Dementia Clock

[Misslovely]

I need to get a dementia clock for my Mother who is in the early stages of dementia.

They seem quite expensive. Has anyone managed to get one cheaper than £40?

Have these clocks made a big difference to anyone you know with Alzhiemer’s? I wonder if my Mother will forget to look at it?

Thanks

 

[Duggies-girl]

Hi @Misslovely Do you mean the big ones that show night and day because my dad had one but he never looked at. I think I got it from a special dementia site and yes it was quite expensive.

 

[Rosettastone57]

My mother in law had a clock with days and months as well as the time. It was never used properly as my mother in law soon forgot to look at it and it was just ignored. The only way she looked at it was if someone prompted her.

 

[Jessbow]

My late mother had one- I thought it costa lot for what it was.

Not sure if it worked for her, I dont think it did, but it certainly didnt do much for me. She used to look at it, but the fact that it said 1pm, didnt promt her to think ''Oh its lunchtime, i need some lunch''

 

[MartinWL]

My dad has one, and has had for a couple of years, but I do not remember how much it cost. It is useful to him and he likes it. He can never remember what day of the week it is and the clock tells him. It reminds him to take medication but that hasn't really worked as he may not be in the room when the bell rings. and may think he will do it later.

 

[try again]

My mum has two. Not sure how much use they are to her now, but they were certainly useful for a while.
You can usually pick them up second hand on eBay or Facebook marketplace.

 

[jennifer1967]

i like it as its easy to glance at. my husband, PWD, does forget to look at it until i point him in that direction. i programmed it once for meals etc and he said it was just another nagging woman reminding him.

 

[Misslovely]

Hi. Yes, I mean the clocks that show the time, day of the week and whether it is afternoon or morning.

My Mother has a calendar with large squares that show the days of the month but seems to forget about it. She’s had calendars hanging up in the same place in the house for years so it’s not a new thing. I think she might forget to look at a clock.

Thank you for your replies

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

Mum has one and for a while, it worked well. As her dementia developed, she couldn't understand why the minute digit kept changing and kept writing down the time. When I found a piece of paper where she'd written down every time for over half an hour I had to cover up part of the screen.

 

[AbbyGee]

In 2019 I bought one of these for my OH who has Alz Dem. I may have well saved the money as he doesn't look at it and simply asks me what the time is. Maybe it was just another new thing that he couldn't get to grips with. I find it quite useful though!

 

[lollyc]

My Mum (who lived with me), had a talking clock, designed for the visually impaired. It spoke the time and day/date in a loud clear voice. She coped quite well with it in the early years - although needed prompting to press it now and again. She also had a keyfob version on a lanyard. Neither was very expensive, certainly less than £20 each.

 

[jugglingmum]

8 years ago when mum was in early stages I got my mum an analogue clock with the date next to it. This worked well for a good few years and was worth the money.

She still used her watch to tell the time but this gave her day and month. She glanced at it regularly and retained the day or the week fairly well.

I think these things work in early stages when the PWD understands the meaning of what they are looking at, and have the ability to want to use it if they live on their own.

 

[Sarasa]

My mother has macular degeneration as well as dementia. Before the dementia was really obvious I bought her a really big analogue clock for her living room which she really liked and found useful. At the time she was fine with days of the week etc. As her eyesight and dementia got worse I also got her a cheap talking clock. She hated it as she felt I was treating her as someone that was disabled and she found that demeaning. At the time she could read the analogue clock and tell you what the time was, but couldn't extrapolate from that what it actually meant. So she knew it was 11 in the morning and her exercise class was at two, but she wanted to get ready and go to it, even though it was only five minutes away.
My Mother in law had the sort of digital clock you are considering. I think it worked quite well for a little while, but eventually it ended up hidden on a shelf by a pile of other stuff.

 

[jennifer1967]

In 2019 I bought one of these for my OH who has Alz Dem. I may have well saved the money as he doesn't look at it and simply asks me what the time is. Maybe it was just another new thing that he couldn't get to grips with. I find it quite useful though!

mine has early morning, morning early evening, night on it so its a bit more specific as to when in the day it is. he still asks me what day etc when the clock is right next to him.

 

[Knitandpurl]

My husband, PWD, has PCA so the first noticeable thing the dementia affected was his sight. He can’t read clocks at all, he can and does ask our ‘Google’ best. But I’m not sure how much it means to him as she always gives the time as the hour and minutes past, eg 8.47 , and he then looks at me for clarification, he wants : “it’s ten to nine, or “it’s just gone quarter to nine.” My daughter’s neighbour has dementia and she just sorted a dementia clock for her, but I don’t think it’s helped much.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

When mum's relationship with time changed, there was just no fixing it. She constantly asked what time it was so I bought her a small clock which she was very pleased with. Next time I visited (she was in a CH) it was in bits - someone had come in in the night and broken it. Got her another clock. And another one a few weeks later. Then I gave up. She broke them all.

But even when I told her what time it was, she would ask, 'Yes, but is that 3 o'clock at night or 3 o'clock in the morning?' Any sort of visual aid was useless, reminder notes, instructions for the remote, you name it. Her answer was always, 'Well, I haven't seen any note.' I'm not sure if she could still tell the time on an analogue clock by then but even if she had, she was completely unable to understand what 10am or half past 5 meant. It made no difference whether it was dark or light outside. I suppose her brain just stopped being able to process visual cues

I think there is a window when devices to prompt and remind can work but once it closes you need to find other ways.

 

[AbbyGee]

My Mum (who lived with me), had a talking clock, designed for the visually impaired. It spoke the time and day/date in a loud clear voice. She coped quite well with it in the early years - although needed prompting to press it now and again. She also had a keyfob version on a lanyard. Neither was very expensive, certainly less than £20 each.

Oh goodness - the talking things. Bought the OH a talking watch. Too many buttons so it was constantly being reset etc. He finally killed it by wearing it in the shower (back in the day when he could shower alone).

Bought a desktop thing that just needed a press but that got put aside in favour of asking me. I can't even find the darned thing now.

I think that by the time we try some of these clever 'helpers' it's already too late.

 

[lollyc]

Oh Mum used to ask, and she was wearing a watch and could still tell the time! I told her to press the button.....or completely ignored her until it dawned on her to press the button. Actually, it was the day / date thing that was more useful to her.
I agree it's often too late - mainly because we want to let them maintain independence for as long as possible, and then the window of opportunity is lost. With hindsight I wouldn't have bothered with many things.

 

[TryingToRetainGrace]

I need to get a dementia clock for my Mother who is in the early stages of dementia.

They seem quite expensive. Has anyone managed to get one cheaper than £40?

Have these clocks made a big difference to anyone you know with Alzhiemer’s? I wonder if my Mother will forget to look at it?

Thanks

I think in my dad’s case the responses here are right, maybe it is too late. He can no longer tell the time and gets ready hours early, turns up hours early, gets up in the wee small hours and phones me loads to find out where I am, when our plans are much later. Yesterday morning he called at 6.50 am and I am concerned he is going to start ringing me at all hours soon.

I was thinking about getting him a large digital clock or two but am now thinking it might not make much difference - if he no longer understands the concept of time perhaps reading the clock with hands (which he always says is wrong) is not the problem; maybe it won’t make sense however it is presented.

 

[Knitandpurl]

Sadly, I think you are right. My daughter helped source a clock for her neighbour with dementia recently- it hasn’t worked, she still gets phone calls, knocks on door, rescues her from standing outside waiting for lifts not due for hours etc. …