Brain Exercises - Online
Written by Julie Taylor
Brain Exercises - Online
Descriptions of some of the games available - many for free - are below…
If you have never been one to play cards or board games or computer games, now is the time to start! If you've always loved cards, now is the time to play, play, play... The skills that you use in cards are some of the very best ways to forge new pathways to get round the damage caused by injury.
There are many websites that provide free online games and puzzles. Below is a section of sites for you to try. Whatever website you use, read the information carefully. Be careful about what personal information you give online. Do not give your credit card information. Some games are available online and some you can download.
At Last! Unique Adult Speech Therapy Books I can't say enough good things about this series of wonderful speech therapy books for adults who are higher functioning (but still need help) after their brain injury.
"What I Mean Is..." has been written by a qualified and innovative speech pathologist who sees patients every day that need this kind of help: help that until now wasn't available. Hilary, along with her colleague Anita Kess, has successfully created and designed exercises that help put our language 'back together' again. All the pieces of our language are there, waiting... Waiting for this!
Caution: If you download too many games they can fill up space on you computer. See how to remove downloaded games at the end of this article. Make sure that you have updated virus software to protect your computer.
I love this site! There is no need to sign up and for every question that you get right, the United Nations will donate 20 grains of rice to the Third World. Before you leave the site, it would help if you were click on one of their sponsors… This will not download spyware – or anything bad – onto your computer but it will enable them to keep offering this great program (which is perfect for caregivers too! Or for anyone who wants to stave off the effects of memory loss and aging)
You need to sign up with pogo before using these games. The website will tell you how to do this.
- Word games: try out Word Whomp, Tumble Bees and Book Worm.
- Puzzle Games: try out Poppit, Alchemy and Rocket Mania.
- Card and Board Games: try out Cribbage, spider Solitarie, Chess, and Free Cell.
You do not need to sign in with this website, although some games on this site require you to download extra software to play. The site will show you how to do this. Click on “mind games”. Then, scroll down the page to see all of your options. Sometimes this web-site will have a pop-up that asks you to register, you do not have to register, just click on the “maybe later” button. Try the following categories.
- Action puzzles: try out Collapse 11, Shape Shifters, and Jewel Quest.
- Jigsaws: try these out; some require you to download from the internet.
- Word games: Try Flip words, Crosswords, Scrabble, Wild Wild Words.
- Strategy: Try Be-trapped, Inspector Parker, Mah Jong Solitaire, and Mind Reader.
- Visual Scanning: Try Pyramid Scanning
This site links you to games available on other sides. It was designed to address the needs of children with non-verbal learning disabilities so some of thee activities may be childish. Try the games out and see which you enjoy.
Select “Intervention” from the list in the left column. Scroll down and click “Online Games and Puzzles”. Games are listed in categories and there is a brief description of each game including a list of the cognitive skills it uses. Try the following categories:
- Cognitive Skills: try Mastermind, Awesome Analogies, and Logic Puzzles
- Visual-Spatial Skills: try Just Skidding, and Jidsaw Puzzles
- Visual Memory: try Not In My Back Yard, Super Match Up
- Language Arts skills: try Stay Afloat, and Word Meister
- Math Skills: try Number Cracker
- Combination Skills: try Lemonade Stand
You do not need to sign up with this website, most games can be played without downloading anything, although some require downloading. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see all of your options. Try the following:
- Jigsaw Puzzles: Daily Jigsaw puzzles available
- Word Games: Crosswords, Word searches, and Code Breakers
- Strategy: Mastermind
This site requires you to sign in. It will tell you how to do so. Some games are available on the internet, and some you must download. The nice thing about these games is that they are full-screen…so if you have any visual difficulties; this site may be the one for you.
This site requires you to download “real arcade”. It has the option of getting instructions in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, or Spanish. So, if English is you second language, this site may work well for you.
This site had some different games than the others; you do not need to sign in. Come games you have to down-load, but some you do not. Some of these games are quite difficult…so if you’re up for a good challenge try them out!
HOW TO REMOVE A GAME ONCE TRIAL IS COMPLETED:
Click on START button in bottom left screen; click on CONTROL PANEL; choose Add or Remove Programs; use the scroll bar to scroll down to find the game to remove. ***NOTE: It is important to remove a program ONLY if you are confident that it is the correct one.
