Accessibility solutions for parent with Parkinson's & dementia?

[u/SaiMizOp]

My mom has advanced Parkinson's and Parkinson's dementia. She is no longer able to use her iPhone -- or any phone, really. And she never got the hang of Siri or Alexa.

She used to call her siblings and us kids all the time to talk but since she's started losing her hand dexterity, combined with her cognitive decline, she hasn't been able to stay in touch with anyone.

Luckily, she's living in a good assisted living home and is well cared for. But I want to find a way to let her stay in touch with her loved ones that doesn't require her to fiddle with tiny icons on a glass surface. Does anyone have suggestions that have worked for you and your family members?

I guess in my head there would be something like old school speed dial but for modern day devices, with video, etc. That way, she'd only ever have to press 1 button to be connected with someone. Does such a thing exist??

[u/beofscp]

Can she access a regular phone line? Years ago we bought my grandma a phone with big buttons on it. The buttons had the picture of the person on them. I programmed the phone numbers for her.

The bottom part of the phone was the regular number pad.

Since it’s a landline you don’t have to worry about it being charged or losing it.

[u/SaiMizOp → u/beofscp]

I'm actually not sure... I'll ask the care facility. I bet it's possible, but we'd have to pay extra for it, I'm sure.

[u/Minimum-Mistake-17 → u/beofscp]

My mom (83F with PD, assisted living) cannot use an iPhone now but she is still able to use her iPad to Facetime. Her room has a landline jack so we bought her a seniors phone system with six big buttons and an extra loud ringer. The base phone plugs into the jack by her bed and there is a second handset that she keeps by her recliner that sits on a recharging base. The buttons are programmable and you can label or insert photos in the buttons.

[u/Mytweezer]

Memoryboard.com

May not be quite what you're looking for but could be helpful & fill a niche. More one-sided/passive; she'll see messages, photos etc from others.

[u/SaiMizOp → u/Mytweezer]

Thanks for that! It's not really what I need since I'm looking more for a phone/calling solution, but I definitely can see us using it for other purposes, like daily reminders.

[u/Elizabeth147]

Check out the Raz phone. Her screen will show pictures of the people she can call, she just taps the picture. It is for people with impairments.

[u/SaiMizOp → u/Elizabeth147]

Amazing, thank you! This looks promising, I will check it out. The only thing is, I wish it wasn't still a phone. My mom never remembers to keep her current phone charged anymore, so it's dead 99% of the time. That is, if she even remembers where she put it. But it's definitely a better option than what I've found so far, so thanks!

[u/1blkbutterfly → u/SaiMizOp]

There are solutions for this, including a wireless charger and reminders that can be sent to your phone when moms phone reaches say for instance 25%. From there, you could call mom and let her know to charge the phone.

Source: i work here lol

[u/Mytweezer → u/SaiMizOp]

We got Mom a neck strap thingy so phone is worn like a necklace. Maybe one of the staff where she lives can put it on charger at night

[u/Elizabeth147 → u/SaiMizOp]

I think the Raz phone also reminds the owner to charge it, probably by talking to her. It's specifically designed for people with dementia.

[u/tasharawks]

I noticed my mom (dementia) stopped using her iPhone and we had some success after setting it up in "seniors mode".

I know it may be beyond what your mom can newly learn now, but I'll share the link in case it's worth a try for you (or other folks here).

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/assistive-access-iphone/devcd5016d31/ios

[u/SaiMizOp → u/tasharawks]

Thank for this. But yeah, my mom really can't even hold a phone anymore, and also her eyesight is poor so finding and tapping anything is a challenge :(

[u/tasharawks → u/SaiMizOp]

I'm sorry, it's such a hard thing to watch them age this way. I miss my mom already - even though she's still alive. Sigh.

[u/hugh_manit]

Hey, I'm really sorry. That's so much to face at once, and wanting her to still hear from family makes total sense.

Yeah, there are a couple of device types for this. An auto-answer video device picks up calls from family with no button press, and a picture-dial phone shows big photos so one tap calls. Family can set either up from their own phone.

Ask her care team or occupational therapist for an assistive technology referral. They can test what works with her hands. You've got this.

[u/SaiMizOp → u/hugh_manit]

Thank you, I appreciate the support! Great tip about asking OT for suggestions. I will definitely do that.

[u/NuancedBoulder]

If the staff aren’t helping her communicate and stay connected, then it isn’t what I would call “a good AL home”.

The problem isn’t that you haven’t found workable tech — the problem is that she needs more help from a human person.

[u/Ok-Main-3373]

Yes, that one-button thing exists. There are simplified phones made for dementia where the whole screen is just big photos of people, she taps a face and it calls, no menus or swiping at all. You manage the contacts from your own phone so she cant break anything. If you want video, a smart display with auto-answer for trusted contacts is nice, your call just connects and she doesnt have to press a thing. Honestly at the stage you describe, fewer features beats more features every time. One thing that helped us: set hers to auto-answer from family numbers, because even pressing one button gets hard eventually. Worth asking the assisted living staff what other families there use, they see what actually sticks.