After the responses from the interviews with the physiotherapist and stroke survivor, I decided to conduct a final intervention in order to test the suggestions from the data collected. I planned for the physiotherapist to engage with it, due to their knowledge when it came to muscles and the body, and expertise in assisting with creating a new item that could help and motivate a patient. I used an online intervention for this as the images were obvious textures which could be experienced as possible sensory objects for the physiotherapist. The idea is to combine these factors and create an object that is more accessible at home and would be used automatically or where the patient would find the overall motivation or fun in it.
Regarding my everyday items, like the cups with different structures, they suggested to also integrate vibrations or the option to feel hot and cold which is an idea that could be easily united. This was a useful suggestion, as it is possible to include, and would reach the deeper muscle chains.
They also suggested creating a game that is similar to the ”Simon game”, which requires memory and in which the player has to press the exact light combination that came on before.
My thought would be that this could be combined with sensory, touch, and different surfaces to make it more suitable for a stroke survivor.
Overall, they also mentioned how games with vibrations would be most beneficial for patients who suffered a stroke.
1. How has the stroke affected your moving abilities?
2. Did you begin to integrate and use any training equipment after your stroke?
3. If yes, which tools do you find useful and which are less motivating for training your body?
4. What motivates you to train?
5. Do you ever train by yourself or is it hard to find motivation by yourself?
6. Would physical or mental games, or both, be more encouraging to stroke patients? Please explain why.
7. Are there any games you could envision which could be adapted and changed to suit stroke survivors and motivate people to improve their condition?
8. What would be most challenging but most rewarding in playing games for patients?
Answers:
1. My 2nd stroke meant I had to learn to walk again (cerebellum). I’m fine now.
2. I had the help of occupational therapists and physio. I went back to the gym and used equipment there to help. I also used online typing courses and online eye exercises.
3. I found early accessible ones more useful such as typing.com and eyescanlearn.com(?) I also found being able to complete my workouts at home was great but I liked the gym equipment and it was a excuse to get out of the house.
4. I wanted to get back to a place where I didn’t have any more affects or if I did, they wouldn’t be noticeable. I also wanted to get back to work as fast as I could
5. Yes I do. It is a bit hard to find time now as I am back at work but I enjoy going. There are classes at my gym, so if I feel a but unmotivated, I’ll go to those
6. Yes! I found while not working my brain missed the Chale ginger tasks that I would normally have such as problem solving and having to think outside the box or for myself…
That’s one thing I couldn’t learn or train while not working. I think also stroke doesn’t affect all people’s ability to think, just their connection to their body so alot of stroke survivors are 100% fine in their mind, they may not be ble to communicate it.
7. Card games, memory games, sensory games ( I couldn’t feel so would put mt hand in my pockets to guess what the object was)
8. Overcoming objects over time.some times things take a while to get over or adjust following a stroke, so repeating the same game or exercise and monitoring progress is a huge win. As progress can seem small it is easy to forget how far you come in your journey. I took a few videos and photos and checked in to see how far I’d come and I was always surprised.
Analysis:
The feedback overall was crucial to the development of my project research, as the stroke survivor specified many of the experiences that were relevant to my research.
The first question was focussed on physical mobility and although the response was very brief, it was evident that after 2 strokes there were many physical challenges, even though they have now recovered.
The patient explained strategies that had to be implemented to improve physical mobility, such as working with physiotherapists and training eye and hand movements. This data suggests that acquiring experience from physiotherapists is relevant to understanding the progress of patients for my research. This is the reason why I intend to create another intervention specifically for a physiotherapist. As this research project focuses on gaming solutions, it was clear feedback to identify how sensory experiences are critical in the healing and recovery stages, which need to be implemented into gaming strategies. Along with sensory development, understanding how to improve memory could also be incorporated into gaming concepts.
With the responses, I could identify that the games could also be easily accessible for traveling, as the patient explained how they would place objects in their pocket to guess what they were to improve the senses.
The patient’s feedback stated how important it was to log improvement physically and mentally through videos and photos. This documentation process could also be considered when building the game strategies, along with emphasis on repeating tasks as a key driver for improvement.
After looking at surrealist objects, such as ”Object” by Meret Oppenheim, I got inspired to experiment further with AI and transform everyday objects into tactile qualities that could support and benefit the stimulation of the senses. My personal favorite are the ones with pearl, moss, and metallic studs. As the pearls and the studs are stronger materials, they make the object easier to touch. The benefit of the objects would be that they would have quicker engagement as it is an ordinary object and feels more familiar.
The reason for using the method of trying and using tools myself was to understand better how engaging a game or the existing games or tools are at the moment and where I see any issues.
With this, I wanted to try a new method of research that I have not used before to support and add a different viewpoint compared to when I did research on my BA in Fashion Marketing. I wanted to explore and experiment with this a bit more, so for this reason, I have tried several auto-ethnography tests.
Nevertheless, it turned out to be my least helpful tool of research since this still did not reflect and show how someone who struggles would actually engage instead and not someone healthy, just like me. For me though, it was interesting to put myself into testing and living through someone’s experience for a few days. Additionally, I believed that I can add new research to the topic by telling my own story with certain experiences. Finally, I desired to understand the whole topic better by doing this kind of research. Similar to the concept of ”learning by doing”.
Since the deeper understanding of our surroundings and the world often can come by experimenting and by looking through someone else’s eyes and their perspective.
