Q: How has the stroke affected your moving abilities?
A: When the stroke first happened I struggled to even sit up and had to use a hoist for transfer into a wheelchair. In the months after I learned to walk again using a gutter frame, and then I graduated to a 4 wheel frame and then a walking stick. I can now walk unaided although I use a walking stick when the ground is uneven as I still have a lot of work to do with my balance and coordination as well as my confidence.
Q: What motivates you to train?
A: I know that I’m not going to get any better if I don’t and still being so young I’m not content to live this way for the rest of my life so if there’s something I can do I want to do it. Then there’s my son, Gus, I want to be the best version of myself for him and don’t want him or I to miss out.
Q: Do you think stroke survivors overall have fun and engaging equipment or games to train with? Or can training feel quite dull with the existing tools?
A: Yes I think so however no strokes are exactly the Same residual side effects are different. Although if I knew it was developed with stroke patients in mind it would give it more purpose.
Q: Would physical or mental games made specifically for stroke survivors, or both, be more encouraging to stroke patients?
A: Games that are already around can be useful. I was in the upper limb group when I was at the rehab hospital and played Jenga, cards, mastermind, etc. Once home my physio recommended a few apps on the the iPad.
Q: Are there even any games specifically made for stroke survivors?
A: I’ll get the names of the apps and some pictures of the games I mean to answer this in more detail but yes, definitely. It’s also great because if you’re doing it with someone it doesn’t always feel like therapy. Incidental therapy is the best.
Home Court is a great app for physiology, and so is Clock Yourself.
The top photo IQ puzzler is great for fine motor, and so is Connect 4. I also really enjoyed the card game Monopoly deal and there’s an app version too which was good because I could play it by myself and use my right hand.
Rummikub was recommended to me by my OT was also good. However, even board games were good as it was good right-hand practice, rolling dice, moving counters, etc.
Q: I have personal experience with a stroke survivor and I realized that they haven’t used certain items to support them such as pens made specifically for stroke survivors, why do you think this would be the case for their unpopularity?
A: I actually really struggle with handwriting. For me, it’s due to an intentional tremor and lack of coordination in my right hand. I’ve tried pencil grips, different pens, coloring, etc it definitely does get better with practice but it’s so slow it’s frustrating and falls in my list of priorities. For me, one of my issues is I use too much pressure to try to overcome the tremor and I’m not sure a specific pen would help, I would try though!
Q: Do you believe that transforming everyday items, such as cups, and attaching different textures to them could help improve the awareness of sensation again and be quicker?
A: I have full sensation so I don’t feel that question applies to me. However, if it did and it may help me I would definitely give it a try
Analysis:
Comparing this interview to the ones I have conducted before, I would count this one into my most successful ones, since I got long and clear answers with many examples and also photo examples. Nevertheless, the games they mentioned that are or were helpful for them are not specifically made for stroke survivors and therefore does not take tactiles in mind. The stroke patient also claimed that if they knew they were games made especially for them it would provide it with more ground and motivation. So with this the examples they gave, such as Mastermind or Jenga it could be considered to transform them and make them tactile on the surface. Another important point was that having a partner to train and play with makes it more fun and makes it feel less like a training. This made me come back to transforming everyday items into a tool that is similar to a training tool and would be used in a way that the person does not feel like they are doing a training.
Also seeing the IQ game I realized that a game like this could be created in a way that it could have different forms and textures, which would make it more interesting and specific for stroke survivors.
Evidence: