Advice on teaching someone with dementia to learn how to use a tablet?
My mil has brought up the topic and would like to get a tablet. She sees all of us using our cellphones and there have been times when I have sat with her to use it to do online shopping for clothing when she was in rehab.
She it not very tech savvy, and gets easily confused using her flip style cell phone and her cordless home phone. She did own a computer years ago which she used mainly for emails and to look up things on the internet occasionally.
I would love for her to have one, but I do not know if she will be able to catch on and remember what she was taught with her short term memory. I'm sure it could be great learning tool for memory with the games out there, but I know it will require alot of time to teach her how to use one. We will have to also rely on her caregivers to help in this department since I do not have that kind of time, also I can hear the phone already ringing for help when we are not there. I am in a quandary,
I still get phone calls for computer help from my mother who is in her late 60's and no memory problems and I just don't know if I can do this again without pulling all my hair out.
Has anyone had success in teaching someone with memory problems how to use a tablet or device?
Thanks in advance. :)
10 Answers
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My first gut instinct when she commented on wanting a tablet was Oh h*ll no! Ok I have alot of patience, but I will have to buy stock in hair color and wine because I will never get thru this without alot more grey hairs and and a drinking problem...lol
Joking aside I wish it was possible because I know she gets bored when she is alone but some of this is her choice since she will not get involved in the activities they have with the neighbors in her apartment. There is only so much time that my husband and myself can devote to her before our lives becoming none existent. We've been there and it took alot to get what we got back.
Thanks again for taking the time and sharing your advice on the subject. This forum is Awesome and a Blessing!
Take care of yourselves
It's sad that modern technology like this has showed up at warped speed without giving us a chance to learn technology... my Dad [93] use to write computer code and even taught students how to use computers just a decade or so ago. Now he is totally lost, and so am I.
Neither my sig other nor myself have a Smart phone... our flip phones do what we need them to do. If I want to use the computer I go to my desk top at home or at work... I don't need to know what Kim Kardashian is doing while I am standing in line at the bank :P
Eyerishlass, I have to agree. Wanting and doing it are two different things.
I have tried to let my mil just scroll through a set of photos on my phone and everytime she ended up losing the page and she became frustrated with it. If I am not holding onto it she cannot do it. I don't think the size would matter. Tablets are way to touchy for their numble fingers.
Thanks for your input
So the niece bought her aunt a tablet and encouraged her aunt to learn how to use it. The aunt was so befuddled by this thing that she had developed no interest in using it. We tried to encourage her and we'd sit down with her and take her through very basic functions but my patient just didn't care about it. She lived in a nursing home and by the time the niece realized that her aunt would never use the tablet it had been stolen right out of her room.
If someone has difficulty using a cordless phone or a tv remote they're not going to be able to learn how to navigate a tablet or iPad.
In moms presence we never use our cell phone unless I am doing business related calls for her, or if I am showing her pictures that her granddaughters out of state have posted on Facebook of their families.
I have heard mom say some of her caregivers are using them on their downtime after they are done with the daily chores while she is watching tv.
She has a Nook she's had for years that was a gift that she rarely used when she had her memory and still had a hard time navigating. I told her all she needed to do is to have a internet connection to use it as a tablet but she doesn't like that she has to pay the $30 a month to use it. Well I told her thats how it goes if she wants it, and she has the extra money in her budget if she decides she wants it. She is the type of person if she sees it she wants it or should have it, its always been that way. I doubt she would use it very often for emailing since she doesn't call friends or any other family members except her sons. She has been that way since we lost dad, she had quit going out with her friends and only is in contact with them when they called her. Since moving we have tried to suggest that she keep in contact but she has never tried.
Our garage is full of her belongings from when she moved here from CO and being in a 1 bedroom apt alot of her stuff couldn't fit. She has me digging through boxes almost weekly thinking she needs a specific item, even though I know she will never use it, she just wants it. This week its a stand mixer which she will never use and she doesn't have the counter space for but she wants it because she misses it.
Sorry for the rant, back to the tablet. I know it will cause frustrations for her and for us teaching even with written notes so I hopefully the topic will be dropped. I will contact one of her caregivers and tell her to pass it on and to keep the electronics in their purses until they are off shift.
Thanks again
WIN 8.1 is a significant change from prior platforms and has a steep learning curve. It's hard enough for people who are tech savvy and don't have dementia. Even our friend who taught software programs admitted it's not easy making the transition.
There are a lot of hidden, alternate and not completely common sense techniques to using the smart gadgets. As users have said for years, some MS software is not "intuitive".
Your profile states that she suffers from a variety of conditions, including memory loss. You'd have to write out specific directions for a limited number of functions, and go through each step with her when you first teach her. If you're not frustrated, your MIL will be, and that could be very discouraging for her.
If she likes playing games, why not instead bring in a checker set, or Chinese checkers, or even dominoes which are probably the easiest game to play.
Or try showing her just once how to play an online game; that may be enough. I'd hate to see her get frustrated by attempting something too complicated for someone in her condition.
I also wouldn't use any smart devices in her presence. If you're not shopping specifically for clothing for her, the online activities can wait. Don't tempt her.
There's also the initial purchase cost as well as the monthly cost for online connection. Is that something she could afford?
But do try the board games and see how that goes.