Before experiencing a significant Traumatic Brain Injury in 1990 at the age of 38, Kathy Moeller Herried had been working in New York as a sales and marketing executive for companies that were at the forefront of creating new technology.
As early as 1985, when she worked for Gateway, a subsidiary of the Times Mirror Company, she authored trade articles about the technology known as “Videotex,” which some consider to be an early version of the Internet. The University of California at Berkeley and the University of Chicago are her alma maters.
She was one of the fortunate few whose million-dollar insurance policy funded several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of state-of-the-art in-patient and out-patient cognitive rehabilitation. She also received many months of outpatient and vocational rehabilitation, eventually re-learning how to read, drive and work. In 1993, she created her first EVERYTHING-IN-ONE-PLACE assistive technology solution by developing the original BRAIN BOOK®System.
As early as 1985, when she worked for Gateway, a subsidiary of the Times Mirror Company, she authored trade articles about the technology known as “Videotex,” which some consider to be an early version of the Internet. The University of California at Berkeley and the University of Chicago are her alma maters.
Watch this brief video to learn how Kathy’s life’s work has transformed the best paper-based EVERYTHING-IN-ONE-PLACE solution to become the most comprehensive, specialized assistive technology for cognition available, in the form of a program available on an iPad called, My Bionic Brain®.
Anyone who knows Kathy well, knows that she is deeply committed to helping others who have experienced the helplessness that happens when your brain “doesn’t work right and you don’t know where to turn.” This website is dedicated to the memory of Barbara Burbach, Kathy’s roommate and friend at NeuroCare, where they both lived during their time in residential cognitive rehabilitation. “Barbara taught me how to work hard, work smart, and be patient in the face of loss and adversity.” Barbara overcame many challenges after suffering a head injury in a car accident in 1990. She served as a great inspiration to many people. She went on to get a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska and worked with the Nebraska State Legislature to intrepret laws for serveral Nebraska newspapers.
Barbara overcame many challenges after suffering a head injury in a car accident in 1990. She served as a great inspiration to many people. She went on to get a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Nebraska and worked with the Nebraska State Legislature to intrepret laws for serveral Nebraska newspapers.
Thanks to the generosity of Seattle University’s College of Science and Engineering, and the guidance of Professor Richard LeBlanc, Kathy’s paper-based “assistive technology” evolved to become the iPhone app known as Let Me Check My Notes®.
Kathy was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease several years ago. In January 2019 she underwent the brain surgery procedure known as DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) to ameliorate her tremors. However, because the procedure left her with speech challenges, distribution of her program, and doing skills training over-the-miles became impossible! Kathy’s most challenging “cognitive inconvenience” these days, is speech. She explains it this way.
| Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive neurological condition that causes movement disorders. Just as some people with Parkinson’s Disease “freeze” when they try to walk, my mouth can freeze when I try to talk. Talking for short periods can also cause fatigue. |
Never one to quit, Kathy turned to technology and friends of the program for guidance. With the help of Application Developer, Sean Casserly and Dashiel Wellott, Let Me Check My Notes®– the App, will soon be available for testing. Contact us if you would like to be a tester.
It’s no coincidence that the non-profit she founded—also called Let Me Check My Notes—was given that name. That’s because these words comprise the essence of the “tape” she coaches people to practice playing in their heads. Anyone who has participated in her skills training sessions will recognize, “Let me check my notes,” as the go-to answer for most everything:
At Work:
- Who called this morning, and what did they want
Let me check my notes… - Did the order for the Jones’s get shipped yesterday?
Let me check my notes… - Where is a copy of the Packing Slip?
Let me check my notes…
At Home:
- What do we need from the store?
Let me check my notes… - Did you call the roofer?
Let me check my notes… - When is Johnny’s parent-teacher conference
Let me check my notes…
Kathy’s expertise has been recognized by professionals and, of course, her many students. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS) who has been recognized as the “Emerging Leader” for 2017 by RESNA (Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology Society of North America), the national association at which she facilitated national conference presentations and webinars.
She has given presentations at the national conference for the annual Autism Works Conference and the Brain Injury Alliance of Oregon.
Kathy was was a 2012 finalist in the Oregon Chamber of Commerce, Ethics in Business competition.
As early as 1997, she was named Oregon’s Clinician of the Year by the Brain Injury Association of Oregon. Ten years later she was named RESNA’s Emerging Leader for 2017.
– View Kathy’s resumé
