Mind AheadMind Ahead
A digital practice tool for adults who, after a stroke or other acquired brain injury, need to practise the skills everyday life calls for.
The app has not been published yet.
Calm and clearPractise at your own pace, with no time pressure.
You choosePick what you want to practise, and at which level.
Everyday focusPractise the skills everyday life calls for.
From practice to everyday life – and back
A skill should be practised in a single exercise, tried in an everyday situation, and practised further if something still feels hard. That is the idea Mind Ahead is built around.
The core exercises are in the app today. Everyday exercises, such as reading the clock, are the next step.
Exercises
Choose what you want to practise and start at a level that suits you.
Letters
Recognise, order, type and find letters – upper and lower case.
Numbers
Order numbers, count dice and recognise Yatzy combinations.
Colours
See a colour and choose the right colour word.
Calendar
Weekdays and months in the right order.
- Coming later
Words
Everyday words, pictures, and words letter by letter.
- Coming later
Time
Understanding the clock – analogue, digital and in words.
Letters
Build the alphabet in order by tapping, dragging or typing. The same letters can be met in different ways: recognising and choosing, placing in the right spot, or typing the right letter yourself. At higher levels the run starts from a letter other than A.
In Find, you look for every copy of a letter, such as every P. Harder levels have more letters to search and letters that look more alike, such as P, R and B.
Other exercises switch between upper and lower case, or between letters and numbers: A, 1, B, 2 …
The exercises make different demands, such as recognition, ordering, producing the right character yourself, or visual search. That describes what the task asks of you, not that the exercise has been shown to improve a particular ability.
Numbers
Put digits and numbers in order, ascending or descending, by tapping, dragging or typing. Or switch between numbers and letters: 1, A, 2, B …
Count the pips on one to five dice and type the total. With one die, the pattern is linked to the right digit. With several, the running total has to be held in mind while the next die is counted.
See five dice and choose which Yatzy combination they make. Yatzy is a familiar game that many people play with family or friends.
Colours
A colour fills the screen, and you choose the right colour word from four options.
Calendar
Put the weekdays or the months in order, sometimes starting from today’s date.
Like the alphabet, the week and the year are familiar sequences to find your way in: what comes before, and what comes after?
Words
We are working on exercises with everyday words: see a picture and type the word, or build the word letter by letter.
Time
We are working on exercises for understanding the clock: whole hours, half hours, quarters and other times, on analogue and digital clocks and in words, such as “half past seven”.
The same time can make different demands depending on what you need to do with it. Recognising a time is not the same as saying it aloud.
A practice app, not an answer key
Mind Ahead gives short, repeated chances to practise things that can get hard after a stroke or other brain injury: letters, numbers, colours and the calendar.
It’s made to be used alone, at your own pace, with no one waiting for an answer. What’s hard one day is allowed to stay hard – the app simply shows the right answer again, calmly, without marking the miss.
The app also keeps track of where mistakes tend to happen: which letters, which numbers, how long an answer takes. Whoever is helping out can see that under Support in the app.
Every choice has a reason
- The difficulty should be in the exercise, not in the buttons. That is why the app has large, clear targets and short instructions.
- The app works without the internet. Your practice stays on the phone – we have no server to send it to.
- No account and no password to remember: you open the app and practise.
- A wrong answer is never shown as wrong. The right answer is shown again, calmly, so practice never feels like a test.
- Points, streaks and confetti are deliberately left out – just practice, at the pace that suits you.
Who is Mind Ahead for?
Mind Ahead is for adults who, after a stroke or other acquired brain injury, need to practise the skills everyday life calls for – for example someone with aphasia who struggles to find words.
Difficulties look different for different people. So the same content can be practised in several ways – tapping, dragging, typing or searching – and at different levels, so everyone can start where it suits them.
Whoever is helping, a relative or a speech and language therapist, can see under Support in the app where things tend to get hard.
Science
Current guidelines and reviews in aphasia and cognitive rehabilitation support structured practice that is tailored to the individual and set at a relevant level of difficulty. Mind Ahead is built on that.
We describe the exercises by what they ask of the person practising, such as recognition, ordering or visual search. That is not the same as a single exercise having been shown to improve an ability or everyday life, and we do not claim that.
What the app is not
Mind Ahead is a practice tool – not a medical device, not a treatment, and not a replacement for a speech and language therapist. The app does not replace assessment or treatment from healthcare professionals.
Want to read the research behind how the app is built? See sources
Frequently asked questions
Does the app cost anything?
The core exercises are free. Pro gives you more levels and more exercises. The price is shown in the App Store before you buy anything.
Do I need the internet?
No. The app works fully offline.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There is no account and no password. You open the app and practise.
Who can see what I practise?
Only whoever has the phone. Everything is stored on the phone and sent nowhere. The privacy policy has more on this.
Does the app replace a speech therapist or healthcare?
No. Mind Ahead is a practice tool and does not replace assessment or treatment from healthcare professionals. It can be used alongside other practice.