Why do my Constant Therapy exercises seem too easy or too hard?

Has this been your experience: When you tried your Constant Therapy program for the first time, the exercises seemed either too easy or too hard? Or one exercise keeps repeating? Or one exercise seems to have nothing to do with the speech or cognitive issue you are trying to address?

The answer to all of these questions is to have faith – and to keep moving forward with your exercises. Constant Therapy is actually doing its job of working on your speech, language, or cognitive goals. There are important scientific reasons why things sometimes seem too easy or too hard – or too repetitive – at first – and we’ll explain those below.

Constant Therapy starts off by learning how your brain works

First, in order to provide you with the best, scientifically proven exercises for the injury or disorder you are trying to address, Constant Therapy has to learn lots about how your brain is working currently. We use proprietary artificial intelligence technology called the Neuroperformance Engine (NPE), to do that. You don’t have to remember that name or know any more about the NPE other than that many research studies have shown that it works. 

Essentially, it uses millions of data points (always anonymous and private!) based on how you and other customers use Constant Therapy, to determine exactly how to adjust the app to fit your specific, unique needs – to make sure you’re making the most efficient and most effective improvement toward your goals.

4 reasons why it may seem like your Constant Therapy exercises are too easy or too hard

Trust that there is extensive logic that helps the NeuroPerformance Engine know exactly when you’re ready for something harder or easier. But in case you want to know why some exercises don’t feel right at first (they actually are!), here are the reasons.

1. You are getting to know the app, and the app is getting to know you! The NeuroPerformance Engine analyzes the data generated by your progress on every single exercise you do, starting from the very first one, and provides you with a more and more customized program to reach your goals – every time you log in. The more exercises you do, the more data the NeuroPerformance Engine is able to collect, and the more precise it will become in knowing exactly what exercises are best for you!
2. Your tasks might feel easy – or repetitive – because we use the principle of “errorless learning”. The scientific theory of ‘errorless learning’ relies on giving exercises that aren’t so hard that you constantly make mistakes; because sometimes, making the same mistakes over and over again can only solidify an incorrect practice. Not good. Instead, we designed some tasks that require you to get them right several times before you can move on, such as Follow instructions you hear. This helps you make sure you get the correct answer. But the research also tells us that all errorless learning all the time isn’t necessarily the best approach though, so many of our tasks do focus on word and memory retrieval, and allow you the space to get some questions wrong – however, the app will always give you immediate feedback after each question. It will tell you if you got the answer correct or incorrect, and it tells you what the correct answer should have been so you can figure out where you went wrong. This is a critical component of learning or re-learning a skill.
3. We want you to be working in your “sweet spot.” What do we mean by that? Well, we want your therapy exercises to be hard enough that you’re challenged, but not so hard that you’re frustrated. The NeuroPerformance Engine takes care of that by monitoring your data over time and keeping you in that sweet spot. But that sweet spot doesn’t just apply to getting questions right or wrong…it’s also about “efficiency” (how quickly you’re able to do an exercise; see below).
4. We are not just aiming for accuracy… we are also aiming for efficiency. Because when you’re out in the real world, you need to be able to demonstrate a skill on the spot, and not being able to do something quickly can feel frustrating. For example, let’s say you’re ordering coffee at your favorite coffee shop. There’s a long line of people behind you, and you want to order quickly and efficiently. BUT, if you’re having trouble retrieving the words you want (perhaps “coffee with cream please”), AND you’re under pressure to do that quickly, you may find yourself frustrated. The ability to quickly use speech, language, and cognitive skills is hugely important – should the barista and the folks in line be patient with you? ABSOLUTELY they should! Should you be patient with yourself? YOU BET! However, the reality is that the real world is fast-paced, so we want you to be prepared to use these skills quickly. So if you’re on the same task for quite a while, and it feels pretty repetitive or easy, reflect on the fact that you may be getting it right – but are you doing it quickly? You can see your own progress information in the performance reports that we email you, or in the reporting features within the app!

Let’s say you understand all this, but are still itching to move on to the next exercise

Check out what we call Self-Guided Mode! If you’d like to try different tasks and exercises or make your current tasks tougher, here’s how to make changes to your program, and how you can use it to further customize your therapy exercises. Need help with Self-Guided Mode? Call our live and experienced Support Team at 1-888-233-1399 or email support@constanttherapy.com.

Wrapping it all up

In conclusion, Constant Therapy uses world-class artificial intelligence tools and proven scientific concepts to make sure that we’re giving you tasks at the right difficulty level to make sure you’re using your time well. The NeuroPerformance Engine that drives Constant Therapy is an incredible tech machine – and it determines when to give you an exercise that’s harder or easier based on your accuracy, speed, and other factors when completing tasks. In addition, we constantly check the NPE’s performance ourselves to make sure that we’re presenting the right exercises to you at the right time and in the right order.

Ready to harness the powers of research-based, scientifically proven, data-driven technology? Get started on your individualized Constant Therapy journey today by downloading the app from your app store.