I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
🗺️ Looking for Executive Functioning Treatments? Leave the Planning to Us!
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Hello Reader, Last week's new blog tackles one of the trickiest (but most important) areas of cognitive rehab: executive functioning. If you missed it, catch up here: Executive functioning (EF) is core to recovery, independence, and well-being. It can impact mental health, and may even be affected by everyday behaviors. A brand-new study found that college students who had just used social media performed worse on EF-related cognitive tasks, such as n-back and Go/No-Go, compared to a control group. 🤯📉 Read the study here
And in a clinical population, Duggan et al. (2016) found that executive dysfunction post-ICU was independently associated with more severe depressive symptoms down the line. 😕
🎯 Treat EF Using Technology & Leave the Planning to UsExecutive functioning treatments teach HOW to plan, organize, and execute steps to achieve a goal. But how can we treat EF with enough intensity in the therapy room to make meaningful progress in real life? The Tactus Virtual Rehab Center includes a variety of EF treatments, with 2 specifically designed for planning: Planning Tasks & Planning Your Tasks. Both of these treatments incorporate elements from several evidence-based treatments, including GPDR, GMT, TPM, and the Predict-Perform-Evaluate procedure. (Don't know what these are? Read the blog!) 1. 🤝Planning Tasks: Learn EF Skills with SupportThe Planning Tasks treatment in the Virtual Rehab Center enables patients to learn and practice executive function skills in a supported way. There are two levels of difficulty, offering fewer or more choices at each step. 🎥 Check it out here: How it works: 🔹 Pick a meaningful task from 3 options (e.g., planting a garden) 💡 PRO TIP: This treatment is especially beneficial for patients who aren't yet ready to independently develop a plan and for those with expressive aphasia. It's designed to repeatedly practice EF skills to internalize the steps. 2. 📃👤 Planning Your Tasks: Get PersonalOnce your patient has mastered Planning Tasks, they are ready for Planning Your Tasks, formulating a plan for real goals they want to accomplish. The best part? 🎥 See it in action here: How it works: 🔹 Type in a personal goal (e.g., doing laundry, organizing a reunion) 💡 PRO TIP: Print the handout to help patients follow through on their plan, then reflect on what worked and what didn’t. There are additional questions in the handout that don't appear in the digital treatment to help with carryover into daily life!
💻 Check out these treatments (& more)– for FREE!Sign up for your free trial of the Tactus Virtual Rehab Center and get 3 weeks to explore: 👉 Start your 21-day free trial now and see how easy it can be to plan quality sessions. We know just how much thought and energy you pour into planning therapy sessions, especially when tackling higher-level EF goals. Our goal is to lighten your load so you can focus on what matters most: your patients. 💙 Warmly, Megan P.S. Want to read all our new blog posts in one place? You'll now find them under the Learn menu here: https://tactustherapy.com/speech-therapy-guides/ |
Megan @ Tactus Therapy
I'm a speech-language pathologist & co-founder of Tactus. Tactus offers evidence-based apps for aphasia therapy and lots of free resources, articles, and education - like this newsletter. Sign up to get my updates 1-2 times a month.
When you ask a patient about their goals after a brain injury, the answer is often simple: “I want to go back to work." 💼 And while their communication may be strong, the real challenge often lies beneath the surface, in executive functions. These interconnected cognitive skills are critical, not just for returning to work, but for handling the everyday demands of “adulting." Executive functions are complex—to understand, assess, and treat. That’s why we've broken it all down for you in our...
Last week, we shared our NEWEST blog: What SLPs Need to Know: Awareness. It's full of free resources (like PROMs), practical strategies, and research insights. We were thrilled to see your positive feedback and shares—thank you! 🙌 Tactus includes a small team of SLPs who are passionate about creating research-backed resources for SLPs. That includes every blog post, handout, and activity inside the Virtual Rehab Center—so your kind words truly mean the world to us. 💛 💬 “Oops, I Forgot...”...
I’ve worked with many individuals and families affected by aphasia — and one thing I hear all the time is: “We never heard of aphasia until we got the diagnosis.” If that’s you, you’re not alone. Many people don’t know what aphasia is until it hits close to home. 🧠 Did you know? Aphasia affects at least 2 million people in the U.S. 1 in 3 strokes result in aphasia. More people have aphasia than Parkinson’s disease or cerebral palsy. 84.5% of people have never heard of aphasia. 🤯 Source:...