Computer programs have become a common tool for education and training, as they might be appealing for the users, and allow tracking results and providing a pace of training that can be adapted to the learning curve of the subject. In the case of adults with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs) (van Schrojenstein, 1997), some computer games (mostly those intended for kids) and, in few cases, commercially available programs have been used in occupational centers. This use might bring some benefits, mostly providing entertainment to the users and familiarizing them with the use of computers.
The Case of GRADIOR
The GRADIOR software program (Franco-Martín, 2001) is a production of the Foundation for Research and Treatment in Mental Health (spanish “Fundación Investigación y Tratamiento en Salud Mental, INTRAS”). INTRAS is a non-profit, non-governmental organization established in august of 1994 as an initiative of a group of professionals seeking a quality research and intervention in socio-sanitary groups, which found in the third sector a way for social and economical development and for the enhancement of quality of life for most disfavored people.
The main goals of the INTRAS foundation are the development and promotion of activities oriented to assistance, research, and action sponsorship in the socio-sanitary environment. This foundation has developed applications in the scope of new technologies for socio-sanitary environment, as the program GRADIOR, which is a computer software tool, easy to use, and intended for assisting professionals in brain training and rehabilitation of cognitive functions (Ginarte-Arias, 2002) as attention, memory, perception, calculation, etc, in people suffering from dementia, schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, etc.
The GRADIOR software is a tool very adequate for clinical intervention:
- •
Adequate for a considerable number of users, adaptable to each specific need.
- •
Includes new advances (a telematic system), and is constantly updated (increasing the number of exercises available).
- •
It allows running a cognitive rehabilitation program without the need for daily intervention of a specialist.
- •
It is useful for the therapeutic objectives on purpose: stopping cognitive declination and recovering superior cerebral functions.
- •
Proved optimal interaction between the system and the user.
In this case, we could consider GRADIOR as our main competitor, or the development in the state of the art that, at least in the Spanish environment, which is closer to our objectives. However, as detailed next, this program doesn’t fulfill our requirements.