Mobile Technologies as Cognitive-Behavioral Aids

The advent of personal digital assistants (PDAs) at the turn of this century opened new doors to functional independence for people with cognitive impairment. Pocket-sized electronic reminders helped people keep appointments, take medications on time, and move from task to task across a busy day, often without the need for human supervision. As these tools have evolved into smartphones and tablets sporting multiple applications (apps), their uses as assistive technology have expanded to behavioral coaching, augmentative communication, and telehealth purposes, among many others. With so many choices, selecting an appropriate device and app suite for a particular user can seem daunting, but a stepwise, theoretically-based assessment process, a focus on essential intervention strategies, and a willingness to adapt to new devices and changing user needs, can provide important supports for people with cognitive-behavioral challenges.