How Technology Can Be Your Friend
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Technology can come to our aid in many ways: connecting us to friends and family members, improving hearing loss and helping us to age in place. With electronic games that can improve memory, technology can even be fun. Click here to view article.
While some of us may grumble about having to learn how to use new electronic devices, a lot of technology can make our lives easier. Programs such as Skype and Facebook can help us stay connected to family and friends that no longer live close by. Other innovations can help with failing hearing or memory, or allow us to live at home longer.
Computers
With increasing articles referring to the high rate of loneliness among seniors (one study showed that 40 percent of adults over age 65 are chronically lonely) and other studies finding a link between chronic loneliness and other health risks, technology can keep us connected to loved ones and can help keep away depression.
Two of the better known keep-in-touch resources are Skype and Facebook. Skype provides a face-to-face connection between two users—all you need is a free account and a webcam. Facebook is a website that links a network of users and allows you to share your latest news and pictures.
If you’re reluctant to use the computer, or feel you don’t know all the capabilities of the Internet, maybe it’s time to learn. Otherwise, your story could show up on a Facebook page called “Hey Mom & Dad, Computers and email are not just for fwds.”
“This is a group designed so kids can share their frustration with their parents, parents’ friends, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. who refuse to learn how to use a computer and ONLY SEND FORWARDS of mediocre jokes and email myths!”
If you want to be more Internet-savvy, you can get a friend or your children to teach you, but be prepared for eye rolling when you don’t comprehend it as fast as the younger generation thinks you should. Many retirement communities, senior centers and public libraries across the country offer basic computer and Internet courses, such as this one at the Kansas City Library on Facebook basics: “What on earth is a Facebook and what am I supposed to do with it?”
If you’ve been discouraged from buying a computer because of its complexity, you’ll be glad to learn that computer companies have designed new computers for use by senior citizens. Choose from all-in-one computers with large icons, voice-driven software, adaptive keyboards, foot pedals and even touchscreen computers. All-in-one computers combine video chat, photo sharing, email and other popular features into a touchscreen device.
Two companies that provide simple computers are Telikin and Pure Device. Telikin computers come with fully installed software and are ready to go out of the box, and Pure Device computers boast of a “simplified touch screen that only provides access to the Internet, messaging, audio/video communication, social networking, online radio and streamed movies and shows without the need to use a traditional computer.” (Buyer beware: Mention of these products does not imply an endorsement; consumers should do their own research.)
Beyond computers, tablets such as iPads are increasingly all-in-one devices—screen, computer, software—that have the extra advantage of easily fitting in small spaces, in case you are downsizing your living quarters.
For those who refuse to enter the computer era, there’s even a program (Presto) that takes email messages and turns them into letters for people who don’t want anything to do with technology.
Telephones
Cell phones are also introducing new technology each year. For example, smartphones, which have more advanced computer capabilities than traditional cell phones, can give directions to a restaurant if you get lost or can check your flight status on the way to the airport. But if you can’t hear well, these advantages don’t mean anything.
Fortunately, new technology provides incoming and outgoing voice amplification, larger buttons or buttons with pictures on them, caller identification, memory dial, speakers, alerting devices and other programmable options to improve telephone communication. And if you’re one of the 34 percent of the 65-plus seniors who text on their phones (according to the Pew Internet Project), some phones, such as, Jitterbug Touch, come with a slide-out keyboard and touchscreen for fingers that aren’t so nimble anymore.
Several companies, including CapTel (Captioned Telephone) offer landline telephones that print out the words as the caller is saying them, so there is no confusion for those who can’t make out every word of a phone call.
For seniors who don’t have computers and aren’t interested, videophones, an old technology (from the 1950s) are like telephones that have built-in cameras and a video screen. You still need an Internet connection, either DSL or cable; however, videophones are particularly useful for the deaf and speech-impaired who use sign language or find the visual images helpful in comprehending.
Books
eBook readers such as Kindle, with their adjustable-size type, can make reading easier for eyes that no longer work as well as they used to. Further, eBooks provide access to books we remember from our youth that might no longer be available at the bookstore or library (although Nancy Drew books, thankfully, are still in print). Even better, some libraries offer eBooks as part of their services.
There’s even a program that lets you read books with your grandchildren over the computer. It’s called Readeo and uses a Skype-like video chat to let you and your grandchild choose from more than 150 children’s books and read the book together, even if you’re thousands of miles apart. During a “BookChat,” the pages of the story appear on the computer screen and you can see, hear and talk to one another through video chat windows at the bottom of the screen.
