ABSTRACT
Although external aids are almost certainly the best compensatory strategies for people with impaired memory, 1 it is true to say that such aids are difficult to use for many people with brain injury who have memory, planning, and organisational problems. The employment of external memory aids is in itself a memory task, so the people who need them most typically have the greatest problems in using them. People with cognitive difficulties often forget to record information and forget to access information that is already recorded. They have great difficulty in programming electronic aids and even simpler paper and pencil aids may be used in an unsystematic or disorganised way. Finally, external aids are embarrassing for some people with impaired memory.
