frequently by survivors of stroke

Constant Therapy | Stroke

Stroke can impact all aspects of life—movement, communication, thinking, and autonomic functions such as swallowing and breathing. Research shows that early and specialized stroke rehabilitation can help to optimize an individual’s physical and cognitive recovery and enhance quality of life. Here, we identify the Constant Therapy tasks used most often by those recovering from stroke.

The goal of stroke therapy: help people regain lost skills

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 87 percent of all strokes are ischemic strokes, in which blood flow to the brain is blocked. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, individuals with aphasia or other cognitive-communication issues represent up to 20 percent of the adult caseload for speech-language pathologists in the United States. 

Typical goals of stroke therapy include:

  • Restoring physical function and enhance the skills needed to perform daily activities
  • Building strength, improving balance and regaining mobility
  • Improving areas such as speech, language, cognition, or swallowing
  • Developing new behavioral or compensatory strategies

Analysis: how is Constant Therapy being used with this population?

Constant Therapy uses artificial intelligence and data analytics to provide each user with a personalized brain exercise program targeting areas such as memory, attention, problem-solving, math, language, reading, writing, and many other skills. Research published in the Journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience showed a significant improvement in standardized tests for survivors of stroke using the iPad-based rehabilitation technology of Constant Therapy.

An analysis of Constant Therapy users identified what tasks are assigned most frequently by clinicians working with survivors of stroke.

  • We looked at data on 18,230 users who identified a diagnosis of stroke on the app.
  • These 18,230 users completed an average of 572 tasks each
  • Total tasks completed numbered 837,700.

The Constant Therapy tasks listed below are the 10 most frequently assigned by clinicians for their clients recovering from stroke.

The top 10 Constant Therapy exercises assigned by clinicians to patients recovering from stroke

1. Follow instructions you hear: Works on auditory memory and auditory comprehension through following directions
Individuals Assigned: 10,207
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke 56%

 2. Find the same symbolsCognitive skills such as attention can be affected after a stroke. Find the same symbols targets a variety of skills which includes attention, visuospatial processing, and executive functioning
Individuals Assigned: 9,216
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 51%

3. Put steps in order: For people recovering from a stroke, executive functioning skills may be affected.  In this planning & organizing task, you are presented with steps of daily activities, and must drag these steps into the correct order. This is a great task for people working on sentence level reading comprehension too! 
Individuals Assigned: 8,814
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 48% 

4. Match picturesFor people with cognitive, speech, or language disorders, this task helps visual memory by matching pictures displayed on a grid. For people recovering from a stroke who are working on word retrieval, they can also practice naming the pairs of pictures that they match.
Individuals Assigned: 7,629
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 42%

5. Remember pictures in order (N-Back)This memory task specifically targets an aspect of working memory called updatingThere are 3 levels of difficulty. In Level 1, you must remember the order of the pictures from 1 picture ago. In level 3 you must recall 3 pictures ago. Want more N-Back Tasks? Do Remember spoken word order (N-Back) and Remember written words in order (N-back), too!
Individuals Assigned: 7,213
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 40%

6. Do clock math: Stroke can affect number skills, math skills, and word finding. This task helps improve time-based calculation skills by answering math questions associated with clocks.
Individuals Assigned: 6,701
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 37%

7. Name PicturesHelps improve word retrieval skills by speaking the name of presented images. There are 3 levels to this task, with each level increasing in word difficulty. Different cues include semantic, phonemic, graphemic, and whole word cues.
Individuals Assigned: 6,635
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 36%

8. Repeat a pattern: This task works on attention, visual working memory, and visuospatial skills.
Individuals Assigned: 6,433
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 35%

9. Understand voicemailThis functional task works on comprehension and memory of everyday language by answering questions about voicemails. Looking for a bigger challenge? Check out Infer from voicemail as well
Individuals Assigned: 6,085|
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 33%

10. Remember the right cardThis task works on attention, disinhibition, and processing speed. The patient is asked to remember a playing card and tap on that card whenever it is presented in a series of cards.
Individuals Assigned: 5,690
Percent of Users Identified As Recovering from Stroke: 31%

References

Twitter
Visit Us
Follow Me
LinkedIn
Share
INSTAGRAM

 

Interested in learning more about Constant Therapy?

Request a Demo

11 Comments

  1. Lisa Beaton

    Do you get this from the App Store? What is the cost?

    Reply
    • Cyvia Star

      Hi Lisa. Yes, check out the app store. Our monthly plan is $25 and an annual plan is $250 with a free tablet. If you want to set up a trial and need support, give us a call or email. 1-888-233-1399 or support@constanttherapy.com

      Reply
      • Todd Sande

        When I purchased a whole year package in 2023 I never received a free tablet. Is this something new?

        Reply
        • Constant Therapy

          Hi Todd, thank you so much for subscribing to Constant Therapy! Apologies for the confusion, this is an older comment and we discontinued this program back in 2019. If you have any questions or concerns about the device you use for Constant Therapy feel free to reach out to our Support Team at support@constanttherapy.com.

          Reply
  2. Julianne

    What is the app name please?

    Reply
    • Carla Gates

      Constant Therapy

      Reply
  3. clementwonani@gmail.com

    Thanks have learnt something. Am struggling with after stroke effects especially speech

    Reply
  4. Angel

    Is there a way to have the math word problem questions read to you? My brother is working on math as well as re learning reading. He cannot read the questions yet to do the math problem…

    Reply
    • Lisa Gundlach

      Great question! This is a feature that we are working to add in the near future – keep an eye out for announcements in our weekly emails once we have that feature ready to use!

      Reply
  5. Alberta Lipson

    What exercises are recommended for people with primary progressive apraxia?

    Reply
    • Constant Therapy

      Hello Alberta, thank you for your question! We spoke with a Speech Language Pathologist and they said that difficulty levels will depend on the condition’s progression. You may be interested at looking into these exercises: Imitate Words, Imitate Sentences, Form and Say Active Sentences, and Form and Say Passive Sentences. These tasks will allow you practice with articulating speech at various levels of complexity. Hope this is helpful!

      Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *