Help with reminders for Alzheimer's patient

[Junebugclown]

If you are helping someone with dementia try getting an Alexa for them. They can listen to their favorite music. But more importantly you can use it for reminders. You can have Alexa say it's time for breakfast, lunch and dinner at a certain time each day. She can be an alarm each morning. It is great for someone in assisted living too. She can remind them to put on clean clothes in the morning and put clothes in the hamper at night. Reminders for medications and Dr appointments, lunch dates etc. can all be programmed. It has proved to be a huge help for a friend and I hope someone else can benefit from this information.

 

[illmyselfandoverwhelmed]

Alexa are great for the reasons you mention. I bought one for my mum which is now sitting in my house! Unfortunately, the moment I left her she would turn off the wifi router as she didn't like the flashing light!

 

[northumbrian_k]

Hi, @Junebugclown and welcome to Dementia Talking Point

 

[canary]

Unfortunately, the moment I left her she would turn off the wifi router as she didn't like the flashing light!

Mum used to switch off everything that had a little light on it. I found covering it up with a bit of duct tape, so she couldnt see it, worked well.

 

[Lawson58]

I have always wondered though, just reminding someone to put on clean clothes or take their medication doesn’t mean that they are going to comply or are going to remember thirty seconds later what they were supposed to do.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

I think the person would need to be very compliant! I can just imagine what my mother's reaction would have been to a disembodied voice telling her to have a shower or go to bed. It would have been removed and binned immediately!

 

[jugglingmum]

I think the person would need to be very compliant! I can just imagine what my mother's reaction would have been to a disembodied voice telling her to have a shower or go to bed. It would have been removed and binned immediately!

My mum would have done the same

 

[RosettaT]

My mum use to puzzle me. She would ring me 5 times in 20 minutes asking what bin to put out as she couldn't remember from me telling her and her putting the phone down, but tell in the evening she had a hospital appointment the following day, she would be up and dressed ready to go first thing.

 

[SMBeach]

I set up an Alexa a few years ago for dad and he unplugged it then list the cable then lost his phone. I recently bought homehelper which is basically an iPad and I’d told him all about it White I visited. He went in and in and in about when am I coming to set it up as he’s looking forward to seeing what’s happening each day without having to keep calling me. After making the trip from Kent to Scotland and plugging it in at dads and showing him it, he seemed to have nothing to say about it. He just kind of looked at it and said oh yes. Then asked me again when I’m going to get that thing I’d mentioned that shows him what’s happening each day and I’d point to it and say that’s it dad. I’m beginning to wonder if there was any point. He did the same with an indoor key safe. He told me he wanted one inside the house so nobody could get his keys except him. I bought him one and had it delivered for our diy man to do. He only had to keep it safe for a couple of days then lost it. I had to cancel diy man then dad obsessed about when am I going to get another key safe. This time I arranged for diy man to get it and bring it with him. He fitted it. Set the code to one that dad would remember but dad never used it. Not once. He also often pulls out the plug to the WiFi which means I can’t always control the heating in his house. I live 500 miles away. I’ve recently set up dementia friendly tv controls but I’m expecting he’ll muck them up too. Sometimes everything you do is in vain.

 

[canary]

Im sorry @SMBeach
People with dementia have trouble with anything new - and especially anything technology based

Can you fit a childproof cover to the wifi plug, so he cant pull it out? Id also cover up any little light on it with a bit of duct tape. Mum had an obsession with any little lights that showed that something was on and pulled out plugs, cables etc in order to turn them off.

 

[Tricot]

Alexa has been a great help to me. I'm not diagnosed with dementia (yet) but I certainly have been experiencing many of the symptoms associated with early dementia for some time and these are worsening. At this stage I'm able to benefit just as Junebugclown describes. Living on my own it's like having a live-in helper to remind me to put washing out, add items to shopping list etc. I haven't yet explored all it can do but am very grateful for the basics.

I can imagine at later stages of dementia it would be unhelpful and even frightening to hear Alexa's voice coming from nowhere.