As my mother entered her 90s, she was relatively healthy and active, but I noticed that she was beginning to experience physical limitations and memory problems. And even though I didn't live far away, I felt I needed to find a way to help her live comfortably and safely on her own despite her increasing dependence. Ta. Traditional technology, such as wearable alarm systems, can only do so much (especially if she refuses to wear it). So I started looking into smart home technology to find better answers.
I'm not alone. According to the U.S. Census, the number of people 65 and older in the United States in 2020 reached 55.8 million people, or 16.8% of the population, and many people are “ageing in place”. ” I am choosing to do that. And more and more children, relatives, friends – their caregivers are turning to the help of smart technology.
To get a sample of how caregivers are using today's smart technology, I interviewed several members of a support group called Working Daughter. I also talked to my colleagues here at The Verge. Here's how caregivers can take advantage of today's smart technology to help their elderly or ill parents live more comfortably at home, while also helping caregivers themselves worry less and hopefully save their time. It's a way to have more.
smart assistant
Amazon may have cut back on the number of people working in its Alexa department, but as far as many people I've contacted are concerned, Alexa devices are one of the most useful tools to help caregivers watch over and support their loved ones. It is one. (Interestingly, of the several people who wrote to me, only one of them was using a Google Home; everyone else was using an Echo Show or Dot.)
When I noticed that my mother was starting to have memory problems, I gave her an Echo Show 8. The hope was that it would serve as a reminder, perhaps make her mother feel less alone, and allow her to remotely address any issues that arose. . And it worked (at least for a while). Alexa would remind her to take her medication every day, and when she was feeling sad, she'd say, “Alexa, play some nice music,” and it would always come up with music she'd enjoy. And she knew that if I was in an emergency and I didn't have a phone nearby, she could just say, “Alexa, call Barbara” and my phone would ring.
Echo Show allows friends and family to “stop by” and say hello.Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge
Sheena Vasani, a commerce writer for The Verge, also uses Alexa as a tool for her mother, who has Parkinson's disease, and as she admits, her mom is pretty tech-savvy. But despite this, the Echo Her show was useful to both Sheena and her mother in a variety of ways. For example, reminding them when they need to take their medication or allowing Sheena to “drop in” to her mother's room while she takes her medication. on the working day to make sure everything is fine. Alexa can also help with the isolation that comes with illness. “Her mother talks to her like a pet,” Sheena says. “It gives us friendship.”
Working Daughter member Linda Alpers lives with her parents and says she has Alexa in every room in her house. Then she says: “If you're out and I don't answer your call, you can still stop by. I also have a room in my living room and a room in case the TV is too loud and you can't hear me when I use Alexa drop-in. I have a Blink camera trained on my kitchen chair. I also use Alexa to control my lights, TV, and some things connected to my smart plug. My dad has Parkinson's disease and has lost his voice. So we gave him an iPad, added a customizable voice app called TD Snap, and added Alexa phrases so he could still use all the Alexa features he's used to. ”
Overall, she says: “Smart How would she have survived this long without technology?”
“How would we have survived this long without smart technology?”
But some caregivers have found Alexa lacking. Paula Fontespaul decided to start simple, setting it up for her father, who gave her an Echo for her 94th birthday. The idea was to have her father request her favorite music. “Even though he was born and raised in America, Spanish is his first language,” she explains. That Alexa couldn't understand him, that he couldn't understand her because he had two hearing aids and was still barely hearing, and that he didn't want anything to do with modern technology. In between, it was a dismal failure. ”
smart camera
Sometimes a smart speaker just isn't enough. Especially when it comes to cognitive decline, something that seems as simple as remembering to ask your Echo Show to “call my daughter” can be all too difficult.
Many caregivers address this issue with cameras that can monitor parents and alert them to falls and other emergencies. Sarah von Harten's mother has dementia and lives alone with a caregiver during the day. Like many people with dementia, she sometimes has difficulty expressing her feelings or explaining what really happened when her problems occur. Von Harten uses her Wyze Smart Camera with two-way audio and can rewatch her falls and other accidents reported by her mother to better understand what happened. I'm satisfied that I can understand it. Additionally, since her mother is no longer able to use a phone, “When I talk on camera, she loves to stand there and talk to me. If I have to come and help her, I'll call her in the ER.” You can also consult a doctor.”
Similarly, Annika Leon Weil, who is raising a young child and lives about 25 minutes away from her mother, used her camera to help her cope with her mother's progressing Alzheimer's disease. “We set up a camera system so we could visually monitor what was going on. And it immediately made a big difference, because she would often call about something, Because we didn't have the words to explain what was really going on. Once we set up the cameras, we could actually see what was going on.'' Like von Harten, Leon-Weill said, also used a two-way camera system to communicate with his mother when she was unable to use her phone.