Memory Aids
Technology can help strengthen memory. Several digital devices include hand-held memory aids, which allow the user to record reminders about appointments, tasks, medication and so forth. But one memory aid that is actually fun is the video game. It’s not just for your 10-year-old grandson anymore. Happier at Home reports that video games “tend to emphasize skills that are vulnerable to aging (speed, attention, memory, etc.). Thus, video games may offer the opportunity to get ‘exercise’ in areas that need it most. In addition, video games are novel for most older adults, and research suggests that this newness is an important ingredient for successful cognitive intervention.”
Games that challenge your brain on the computer include video-game systems like the Wii, handheld video-game devices like the Nintendo DS and video-game websites. Happier at Home advises finding games that challenge the senses. Games that require problem solving are also ideal.
A website developed by scientists and neuropsychologists, HAPPYneuron features games that exercise all five cognitive areas of the brain: memory, attention, language, visual/spatial processing and overall executive functioning. Or check out MyBrainTrainer.com, which offers interactive exercises, each designed to stimulate a specific region of the brain and to improve mental-processing speed, memory capacity, concentration, multitasking ability and visual discrimination. Online sites usually have an annual fee, from $30 to $100 per year. Happy at Home reports that a lot of seniors are using the Nintendo Wii (if you’ve never tried it, ask your children or grandchildren to demonstrate for you). Seniors are not only bowling on Wii but solving simple math problems, reciting songs and testing memory skills in the classic board game “Concentration,” by using Brain Age and Brain Age2, designed for handheld Nintendo DS systems. One must first purchase a Nintendo handheld device, which ranges in cost from $80 to $200.
Technologies for Aging in Place
Some technology can keep you at home when medical problems might otherwise necessitate rehabilitation care or assisted living. VitaCare (from Adapted Living) allows caregivers and recipients to send messages over a tablet or smartphone about either party’s alerts or concerns. This constant contact can reassure both parties when it’s time for medications or when a complaint necessitates action. (Suggestions in this section are from Laurie Orlov, Aging in Place Technology Watch).
Several devices monitor when seniors take falls at home. The EMTWatch FallDetect™ will transmit an alarm to SafetyCare’s Response Center, which is staffed by emergency medical technicians (EMTs), when a fall occurs. The EMTWatch FallDetect claims it has the ability to identify a “‘slow fall,’ such as when someone is attempting to brace themselves as they slowly fall to the ground or out of a chair, as well as ‘fast falls.’” (Again, Senior Spirit makes no endorsement of these products.)
Among new fall-detecting wristwatches, one by Smart-Monitor tracks wrist movement patterns, using an “intelligent” wristwatch, looking for “excessive or repetitive shaking motion” and then alerts caregivers or designated family members.
Advice for Using “Assistive” Technology
Assistive (sometimes called “adaptive”) technology is any service or tool that helps the elderly or disabled do activities they have always done but must now do differently. It includes communication equipment, such as a telephone amplifier; tools for independent living, such as grab bars in the bathtub; mobility aids, such as a power wheelchair, wheelchair lift or stair elevator; and seating aids, such as modifications to regular chairs, wheelchairs or motor scooters that help a person stay upright, get up and down unaided or that help reduce pressure on the skin.
Seniors must carefully evaluate their needs before deciding to purchase assistive technology. Using assistive technology may change the mix of services that a senior requires or may affect the way that those services are provided. For these reasons, the process of needs assessment and planning is important.
Usually, a needs assessment has the most value when it is done by a team in the place where the senior will use the assistive technology. For example, an elderly person who has trouble communicating or is hard of hearing should consult with his or her doctor, an audiology specialist, a speech-language therapist and family and friends. Together, these people can identify the problem precisely and determine a course of action to solve the issue.
When considering all assistive technology options, it is often useful to look at the issue in terms of high-tech and low-tech solutions. Seniors must also remember to plan ahead and think about how their needs might change over time. High-tech devices tend to be more expensive but may be able to assist with many different needs. Low-tech equipment is usually cheaper but less adaptable for multiple purposes. Before buying any expensive piece of assistive technology, such as a computer, be sure to find out if it can be upgraded as improvements are introduced.
Right now, no single private insurance plan or public program will pay for all types of assistive technology under any circumstances. However, Medicare Part B will cover up to 80 percent of the cost of assistive technology if the items meet the definition of “durable medical equipment.” This is defined as devices that are “primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose, and generally are not useful to a person in the absence of illness or injury.” Depending on where you live, the state-run Medicaid program may pay for some assistive technology. Seniors who are eligible for veterans’ benefits should definitely look into whether they can receive assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Private health insurance and out-of-pocket payment are two other options.
Adapted from “Tip of the Week” at Technology for Long-Term Care
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