WORKING WITH DEVICE — WLU Director of Medical Schooling in Speech-Language Pathology Carol Zombotti, left, crops a backyard with WLU Speech-Language Pathologist Sara Alig, proper, on the Tovartafel, an revolutionary rehabilitation system that makes use of mild projections and infrared sensors. — Emma Delk
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WHEELING — Speech remedy and dementia sufferers on the West Liberty College Speech and Listening to and Behavioral Well being Clinic are enjoying whack-a-mole, planting gardens and extra for remedy utilizing an revolutionary new rehabilitation system.
The Tovartafel system, which implies magic desk in Dutch, permits sufferers to carry out these actions utilizing mild projections and infrared sensors that detect real-time gestures to trace hand and foot actions.
The system is the primary of its sort within the state, with WLU acquiring the system via a grant from the Milan Puskar Basis. The machine initiatives completely different remedy video games onto any 6-foot desk, or the ground.
Utilizing the video games projected, clinic professors and college students can deal with speech issues and dementia sufferers.
Carol Zombotti, WLU’s director of scientific schooling in speech-language pathology, defined the system serves as a rehabilitation device for speech sound issues, language-based studying issues and social communication deficits.
Although the system has solely been put in on the clinic for every week, Zombotti and WLU speech-language pathologist Sara Alig have already seen advantages in sufferers throughout the age spectrum.
“Earlier than we had this machine, typically we’d simply roll a golf ball on the tabletop, so even when the sufferers can’t discuss, it’s simple to catch the ball and preserve going,” Alig stated. “That will get the mind going to construct a reference to another person. Now we will do that very same ball-rolling exercise and way more with the Tovartafel.”
Alig famous the machine is especially useful for dementia sufferers within the later levels of the illness. They’ll obtain the visible stimulatory piece wanted throughout remedy via the desk. She defined that simulating actions on the machine, reminiscent of planting a backyard, can also be useful in stopping cognitive decline in dementia sufferers.
Some video games, reminiscent of beach-ball passing, encourage motion in dementia sufferers, whereas different actions, reminiscent of silverware sprucing and sorting, encourage extra superior “categorization and job orientation,” in response to Alig.
Much less movement-oriented video games, together with a portray exercise, additionally present dementia sufferers with an outlet to loosen up.
“We had an Alzheimer’s affected person in a later stage of the illness who was appearing up and was very upset,” Alig stated. “When she got here in and began enjoying with the desk, her demeanor fully modified. She calmed down whereas utilizing the system, and that response was some of the impactful issues I’ve seen occur thus far.”
Aside from its advantages for older dementia sufferers, the system has additionally proved useful for youthful speech remedy sufferers on the clinic. Zombotti defined that one recreation that has been helpful for youthful sufferers is an exercise during which a participant has to match the sound of a farm animal to a projection of the animal.
“We’ve a pupil in our clinic that has some problem discriminating completely different sounds, so the farm animal recreation helped her determine which sounds she was listening to,” Zombotti stated. “The identical little woman additionally has some problem with reminiscence points, so there are different memory-matching video games that we play along with her.”
Aside from being helpful throughout one-on-one remedy, the Tovartafel has additionally been utilized throughout the clinic’s dementia assist group to advertise social communication, promote bodily exercise and construct a cognitive reserve.
“We’ve had one woman in our grownup group that has had some fairly important mind change happening, and he or she enjoys gardening and farming,” Zombotti stated. “Whereas working along with her, we’ve included farming and gardening-related actions that assist relate to her.”
Emma Hershman, a graduate pupil on the clinic, famous the system has develop into a preferred exercise for her grownup sufferers. She defined that it provides a much-needed break from the speech workbooks that her sufferers work on throughout a session.
“After we did a fly-swatting exercise and a reminiscence recreation, my sufferers’ moods modified totally,” Hershman stated. “I’ve by no means seen them smile a lot, and now they ask once they can use the system on a regular basis.”
The system has been well-used in its first week on the facility, with Alig noting there was a “faster turnaround” whereas reaching sufferers’ targets utilizing the Tovartafel.
Zombotti added that as the sector of speech remedy has developed, offering sufferers with actions apart from “saying their S’s and R’s” has develop into an vital facet of remedy.
“Anytime you faucet into different modalities of communication, there’s simply this complete completely different component to the best way that you could obtain targets throughout your remedy session,” Alig stated. “It’s a special type of remedy in comparison with utilizing a workbook when you possibly can inform sufferers, ‘OK, right here’s a purposeful exercise the place you possibly can plant tomatoes.’”
Zombotti and Alig encourage anybody within the space within the system and in want of low-cost dementia remedy or speech remedy to contact the clinic at (304) 336-8199. The clinic additionally hosts a free power mind adjustments assist group for sufferers and their caregivers on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 4 p.m. on the First Christian Church on Nationwide Street.
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