Brain in Hand’s professional support system gives people easy access to personalised digital self-management tools and human support. Always available via mobile, it helps with remembering things, making decisions when anxious or confused, and coping with unexpected events.
Suitable for people with a range of neurological and mental health difficulties, Brain in Hand improves confidence, enables people to cope with anxiety, and increases independence. It also reduces demand on carers and support services.
Brain in Hand works particularly well for those having to manage challenging environments, transitioning into independent living, starting work, or navigating through higher education. For those who require just a little extra support and access to personalised strategies to keep the day on track, it can make all the difference.
Whenever we provide support to an individual, we tailor it to their own unique needs – and, just as importantly, their own unique strengths and goals. This takes the form of one to one planning sessions with Specialists and users to build strategies into the software that they can access via mobile when they need too. Brain in Hand is much more than just an app: it is a complete support system linking the individual, their supporters or carers, and support teams together using a digital framework.
Brain in Hand is available for purchase as a private licence, or via funding pathways: allowances available to individuals for independence, study, or work can be used to purchase the system, or it can be provided by support providers such as local authorities or charitable organisations. If you are a carer, supporter, family member, or potential Brain in Hand user who would like to know more, click here.
If you are a healthcare organisation, CCG, Local Authority or charitable organisation who would like to integrate Brain in Hand within your existing services, helping you to improve outcomes and extend your reach, please click here for more information.
Personalised user setup with a Brain in Hand Specialist – Every licence holder receives personal planning with a BiH Specialist: thinking about the person’s goals and strengths, the user, their supporter(s), and the Specialist identify the best solutions to help the person overcome problems. The Specialist then walks the user through the technology, getting the individual started populating the software with individual strategies in their own words. The Specialist is one of the all-important human components of the Brain in Hand system, helping users to understand how to make the best use of the features and benefits and how to access additional support via the traffic light system when needed; all of this contributes to the user managing their anxiety and achieving the things that are important to them.
Cloud based, feature-rich software and app – Brain in Hand gives easy access to the user’s pre-populated reminders, diary, planned activities, notes and individualised coping strategies, as and when they are needed. With advice in the person’s own words immediately and discreetly available via mobile, Brain in Hand users can support themselves to solve problems independently and progress towards achieving goals they’ve personally identified for themselves. With a simple traffic light system, the user can monitor their own wellbeing, reassure the people supporting them that they’re coping, or quickly connect to some extra support in those times when a little extra help and reassurance is needed.
Linked responder support team – Linked to the traffic light feature within the mobile software, Brain in Hand responders deliver a non-medical support service providing a little extra help when needed. If a user presses an alert, a traffic light responder will contact the user via their preferred contact method (text, call, or email) to see if they need a little more help accessing their coping strategies, or some additional assurance. Responders are trained to listen and help users get their day back on track: it is not an emergency service, but support to help the user work out for themselves how to cope with the situation. The responders can also communicate with the user’s personal supporter(s) if needed and can leave comments within the user’s software to record their communications and remind the user how they solved the problem. Every user is guided through the responder service during their personal planning process.
Brain in Hand data insights – Brain in Hand insights encourage individual reflection, enhancing communication between individuals and supporters. The user’s timeline of activity provides a tangible and visual cue to enable individuals and their supporters to communicate effectively: through reviewing the solutions that have been used and the user’s self-reported wellbeing, people can work together to identify patterns, discuss difficulties, emphasise successes and achievements, and help structure sessions to co-produce new person-centred strategies.
Jane Stevens is Wigan Council’s Head of Assistive Technology, a role that has come a long way since she first moved into the field in 2005. With a background in mental health practice, she connected immediately with the vision of a future in which technology would give people greater control over their own lives and read more
11 September 2019
BBC Click is the BBC’s flagship technology programme, appearing on five channels across TV and radio as well as online. It aims to provide a user-friendly guide to the latest technology news in the context of today’s important issues. In a recent episode, BBC Click examined a technological approach to helping autistic people manage their read more
15 June 2019
Erica, 46 from the Wirral was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when she was 32. She has been unemployed for the past six years. Erica finds social interaction at work hard, she feels people don't always understand her and sometimes see her as being less intelligent, because of her facial expressions. Read more >>
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