26 November 2015

Christmas gift ideas to help your older parent

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… so we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of the latest useful gizmos, gadgets and great gift ideas to help make life easier for your elderly parents or relatives.

Telephones for older people

Using telephones can become difficult for older people who may be hard of hearing or have difficulty with small buttons, and overly complicated handsets.

Luckily there are plenty of amplified and big button phones available to help your older parent stay in touch with family and friends. The British Telecom website, which can be accessed via myageingparent’s shop, has a range of such telephones – both corded and cordless – and most with a helpful visual ring indicator.

If your older parent is still able to get out and about, the Doro Secure 580 safety mobile phone with GPS at £87.90 could be a very useful gift. This strong, easy to use phone features four speed dial keys for calling family, plus an assistance button, and a safety timer that automatically dials up and sends a text message to preset numbers. It also has GPS so you can keep track of exactly where your older relative is.

Doro have also developed a range of smartphones especially for seniors with amplified sound and clear visual displays.

Simple TV remote controls

Modern digital televisions provide a wide array of channels but can be a little confusing for elderly parents. What’s more, these TVs often come with several remote controls with too many fiddly buttons. The good news is that there are a some very simple universal remote control devices on the market designed especially for seniors. One example is the Hestec universal remote control, which is just £11.63 from Amazon. With just a few, large buttons this handy device allows your older parent to control the TV, set top box, satellite TV, etc with one easy to use remote.

Courtesy of amazon.co.uk

Help for shaking hands

Eating can present severe problems for people with movement disorders and tremors, such as those associated with Essential tremor and Parkinson’s. Spilling food can be frustrating at home but can also mean that people with tremors do not like to eat out in cafes and restaurants.

One answer for people with mild to moderate tremors is the innovative anti-shake Liftware which comprises a stablilising handle and a selection of attachments including a spoon and fork. Technology in the handle detects and counteracts tremors to reduce the spoon or fork shaking by an average of 70% – helping to improve independence and dignity. Retailing at around £180, it isn’t cheap but could make a big difference to mealtimes.

A more affordable version is the Handsteady, which can be found in myageingparent’s shop for only £15.

Latest ideas to help people with dementia

Our article Best gadgets to assist the elderly with dementia gives a useful overview of the types of assistive technology available to help dementia patients and their carers. For most people with dementia simply spending time with their loved ones is comforting. Sharing memories while flipping through the family photo albums van often become an essential part of each visit.

Courtesy of amazon.co.uk

A Talking Photo Album makes a wonderful gift for an elderly parent with dementia. Amazon offers a 20-page album with up to 200 minutes of recording time for £39.95. The album has a built-in speaker with volume control and a stop/play button so your loved one can hear the stories again and again. You can bring memories back to life and create albums for special family events. Being able to hear the voices of their children and grandchildren, whilst looking at treasured photos, will bring a lot of pleasure to your elderly parents.

The shape of things to come…

Smart glasses: Expected to be commercially available in 2016 and priced at around £300-£400, Smart Glasses are wearable technology that allows visually impaired people to see! Created by Stephen Hicks, Oxford University Fellow in Neuroscience, the glasses are currently being tested by 1,000 RNIB volunteers in the UK. Designed to help people with some light perception, the glasses use 3D cameras to enhance images through a computer and then project these images onto the lenses. The technology won the Google Impact Challenge Award 2014.The images look a little like cartoon images, but provide sufficient clarity to allow people to see details, such as faces, that were unavailable to them before. It is expected that these glasses will transform the lives of millions of visually impaired people.

Designs for an ageing population: A report by think tank the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC-UK) highlights the role good design allied to technology and innovation could have in helping people live longer, healthier and independent lives. The ILC-UK report includes a range of speculative concepts for new technology which emerged from a workshop which looked at how technology can help the lives of the over 65s. Some of the interesting ideas include:

A kettle which monitors blood pressure.
A ‘cuddle cushion’ which mimics the embrace of a relative.
A smart water bottle to prevent dehydration by prompting people to drink.

Mobility machines: The Honda UX-3 self-balancing electric mobility device was unveiled in 2009 as a future concept. They look like a lot of fun – maybe it won’t be too much longer until our older parents are zooming around their local supermarkets on one of these!