Again, another short post meant to help those of you who are looking out for a senior. The Family Caregiver Alliance (found here) has a good section on how to find and choose the right tools to help make your life, as well as the life of the person you're caring for, a lot easier. Click here to go to their section on Assistive Technology.
Lifted from their website: "The area of assistive technology has grown tremendously in recent years, and many manufacturers now provide a wide range of products and devices. It can be confusing, however, to determine which products might be right for your loved one. Here are a few basic tips to help you in this task:
Focus on the actual tasks your loved one wants or needs to do when choosing devices. While this might seem obvious, it’s easy to get drawn into buying a product that looks good but doesn’t really address your loved one’s needs.
Generally, it is best to pick the simplest product available to meet the need. Simpler devices are often easier to use, less expensive, and easier to repair and maintain than more complex devices. For example, if someone does not have difficulty remembering to take their medications, but gets confused about which pills to take at which times, a weekly pill organizer that can be filled by a caregiver would solve the problem. Purchasing an automated pill dispenser with alarms to remind the person to take medications would be more complicated than necessary and would certainly be more expensive than the simpler pill organizer.
Ask experts that provide care to your loved one, like rehabilitation specialists or physical and occupational therapists, about which type of technology might be best.
Ask other people with disabilities what products they have found to be helpful.
Ask to use the device on a trial basis to see if it is truly going to meet your loved one’s needs.
Ultimately, your loved one’s opinion about a certain piece of AT is the most important. The device needs to be comfortable, attractive, and simple to use.
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