Looking for a small laptop or tablet that can be easily locked down for use by a 94 yo gentleman with dementia and hearing deficits (but good eyesight). He’d been using a Chromebook for years which just gave up the ghost. He was getting less able to use it and much more vulnerable.
His needs are simple:
primarily email, news, sports-scores/coverage in a safe environment (no need of video/telephone calls).
Bonus points for word puzzles (Dell word puzzle magazines are surprisingly expensive when purchased by the box!), but not necessary.
MY needs are primarily bullet-proof safety/function, hopefully with the ability to easily administer from afar (live in a different state). I’d be happy to have emails and websites be white-listable rather than rely on filters. Simpler is better!
I was looking at the GrandPad, but that is on the small side with a different form-factor than he is used to, although a keyboard can be added to make it more familiar (hopefully wired is an option to avoid batteries). The GrandPad seems to be aimed more at video/communications, which won’t get used, but that’s ok if it suits otherwise.
Is there a larger format of something similar? I’m on Mac’s at home if it matters. More concerned about function/safety than cost. If GrandPad is the way to go, that’s ok - just worrying a little about the small size (think it’s 5x9”, but comes with a charging dock).
TIA for any advice or links to simple solutions (there’s a bit of a time-pressure).
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I expect the remote trouble shooting will be the hardest part of this. Since you are an Apple person personally, I suggest you call Apple’s Sale group corporate. They are good and should be able to address these issues. There phone number is: 800-692-7753
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I don’t know the extent of the dementia, nor the rate of deterioration. I can only tell you my experience.
1poormom had similarly simple needs. I was her tech support. Before I realized that she was suffering dementia, I would get calls about her monitor misbehaving or her passwords not working. I could never find a problem when I would go over there.
Turns out, the “lines” screensaver was her monitor misbehaving. And she had a capital letter in her password, but instead of doing “shift-letter”, she was doing “s-letter”. It was about that time she cracked her hip, and the hospital almost immediately did a neurology consult. They could see it instantly, while I was only getting an inkling at that point.
I ended up having to take her computer because it was just causing frustration for her. Not long after, I moved her into independent living (the neurologist said she shouldn’t live alone or drive).
If a neurological test (where they have the patient draw a clock face, and do some other things) reveals problems, you may just be wasting your time. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s true.
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Thanks poorguy - sorry about your mother. Dementia - even the milder forms - really sucks. I’m an HCP and work with dementia patients quite often, usually farther along. Ironically, I also did tech support - but so long ago now that the general principles are the only elements that still apply. Hence my focus on “bullet-proof”.
If I can find a solution close enough to the old set-up to utilize his rote-memory and comfort, I think I can add to his quality of life & self-confidence and avoid disrespecting autonomy (whilst protecting from fraud/abuse). Or so I hope.
Best wishes to you and your mother!
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So you have an idea of what I’m talking about. With mom, it was a decline. Since I interacted with her semi-regularly, I didn’t notice it as much as someone seeing her for the first time (e.g. hospital staff). Plus the latter undoubtedly are better trained to spot it than I was.
Mom since died. She spent about two years in independent living. The facility told us we had to move her to assisted living because she was having issues. So we did that (during the pandemic where facilities like hers were locked-down). She spent a year or so in there, and then had to move to memory care. Another year or so, and she had an ischemic stroke. Unable to swallow (or speak), she only lasted about 10 days after that.
It seemed to accelerate. Initially it was little things over several years. But at the end, she was declining rapidly. Last time I visited her in her MC room, she didn’t know who I was for about an hour. Then she realized, and a big grin crossed her face. In the hospital (she had another fall), I’m not sure she knew me at all. And they had to strap her down because she kept trying to pull IVs and get up (before the stroke…the stroke happened the day she was to be released from the hospital).
FWIW, I tried to make her PC as easy as possible. I removed all the passwords, put the few applications she wanted on the home screen, removed her as administrator, the browser opened to her email automatically…didn’t help. She basically forgot how to type, after having been a 90-word per minute typist for her working life.
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