Picture Recall

About the Picture Recall exercise

Walking out of a shop and remembering whether the umbrella was left by the till, or describing a room to someone who was not there: everyday life leans on remembering what was in a scene. After a stroke, a brain injury, or with memory changes, the details of a picture can fade as soon as it is out of sight.

Picture Recall is free online picture memory practice built on the Picture Recall worksheet pack: 15 line-drawn everyday scenes, 10 basic and 5 complex. The person studies a scene for a timed window, the picture hides, and then recalls what was in it, either by naming details for a partner to tick or by answering yes-or-no prompts alone.

What Picture Recall practices

Visual memory for a scene

Taking in the people, objects, and setting of a picture during the study window and holding them once it hides, sometimes across a delay of up to 120 seconds.

Attention to detail

Basic scenes list 8 to 10 details and complex scenes 11 to 14. Scanning the whole picture, not just its center, within 60 or 120 seconds is the first half of the task.

Telling memory from guessing

In yes-or-no mode half the prompts are lures for things that were not there. Saying no to a plausible lure, rather than yes to everything, is its own skill, and false alarms are counted.

How the tool works and what it records

Three scenes are free, Park, Restaurant, and Bus stop, with three presets. Pro opens all 15 scenes and the dials: checklist or yes-or-no recall, basic, complex, or any level, a chosen scene or 1 to 5 random scenes per round, a study time of 15 to 180 seconds or the pack's own window (60 seconds basic, 120 complex), a delay of 0 to 120 seconds, simple sums during the delay, and 6 to 12 prompts per scene, half of them lures.

The study clock starts when the picture loads, and a ready early button records the time used. Checklist results show details recalled out of the scene's list, extras named that were not there, and study time used; yes-or-no results show right out of total prompts, false alarms, and median response speed. Signed-in users get 5 free rounds per tool per day; Pro removes the cap, exports a worksheet or round record PDF, and saves rounds to a session log.

Screen or paper?

The screen suits a picture that must really disappear: the study window is timed from the moment it loads, the delay can be filled with sums so the scene cannot be rehearsed, and yes-or-no mode lets someone practice alone with false alarms and response speed recorded. Paper suits writing the details down by hand, a partner covering the page at their own pace, sessions without wifi, and answer sheets to keep.

The printable version is the Picture Recall worksheet set on rehabworksheets.com, and there is a free picture recall worksheet to try first, with no email required.

Using it well

• Start with the Park checklist. Park is a basic scene with 9 details and a 60 second window. Run it with a partner ticking the checklist; when most details come back without extras, try the Bus stop preset, which adds a 30 second delay.
• Let the person say ready early. The ready early button ends the study window and records the seconds used, which appears in the results and the round record. Comparing study used against details recalled shows whether a longer look made a difference for that person.
• Count extras, not just ticks. In checklist mode the plus and minus counter records details named that were not in the picture. A partner should add one for each, since a recall full of extras tells a different story from a short but accurate one.
• Use yes-or-no mode when speech is hard. Yes-or-no prompts need only two large buttons, so someone who finds naming or speaking effortful can still take part, alone or with a partner. Large-print mode enlarges the buttons and text and stays free.

Common questions