Please see the following categories in the left column.

  My inventions (including various assistive Technologies)

  Dementia & AT (Assistive Technology): Personal Reviews

  Doctoral Thesis

  My researches

 

Kiyoshi YASUDA, Ph. D.

   Speech/language therapist,

 

  Visiting Professor, Kobe University

  Visiting Lecturer, Kyoto Prefectural University     of Medicine  

    Saiga Clinic, Ichiharashi, Japan 

My English book has been published in February 2022.

You can get the book on Amazon

 


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Outline of this book
Yasuda, 2022 Flyer.pdf
PDFファイル 159.6 KB

Foreword for this book: Dr. Michelle Bourgeois

Foreword

In the 1990’s, on opposite sides of the globe, two speech-language pathologists were challenged to help their persons with memory problems find solutions due to dementia. Prof. Yasuda in Japan and myself in the U.S.A. developed a similar, and practical, approach to supporting word retrieval difficulties: external memory aids. In our own unique ways, we both developed tools for providing written cues that would allow the person to maintain their

conversational and functional skills, from memory books and reminder cards to written notes and auditory messages. We both created clothing and devices to ensure that the person would have their memory aid with them when needed. We finally met each other in 2008 when I was awarded a Fellowship by the Japan Society for the Advancement of Science and spent several months at the Prefectural University of Hiroshima. We have shared ideas, books, and advice ever since.

I was honored when Prof. Yasuda asked me to review the English trans- lation of this book. It was a pleasure to learn, in more detail, about his very clever memory aid devices and the research studies he conducted to con- firm their effectiveness. Prof. Yasuda has been working tirelessly over the past decades to support persons with dementia and their family members in multiple ways. With the understanding that it may take many more years before medical science truly understands the causes of dementia and develops effective medicines to prevent or cure it, Prof. Yasuda advocates for a continuum of services and resources to care for these persons with dementia.

First, he describes the necessity of obtaining a thorough diagnostic evaluation to best understand the range and diversity of presenting symptoms. He explains persons’ changing needs as the disease takes its degenerative course, and organizes the supportive tools using a stage model, from mild  to moderate to severe dementia. The services of the Memory Clinic at the Chiba Rosai Hospital are described, as well as other resources such as the national insurance plan. Most of the chapters of this book detail the many different types of assistive technology, for each stage of dementia, includ- ing the more recent development of internet-based tools. The New Memory Support Diary for persons with mild memory loss and the various wearable adaptations are examples of Low-Tech AT that give them confidence to manage their memory concerns independently. The IC Recorder developed for persons at moderate stage is a versatile Middle-Tech reminding tool that has many practical everyday applications. His most clever AT for persons with mild/moderate dementia is the High-Tech anime grandchild agent who serves as a conversation partner and motivation to accomplish desired tasks. He recognizes, however, that without a network of education and technical assistance in using and adapting these tools to individual circumstances, persons and their families may not maximize their use of this technology. His examples of workshops, educational programs, and support groups will serve as models for others interested in promoting these services.

It is laudable that Prof. Yasuda acknowledges the importance of families, friends, volunteers, and professional caregivers in supporting the everyday activities of persons with dementia. He provides multiple examples of technology to enable interpersonal interactions among persons and others, and to oversee the safety of persons with dementia living alone. He recommends support groups for sharing ideas and problem-solving difficulties encountered by families. His advocacy for government-supported assistance extends from assistive technology lending centers to home safety equipment and financial incentives for volunteers.

This book is not just a compendium of useful assistive technologies, it is a complete and model program for the care and support of persons with dementia and their families. To clinicians, administrators, families, and any- one else who is interested in helping persons with dementia, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to you. Prof. Yasuda’s expertise and creativity in improving the lives of persons with dementia is a gift to us all.

 

Michelle S. Bourgeois, Ph.D., CCC-SLP

                                                                                                      Tampa, Florida, U.S.A.

Profile

Major research themes

Development of various memory aids and interventions for people with memory-

  disabled and dementia.

Development of high tech, or ICT memory aids in corroborations with many

  engineers

Development of communication aid for people with aphasia.

Comprehension of proper names and discourse in people with aphasic

Development of oral care tools and swallowing support systems.

Professional society

Member of Japanese society of Higher Brain Function Research

 

Academic and Professional carrier

Born , 1953, in Kamogawashi, Chiba prefecture in Japan.

1977  BA, at Ritsumeikan University,
1983 Diploma, college of National Rehabilitation Center for Disabled
1983 Speech pathology services in the Rehabilitation department, Chiba Rosai Hospital
1999 Cert. speech/language therapist
2003 Ph. D. by Chiba University
2003 Visiting researcher, Intelligent Robotics & Communications Laboratories,Advanced Telecommunications Research International,
2009  Project Professor, Holistic Prosthetics Center, Kyoto Institute of Tchnology,
2013
Project Professor, Augmented Community AID Research Center, Kyoto Institute of Technology
2017
Visiting Professor, Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Osaka Institute of Technology,
 
2019 Visiting Lectureer of a Dept. of Psychiatry, Graduated School of 
        Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
2023 Visiting Professor, Dept.of  Technology, Kobe University

E-mail yasukiyo.12@outlook.jp