Susanne Mitschke
Dementia Advocate
Technology can help people to manage the condition, establish a routine, and improve the quality of life for people living with Alzheimer’s, and their caregivers.
Living with Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming for the individuals, as well as their caregivers. Affected people have to deal with all sorts of challenges: remembering their pills, making sure that they train their brain, get enough exercise, and in general, be involved in activities that can really stimulate brain activities and keep them active.
These are 4 innovations that can help individuals living with dementia, and their caregivers.
1. Dementia friendly clocks
People who live with dementia often lose the ability to keep on track of time, as the symptoms progress. To help them, while reducing anxiety and maintain a daily routine as long as possible. A big analog clock might be the solution; their large-font makes it easy for the individual to determine time, and in some cases even date and day of the week.
2. GPS tracking
One of the scariest symptoms of dementia is the individual’s tendency to wander. Caregivers are stressed out to keep track of where their loved-one with dementia is going. GPS technology can help to to find your loved-one who wandered off without your knowledge. There are several devices out there that reach from smart watches, to shoes with smart soles.
3. Medication Management
This form of assistive technology can differ widely. It can range from a simple pillbox, marked with the days of the week, or can even have the form of an automated pill dispenser, which sends updates when to take the pills to the caregiver(s). In between, there would sit pill-reminder apps on the phone that work with a simple alarm.
4. Applications for Smartphone or Tablets
Applications for Smartphones and Tablets can help people living with dementia to be more independent in earlier stages, and help with reminiscence therapy in later stages. One app that is very successful in this space is MindMate.
