Recommendations for a Dementia phone

[Bubbly44]

Hi , I am looking for any help/ recommendations for the best telephone for my dad please ? My mum and I have researched 2/ 3 online but any help would be very much appreciated. Obviously the easier to use the better. He is in the middle stages of dementia.

Thank you

 

[Rosettastone57]

Hi , I am looking for any help/ recommendations for the best telephone for my dad please ? My mum and I have researched 2/ 3 online but any help would be very much appreciated. Obviously the easier to use the better. He is in the middle stages of dementia.

Thank you

Welcome..I assume you mean a mobile phone? I'm sure others will be along soon with better advice, but you need to consider whether your dad is able to learn anything new? Introducing unfamiliar things,even what we might consider the simplest format, may well be too much for the person with dementia and the item gets just put to one side and not used

 

[DeBlonde]

We purchased Mum a Doro phone. Set it up. Still in the box on the shelf, never used. I dont think she knows how to use it despite us adding all relevant numbers and showing her how to use it several times.

 

[Bubbly44]

Welcome..I assume you mean a mobile phone? I'm sure others will be along soon with better advice, but you need to consider whether your dad is able to learn anything new? Introducing unfamiliar things,even what we might consider the simplest format, may well be too much for the person with dementia and the item gets just put to one side and not used

Hi , thanks for replying.

Sorry I didn't make my post clear on reflection. I meant a landline phone. Recently my daughter told me of one that is specifically for people with conditions such as dementia. Telephone numbers can be entered/ stored with a picture of the person corresponding to each person.
I was hoping someone may have tried one of these phones.

 

[Bubbly44]

We purchased Mum a Doro phone. Set it up. Still in the box on the shelf, never used. I dont think she knows how to use it despite us adding all relevant numbers and showing her how to use it several times.

Thank you so much for your reply.

It's like wading through fog trying to help dad and knowing he may not even remember how to use the simplest of devices.

 

[Agzy]

Hi , thanks for replying.

Sorry I didn't make my post clear on reflection. I meant a landline phone. Recently my daughter told me of one that is specifically for people with conditions such as dementia. Telephone numbers can be entered/ stored with a picture of the person corresponding to each person.
I was hoping someone may have tried one of these phones.

We have such a phone although initially bought to help me as I am very hard of hearing and it has volume and tone slide controls which I find of great benefit. I remember laughing with the sales lady about why such big buttons as I am not short sighted and she explained that either names or photos can be inserted under the plastic key covers to help those who struggle with numbers etc. Now my OH has dementia it is invaluable as she still recogognises faces and so just hits the face she wants to speak with. It is called Mybelle amplified although I am sure there are other makes and variations.

 

[nitram]

I meant a landline phone. Recently my daughter told me of one that is specifically for people with conditions such as dementia. Telephone numbers can be entered/ stored with a picture of the person corresponding to each person.

This is a popular one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PhoneEasy-...rds=doro+dementia+phone&qid=1577363563&sr=8-5


See https://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/threads/calling-the-speaking-clock-repeatedly.119597/#post-1684669 for a discontinued one with a facility to cover the keypad if things like dialling the speaking clock become a problem.
They regularly come up on ebay, the example in the linked post expired yesterday with no bids.

 

[prodigal-son]

Just for the record in case anyone comes across this thread when searching for info on phones, I recently bought a Doro PhoneEasy 331ph as suggested by @nitram.

It does the job, but I was disappointed that various controls are a bit too easy for a person with dementia to fiddle with (if they're that way inclined, of course; my dad certainly is).

In particular, the volume control is flimsy and would be easy to move even without meaning to. The top volume level is not all that loud, so I took the cover off the phone and snipped the two wires to the volume control potentiometer. You can still spin the dial but it now has no effect, and the volume is permanently on maximum.

Again with the cover off, the ringer volume control and various other switches were Dad-proofed by removing the little plastic toggles that fit over the switches themselves. You can still operate the switches, but only by using a paperclip or a screwdriver rather than fingers.

In conclusion, this phone is on the cheap-and-cheerful side. it will work perfectly well for most people but it would have been nice to see more thought given to dementia-proofing it.