Siblings create app to help grandmother who has memory loss

After Chris Benoit and Alexis Liddell’s grandmother had a stroke, she suffered memory loss.

This made communication with their grandmother become very difficult. "We struggled," said Alexis. "Communication was the toughest. We'd leave the visits with her feeling exhausted, frustrated, mad and sad. We figured we're not the only ones having trouble with this."

Alexis worked in therapeutic recreation, and her brother, Chris, was a software engineer. So, they realized that joining both their expertise they could create a solution that would help their grandmother, and other patients like their grandmother, communicate.

That is when they created the app Promenade. It allows patients, families and healthcare providers choose subjects like gardening, cooking or sports. After choosing a topic, several related photos and questions appear, in order to train the patient’s long-term memory, and get them talking.

"We know with dementia the short-term memories are the first to go but the long-term memories usually remain intact for a significantly longer portion of time," said Liddell. "So a lot of folks suffering from the disease can't remember what they had for lunch but they can remember specific details about high school or working on the farm when they were nine years old.

The app has caught the attention of therapists from across Canada, and both Chris and Alexis have had many requests to speak at conferences in Canada, where they have taken suggestions to refine the app.

"I spend a lot of time using it with my own grandmother," Alexis said. "I find it's the best and most effective way I can communicate with her. But we have a variety of homes all over Canada actually using it and the feedback has been amazing."

The app Promenade can be bought at Apple Store for $6.99.

Adapted from: http://bit.ly/2U65LOh

More info: https://apple.co/2MGdT7k
http://www.promenadeapp.com