Author: Becky Khayum

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Your Cognitive Ambassador

Thanks for signing up for a Concierge Membership! Your Cognitive Ambassador is Becky Khayum and she can be reached via email at becky.khayum@mycognitiveconcierge.com.

Becky Khayum

Click here to schedule an Ambassador Meeting using our online scheduling tool now! We will use Zoom (zoom.us) to conduct video meetings with your Cognitive Ambassador. Your Ambassador will send you an email prior to your meeting with the weblink to join the Zoom meeting. Just in case we have also included the link below, just click below to join your next meeting!

https://zoom.us/j/7853624793?pwd=VG5pRzBTdk13WXpSNHB0djBkSDJCUT09

Weekly To Do List:

  1. Order iPhone with Face ID option.
  2. Select several grids with topics/items that you use in daily conversations. Print out Grids and upload to Google Drive folder.
  3. Wednesday Aphasia News Group: Write weekly script with bullet points. (See instructions under “Reading” section).
  4. Continue using Bookshare and EasyReader for reading novels and newspaper.
  5. Read Northwestern research article about PPA and memory skills. (Resource section)

Collaboration with Care Team:

  • Speech-Language Pathologist: Tracy Smith (Shirley Ryan)
  • Occupational Therapy: Matt Brown (Shirley Ryan)
  • Neurology: Dr. Green (Northwestern)
  • Primary Care: Dr. Robinson (Northwestern)

Aphasia/Support Groups:

  • Northwestern SEED Program
  • Lingraphica PPA Groups
  • San Jose State SPARC Program

Leisure Activities:

1. Run (daily)

adventure athlete athletic daylight
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

2. Play guitar

person playing brown guitar
Photo by 42 North on Pexels.com

3. Read newspaper articles

the new york times newspaper
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

4. Gardening

healthy nature garden tomatoes
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Nature/Gardening Activity: Try using the “Seek” app to identify plant and animal species! “Seek” allows you to take a picture of a plant or animal, and it will show the name of the species and information about it. Watch video to learn more!

Seek App for identifying plants and animals.

5. Drawing

person holding black pen
Photo by Lex Photography on Pexels.com

Drawing Activities:

  1. Pick an object in your house (examples: food item, kitchen utensil, clothing item, furniture). Take pictures of the object with your iPhone. Try taking pictures from different angles. Then, try drawing the object from different angles. Say the word aloud a few times as you draw it.
  • “Water bottle…”

6. Birdwatching

Try using the “Merlin Bird ID” app to view lists of common birds in your area or identify a bird you have seen. You can also listen to different bird calls. Watch video to learn more!

Activities of Daily Living:

  • Laundry
    • Practice using visual aid to complete several loads of laundry. Identify which steps are difficult to follow. We will edit the aid as a team. Consider frames or plastic displays to post visual aids.
  • Cooking
    • Discuss goals/strategies for cooking at future session, if desired.

Social Network:

Family:

  • Shirley
  • Bob
  • Jamie
  • Tom

Friends:

  • Leah K.
  • Sam P.
  • Pam S.

Neighbors:

  • O’Malley’s (Nancy & Joe)

Bank Coworkers:

  • John
  • Bill
  • Mary

Communication Strategies:

Speaking:

  • Try to talk around the missing word
  • Use a paper communication support to find the missing word

Comprehension:

  • Eliminate distractions (turn off music and TV)
  • Speak face to face with eye contact
  • Key words: communication partner writes down key words during conversation
  • Visual supports: use technology or paper-based supports to supplement speech with a visual aid

Reading:

  • Newspaper articles: Try reading simplified news sources, such as Lingraphica Talkpath News. To determine comprehension, read the same article and then discuss afterwards.
  • Novels: Try reading paper book along with audio version or “book on tape.”

Writing:

  • Texting – strategies TBD

Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC):

  • “Communication Station” – set up with visual aids, clock, dry erase board
  • Smartbox Grid (currently creating content)
  • Message banking (synthetic voice + own voice – in progress)
  • Communication Boards and Wallet (need to develop)
    • “Conversation Topics” visual aid, to narrow down topic of conversation.
      • Use PowerPoint template to create slides: 1 topic per slide and picture.
      • To Print: Go to print tab, then click on “Full page slides” tab. I typically select Portrait Orientation with 6 slides per page. If you want slightly larger boxes, then select “Landscape Orientation” with 4 slides per page. You would have several pages to your Main Topic aid with the 4 slides to a page.
    • Collaboration with SLP Tracy: Print picture boards from the Grid to use as paper-based communication supports.
  • Picture organization on the iPhone

Use PicCollage app for creating visual Communication Aids (for printing, emailing, or texting):

Cognitive-Communication Exercises: (goal of 60 minutes/day)

  • Reciting personal information and practicing signature – Daily, 5 minutes
  • News, Podcast, Bookclub – Odd days, XX minutes
  • Reading – novels or Talkpath News – Even days, XX minutes
  • Drawing activities – Even days, XX minutes
  • “Password” – Circumlocution – Even days, XX minutes
  • Script Training for Daily Conversation – Even days, XX minutes
  • Picture Taking for Daily Conversation (TBD)
  • Word Pantomiming Practice (TBD)
  • Tactus Therapy App (Naming & Reading Therapy) – Even days, XX minutes
  • Constant Therapy: (Consider reducing or eliminating from exercise plan)
  • Comprehensive Program for practicing personally relevant words (TBD)

Resources:

  • Picture-based cordless phones

Your existing internet provider (cable or satellite) should offer a phone service option that allows you to use a landline phone over the internet (otherwise called VOIP). See suggested steps below:

  1. Upgrade your cable or satellite internet provider package to include a voice over IP (VOIP) service. Ensure that the router/modem that your cable or internet provider has provided you has an RJ11 jack (this is the traditional phone line plug that we are all used to).
  2. Purchase Base With Photo Buttons (~$60) that will plug into your modem/router: https://www.vtechphones.com/store/pd/4144/SN5127-Amplified-Cordless-Phone-with-Answering-System-Big-Buttons-Extra-Loud-Ringer-Smart-Call-Blocker
  3. Purchase Wireless Bases With Photo Buttons (~$35 each) for various locations around the house: https://www.vtechphones.com/store/pd/4146/SN5307-Amplified-Photo-Dial-Accessory-Handset-for-SN5127-or-SN5147-Series-Phones
  • San Francisco Bay Elder Law Attorneys – Recommended by the team at the San Francisco office of the Alzheimer’s Association:

Trisha Friedeberg <tfriedeberg@kfslaw.net>
Rowena Navia <rnavia@kfslaw.net>  
Brent Kato BKato@kfslaw.net
Sarah Huffman huffmans@uchastings.edu
Sarah Hooper hoopers@uchastings.edu