This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on Changes in Memory After TBI. Dr. Allison Clark discusses Pillboxes as Memory Supports: Individualizing.

Okay, so another important memory strategy that we use or we recommend using a lot is pillboxes. You know these are things that you can get in your local drugstore and they have all different kinds. They have very simple ones with just one, one slot per day. Or you can have three slots per day, four slots per day. And you can even customize those. For example I remember one person I worked with, his pillbox was set, when he bought it was just a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, it started like that from left to right, from Sunday to Monday.

And he really was struggling with the pillbox and he just was really, just did not, kept saying he didn’t like it, it wasn’t, didn’t like it. But, and finally after talking with him for, we realized that he was just really annoyed that it started on Sunday. And his, for him his first day of the week is Monday and so he could not kind of get, he was just getting stuck on that.

So we did was just popped the top off of the slot and just moved the Monday over and put the Sunday after Saturday, so we just moved them all over and it was, it worked much better. I mean you still had to work with him on when to fill it and develop the strategy that worked for him but just the very simple thing about making the first day of the week be Monday instead of Sunday made a big difference for this particular person.

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