Have you used brain in hand

How would this work for somebody that is resistant to checking their phone because they feel anxiety about keeping on top of things/demand avoidant? Still searching for a system that would work for my children - one that predominantly presents as autistic and has time blindness, the other predominantly presents as ADHD and is perfectionist so would feel a lot of guilt and shame for failing with another app if it wasn't suitable for them. 

From all the recent things I've read making rest an integral part of our lives is how burnout/meltdowns/shutdown are to be managed. I'm not saying an app can't facilitate a healthier lifestyle, just curious and eager to find a system that works. 

Hi,

I haven't had any proper experience with it yet as my social worker is still doing a referral for brain in hand but when I'm able to use it, I'll let you know my thoughts.

I emailed them about any, remote, work for those from Northern Ireland.

tinydisk said:

my partner has asd

I don't have experience of the device but can you explain more about what issues she is experiencing please?

We have a wealth of experience here and should be able to offer some pointers if we understand the triggers and effects.

If she is suffering meltdowns and you have trouble getting her through these, this book as some good tips:

Managing Meltdowns - Using the S.C.A.R.E.D. Calming Technique With Children and Adults with Autism - Deborah Lipsky, Will Richards (2009)

ISBN 9781843109082

If is is Anxiety that she has problems controlling then the following is useful

An Aspie's Guide to Overcoming Anxiety - Attwood, Tony, Evans, Craig R., Lesko, Anita (2015)

eISBN 9781784501198

With some specifics I'm sure we can come up with suggestions here.

Something else that may also be of use to you is the book:

Loving someone with Asperger's syndrome - understanding & connecting with your partner - Ariel, Cindy N (2012)
ISBN 9781608820771

I've not used it yet but I saw it at The Autism Show recently and have asked that it's added on to my Disabled Students' Allowance package. To me, it seems more like an app which helps you to organise yourself, plan things and manage your anxiety, etc. with strategies which work for you. So I suppose it depends what your partner's triggers are for meltdowns, shutdowns, etc. I have seen some negative feedback when I posted about it on a Facebook group and others had used it, but it might be worth looking into yourselves and seeing if it seems like something which would help. Sorry I can't be much more help than that! 

When I look on the Brain in Hand website it reads like it includes features similar to the Finch mood tracker, which I do use to set daily tasks on the goal list and monitor patterns of background stress and identify when I need to schedule longer term breaks from things, in the last 365 days it has logged 3 meltdowns  and whether I counted them as small, medium or large scale meltdowns... but that is Finch, not Brain in Hand.

Does Brain in Hand offer a free trial period? These things often need time to build a cummulative effect, but at least if your partner can try it for free to start with she can at least see if the user interface is friendly and if it looks like the features will be useful long term.

Just bumping this back up in case anyone who has used this hasn't seen the post.