The Ease of a Fall Notification System
Despite his increasing frailty, my step-father, DA, who has Parkinson’s Disease, is not interested in a fall notification system. Subsequently, my mom, his loving wife and caregiver, doesn’t leave the house for more than an hour or two. For Christmas we gave them an Echo Dot wondering if that would help alleviate some stress for both of them. Our teenage daughter did the initial set up and reported that it was “super easy.” Typical teenager response right?! Yesterday I synchronized the Echo Dot, also known as Alexa, to the contacts in my Mom’s cell phone. This was a relatively easy process but would have been too much for my Mother to do on her own. The next step was testing to see if Alexa could hear my step-father ’s quiet voice (microphonia). She did!! But he did have to raise his voice and be within 10 feet of Alexa. Then we had him called my sister to evaluate her ability to hear his voice through the speaker. Yeah. Both worked!!
I suggest the following when setting up Echo device-type devices for older adults:
- Do the set up for them to decrease their frustration with the device.
- Make sure the device is in a central location that is near an outlet and easy to access.
- Teach the older person that all commands need to be preceded with “Alexa.”
- Teach the older adult to use simple verbal commands. For example, “Call George” versus “Please dial George’s phone number.”
- Evaluate the distance needed from the Echo device for Alexa to recognize a voice.
- May need to use a piece of tape to mark this distance.
- Encourage them practice using the device and familiarize themselves with the various features.
- May need to consider additional devices for other areas of the house. I recommend one near the bedroom/bathroom.
Cell phone contacts:
Mark those who are emergency contacts as such in the contact list directory. Update phone numbers and addresses for important friends and families.
I suggest the following when setting up Echo device-type devices for older adults:
- Do the set up for them to decrease their frustration with the device.
- Make sure the device is in a central location that is near an outlet and easy to access.
- Teach the older person that all commands need to be preceded with “Alexa.”
- Teach the older adult to use simple verbal commands. For example, “Call George” versus “Please dial George’s phone number.”
- Evaluate the distance needed from the Echo device for Alexa to recognize a voice.
- May need to use a piece of tape to mark this distance.
- Encourage them practice using the device and familiarize themselves with the various features.
- May need to consider additional devices for other areas of the house. I recommend one near the bedroom/bathroom.
Cell phone contacts:
Mark those who are emergency contacts as such in the contact list directory.
Update phone numbers and addresses for important friends and families.
