Online shopping can provide valuable benefits while a person is assuming a more productive lifestyle following a brain injury. The goal of cognitive therapy is to help a person get back to "as close to normal" as possible.
Making decisions and spending money responsibly can go a long way toward building confidence and a sense of independence. I recently received an email from a lady whose husband had suffered a brain injury following an automobile accident. She said his top priority was regaining independence but he had no confidence in his abilities.
Online Shopping Strategy
Shopping online demands that you develop a strategy. This is as important for everyone, not just those who have an injured brain. There are passwords to be remembered, credit or debit card information that must be used, and using a few reputable online shops.
An online shopping website should meet certain criteria to be effective for brain injury survivors.
Easy to Navigate: The website should make it easy for you to find what you're looking for.
Offer Items You Want: That may sound strange, but I think of Wal Mart getting into the online music business. They used a proprietary downloader and a proprietary music format that was not used by anyone else. I bought music from them and discovered that iTunes did not recognize it, which meant I could not put the songs on my mp3 player.
Password Strategy
We've written about Roboform before. It can store all your passwords and make it very easy for you to enter any of your favorite sites that require a log in. My copy of Roboform has over 200 passwords stored on it. I use one password to make Roborform work and it does the rest.
Roboform sits on your Internet browser bar (see photo below). It's always ready for you to use when you're on the Internet.
If you would like more in-depth information, you should read this article (it's on another website and will open in a new browser window so you can read the article and stay on this site). Internet Password Management Software
Secure Shopping Peace of Mind
Secure shopping means that your personal and financial information is protected. Think of it this way. We use Roboform to protect our passwords. We have an account the Amazon, the world's largest online shopping website, that contains all our payment information. It is not necessary to re-type that stuff when we want to purchase an item.
We choose the item we want to purchase, then we sign in to our account and use the credit or debit card information that Amazon has on file to complete the purchase.
Be sure to Bookmark this Page (Add to Favorites) so you can return time and time again without hassle.
More Financial Protection
Prepaid credit cards, also known as debit cards, provide extra protection in two ways. Claudia Osborn, author of Over My Head, tells the story of making the daily trip from her apartment to therapy. One morning she carried $20 to pay for her bus ride. A person on the street asked her for money, and she gave away the $20. This happened shortly after her brain injury and before she had come to terms with the value of money. (Her book is available at the Brain Injury Bookstore. See left column.)
The same type of problem can occur when shopping online such as buying more than you can afford. A prepaid card allows you to put a certain amount of money in the account, and that's all you can spend. For more information about prepaid cards, visit this link: Prepaid Credit Cards. It will open in a new window.
Many people in the brain injury community have written about money problems being a big issue that slows down the injured person from getting to the point of having a more independent lifestyle. Those of you who have read our book will remember Beth writing a $200 check when the clerk asked for $20. I'm not 100% sure but that may have been the last check Beth wrote, and that was about 18 years ago.
Summing It Up
Online shopping can provide therapeutic benefits, but it needs to be done as safely as possible. You can protect your online passwords with Roboform. You can protect your finances with prepaid credit (debit) cards. You can protect your online shopping experience by dealing with reputable stores.
About Amazon Online Shopping Website
While writing this article, I took a few minutes to purchase a Christmas gift for my grandson. I searched for it on Amazon, The price was $25 less than the price on the manufacturer's website. Even if the price had been the same, I would have used Amazon because all my purchase information is on file and I don't have to re-type it.
Below is an Amazon Search box where you can search for items you might like to have. Please return to this page anytime you need to refresh your memory about online shopping or to shop Amazon.
The information and resources on this website or in any other publications are provided solely for educational purposes. We do not provide medical or legal advice or professional services. Our website and any publications referenced on it are not a substitute for professional services.