Since the importance of this project is to engage and find new ways and development in collaboration with stakeholders, I tried to reach out to the affected patients (stroke survivors), as well as people who work with them on a daily basis, such as doctors and physiotherapists, as well as an individual who has lived with a stroke survivor for years. Those interviews were successful and supportive of this research, nevertheless, I kept on attempting to find an actual individual who has to cope with this disease. This was a huge struggle for me, since either people did not come back to me or told me that it was more supportive to communicate with professionals or relatives instead, due to them being sensitive or too emotional to dive deep into the topic. Once I was also advised to speak to the relative again, due to the lack of the patient being able to speak and less capable of explaining. The physiotherapist also mentioned that often this might be the better solution to talk to professionals who are also able to talk about different points of view, and with a more general point of view.
Therefore, I chose a different path of talking to professionals and to people who lived with them. However, it would have been interesting to engage with them to find out what they dislike and like about certain products, designs, or exercises.
To find out how working out on a bike works, I tested a water bike myself since I could not imagine how it is possible to easily press, step and keep the pedals moving inside a water. For me working against water seemed even more strenous.
Nevertheless, it turned out that just like general movements get more smooth, operating the bike was much easier too. On top of that, I could also train my stamina since it was more fun and relaxing than just a regular bike at the gym which in many cases get too exhausting. Besides that the water balanced out to feel overheated.
In developing a more observational eye, I found these objects in Greece this summer and was inspired by the tactile qualities of the objects. I felt they were very relaxing due to their smooth textures and immediately thought of ways how this could be enhanced and connected to give the stroke patient a more relaxing experience with tactile qualities. This is also an example of how symmetry and decorative elements can also be a starting point for engagement.
While researching for more games that are innovative for stroke survivors, I explored my favorite art epoche ”Surrealism” and games that are connected to it. Surrealism supports students, for instance, to open up their minds to new creative inventions and in the way people think about topics.
A game in which I recognized immediate potential was the ”automatic drawing game”, also called ”expressing the subconscious”, which demands people to draw without thinking about what they are exactly doing. Pablo Picasso also used this method,(which could get transformed into a stroke survivor game).
On a board with a touch screen, lines could show up in which the patients would need to follow with a pen or an item that the individual could hold in the beginning and is easier to grab. The person would need to follow the line and with time this would speed up. In the end, the fake line would disappear and the person could see a beautiful drawing basically made by themselves. In the beginning, this might not be perfect but they could get the motivation to receive a better result each time they practice. This could not only motivate them but also train their hand, as well as mind for concentration, which would lead to new neurons connecting if trained often.
Meret Oppenheim. Object. Paris. 1936
Seeing how Surrealists often mixed unusual textures with other forms or objects, I started to ponder how this might be a solution for stroke survivors.
I deliberated and thought about the regular and everyday items each patient is using which could be transformed and adapted for a stroke patient’s needs. This means that just like the Oppenheim fur teacup it could get changed into tactile material. Nevertheless, this teacup is just an example and many regular items could get part of a stroke patient’s equipment. This would lead to them unconsciously using the exercise tools even without noticing it and this would not even require a lot of motivation.
This idea would be inspired by Surrealism and could change people’s daily exercise process.
Diverse materials that could be considered for normal items and used are some that are also applied to infant multi-textured balls or balls that have several sensories integrated into one ball.
There is also a game for infants in which they have to pop smaller balls into a bigger one and the smaller balls each feel different.
This could get transformed into a board with different forms and textures and the patients would need to pop in the form every time in the space where the light comes up.
Even though I have changed the direction of my own project, I still wanted to put effort into working with natural elements that could work against depression, with which many stroke survivors have to cope with after their life often can completely change (according to the interview with doctor) and since medicine is not often supportive for them.
I placed this Peace Lily, also known as Spathiphyllum, around my house in different places around the house and also questioned how the rest of the house feels about it and if there is any change for them.
I chose this plant due to its peaceful effect and its low maintenance.
In the first days, I really appreciated the beauty of it and enjoyed looking at it. For me, it could almost compare the feeling of being in a tropical place and getting the excitement of nature or taking a walk in nature, which often has a positive effect on me. In this case, I brought vacations or the outdoors into my common environment. Nevertheless, I started taking it for granted for about after a week. At this point, I wondered if it actually still has an effect on me and tested it by removing it again out of the usual spaces I surround myself in. At this point, I actually even understood how much it impacted me since the usual environment felt dull, unfriendly, and colder than the 10 days before. It almost felt like my anxiety disappeared more as well, considering the fact that it would cover more of the white and simple walls.
The rest of the family also added that it brought joy and balance into the rooms.
To gain more insight and research, I wanted to do testing on myself as well with a sensory ball that is being used by many stroke survivors. I tried this experiment over three days and documented it. This was also important for me to understand the life of a stroke survivor better.
Day one: I carried it around throughout the whole day in order to use it as often as possible. The feeling of holding it in my hand felt like a massage to a healthy hand like mine and distracted me from feeling anxious or nervous, but overall I figured out that the ball was slightly too big for my hand. In my opinion, I would have needed a smaller one to make it more handy. When thinking of stroke survivors, who often can’t even really open their hands or not at all, this would also come in their favor. Having not just different strengths, but also a bigger variety of sizes would probably be more engaging for many patients. Additionally, some stroke survivors can’t even move their hands at all, which makes it even harder to press the ball at all.
Day two: I had the ball with me during my daily activities but recognized how the usage is lessened when it comes to the practice itself. After about three minutes I became disinterested. Also touching and feeling the same without having any variety made it even more dull.
With this a ball that could turn came into my mind, to get the feeling of more than just the spikes.
Day three: the engagement and motivation were also not much better than on day two, nevertheless I tried to make use of it more on the last day. Again what bothered me was also the fact that it did not fit my hand properly and was therefore not practical. This made me also realize how it can fall out of a stroke survivor’s hand easily since they are not capable of grabbing items in many cases.