However, the technology sometimes failed due to weather conditions. Leon-Weil lives in an area where storms occur frequently. “If you don't have internet, you can't use your camera, you can't do anything you need to do.”
pill dispenser
Liz O'Donnell, founder of Working Daughter, says pill dispensers like the one made by a company called Hero Health are extremely convenient. Alert people when it's time to take a pill and dispense the correct pill at the correct dose.
Von Harten uses a medicine dispenser that she calls “life-changing medicine.” I have a 2 week supply of medication in and the machine is locked and turns twice a day at a set time and an alarm goes off until it is turned over to release that dose of medication. She says her mother's health has improved as a result of using her dispenser. Leon-Weil said she also found a smart pill dispenser helpful for a while, until her mother could no longer administer the medication herself.
tracker
In addition to the camera system and smart pill dispenser, Leon-Weil used Samsung SmartTags for important items her mother kept losing. They also used it to track the mother in case of wandering, which can be a problem for Alzheimer's patients. “It was an imperfect system,” she admits. “My mother lives in an area that doesn't have a very large population. And the way the tag works is that it kind of hangs on other people's phones, so I don't know how many people have Samsung phones nearby.” (AirTags and tile trackers are other options.)
Smart “pets” can help some people feel less lonely.Photo: Joy for All
smart friends
Loneliness can be a problem for older adults, especially if they are housebound. Besides smart assistants such as Alexa, there are devices that are intended to act as companions. O'Donnell said there are also “pets” made by companies like Joy for All that can move and purr. “The working girls I know are buying it for family members with dementia and are really happy with the results,” she says.
complete smart home
Caregivers who are truly determined and have the know-how can create a very sophisticated smart home setup.
The Verge's Sheena Vasani is starting to expand the use of smart technology in the home. For example, we're adding smart girlfriend plugs that use Alexa to easily turn lights on and off, and smart girlfriend thermostats that moms or moms can adjust from their phones. . And what next? “She's thinking about putting her on a robot vacuum,” Bassani admits. She said, “Because she never has time to vacuum.”
Jena Reed is an IT professional who has lived with her mother, who is disabled and in remission from cancer, for about 14 years. When she moved from a three-story townhouse to a one-story house, she decided, “It would be a lot easier for her if she could automate as much as possible and be voice-activated.”
“We decided it would be a lot easier if we could automate it as much as possible and do voice activation.”
She set up an Amazon Echo device in every room of the house so her mother could “drop in” to any room as needed. “She fell a few times,” Reed explains. “Most of the time, it's because she's stretched her body out too much or she's bent over too much, whatever it is. And then she says, '(Alexa), come to me.' Is there a function where I can just say that? I (went to help her) and was able to hold her in that position at least until her paramedics showed up to lift her. ”
Reid also replaced all of his light fixtures with smart switches, but then changed his mind. “She finds that they only work well for about two to three years,” she explained. As a result, she replaced all the switches with standard ones and installed smart light bulbs. “You can use Alexa to set up features and routines and still get the same functionality.”
“We named all the lamps (so we could say) 'Turn on the mother's lights' or 'Turn on the guest room lights' or something like that. And it worked really well.” You can tell your assistant to set the temperature or turn the fan on or off.'' Reid also used the Bridge Adapter to set up smart blinds so her mother could ask Alexa to set the blinds in each room. You can now instruct it to raise or lower it.
Reed also installed a Ring outdoor camera so her mother could enjoy the outdoors at night without worry. Ms. Reed didn't feel the need to install as many internal cameras to help her mother, and while she feels the Amazon Echo Show's camera is sufficient, she has other reasons for her I installed some Nooie cameras. “I volunteer at a local pet rescue, so I have a foster room and I also have my own animals. I actually have[cameras]in different rooms so she can You can “walk in” and check out the foster room and see what's going on there without actually going in there. ”
The aging of the population in smart homes
Today's smart technology is certainly not perfect, and not all caregivers have the knowledge or resources to set up a truly automated smart home. Also, some older adults may be resistant to technology, which can make things even more difficult for caregivers. However, there are often (but not always) ways around it. For example, Leon-Weil found that once her mother understood the purpose of the equipment, she was more willing to work with it. “Luckily, my mother was a very easy-going person,” Leon-Weil says. “When I explained it exactly as I explained it, I wanted to be able to help you better. This will help me help you.”
But despite the hurdles caregivers face, many people still find that even a smart display or two or a few cameras can improve their lives and the lives of those who are trying to maintain their independence as they age. I realize that I can make a big difference.