How to get older people using iPads & Apps

Buying the iPad

iPads are expensive, but you don’t need to buy a brand new one. The Apple store and most supermarkets sell refurbished iPads online

eBay is a good place to look for these, but make sure you are buying them from a known reputable company

The refurbished ones should come with a year’s guarantee, so make sure you check this

If the intended user already has wireless broadband, you could opt for a model with a Wi-Fi connection rather than 3G

If there is no wireless connection, or if you want to use it on the move, you can have a 3G model, but then you will need to pay for a mobile contract

These typically cost £15 per month for 10GB of data and you do not need Wi-Fi to be available and can use it wherever you are

The iPad 2 is a very good model. It does not have retina display like the iPad 4, but the screen quality is still fantastic and it’s cheaper

Getting Older People to use the iPad

The amazing thing about the iPad is that it is a natural extension of the normal interface between the hand and the brain

It is very intuitive and there is no need for any kind of manual effort

It is very easy to get started using an iPad, even if you’ve never used one before

Alive! has seen this in action, with groups and individuals being able to just get going when handed a iPad with the right apps

Both the fully cognitive and the profoundly disabled can use the iPad

How to introduce the iPad to Older People

From experience, the best way of introducing an iPad to an older person is to not mention that it is a computer and to simply say, ‘Have you seen this?’

Don’t mention 3G, Wi-Fi etc, as it gets confusing , unless the person you are giving it to already understands these terms or wants to know

Often, people will think they can’t work it  and switch off  if they think it’s a form of computer,  so avoid any reference to this

Hand the iPad to them with an app open on the screen (a good app is iFish Pond) and let them start playing
Apps are designed to be very intuitive, so they will soon be able to start interacting

Choosing the right Apps

The app store has many thousands of apps available and the choice  is enormous

They range from free to around £5 for more complex software

The app store has a very powerful search engine –  enter the keywords for what you are looking for (e.g drawing, bird watching) into the search box and let the machine find the apps for you

Establish what the user is interested in (e.g. do they like arts and craft, cooking, news, games, crosswords) and start searching using the search box at the top of the page to look for areas of interest

If you just want free apps, you can filter apps in the app store so you just see the free ones
Check out the list of the current most popular apps, displayed on the front page of the Apps store, as this is useful

Download and off you go!


Best kind of apps for Older People

Video conferencing via Skype or Facetime

Your parent can get FREE unlimited face-to-face contact with anyone with another iPad or computer anywhere in the world through Wi-Fi

All they need is will need an e mail address and Wi-Fi or Broadband

Use Skype or FaceTime app (on Apple devices), which are great ways to keep in contact with an Older person and them with you

You can arrange specific times to call, so the other person is ready and expecting you

The iPad has a camera on the front and on the back, so it doesn’t matter how they hold it when speaking to you, as they can switch easily between the two

Seeing your parent when talking has many advantages

Do they look healthy? If they have a chronic illness, you can keep a regular check on them and see how they look

Combats isolation by seeing a friendly face, not just hearing a voice

You can see in the background to assess how they are managing. Is it a mess, are there piles of pans etc?

You can involve them more in your life by using the outward camera to show them how your garden is looking, the mess in the kids room etc, so they feel more involved

Entertainment

Alive!’s experience has shown there is a huge advantage for older people to be in control of what they watch, i.e choosing what TV to watch rather than passively watching what is on

There are iPad apps to watch TV, such as TVCatchup, BBC iPlayer – you can download their favourite programmes to their iPad for them to watch later

YouTube

This allows you to view short video clips on almost anything you can imagine

It has such a diversity of content – it really allows the user to follow what they are interested in and can be very entertaining, helping to pass the time

They can look at events from their past, such as Pathe News or old film trailers

They could learn something new,  such as making cards, or a new easy recipe

They can choose music to listen to and sing along

Many hours can be spent looking at all these options, have fun!

We offer a great at home computer training service. For details, call now on 03333 441584

Lessons costs £40 per hour

Or complete the form below and we will contact you. Please use this enquiry form only for computer lessons. If you wish to contact us about any other matter, please email [email protected] 

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 Home computer lessons Broadband services Home computer lessons and broadband services


Alive! began as a charity in 2009 and now works to provide stimulating activities in over 200 care homes and day centres across the South and South West of England. Alive! sessions encompass many different activities (including music, art and reminiscence) all designed to bring a breath of fresh air into the lives of older people and help them to feel more engaged with their lives. Alive!’s work with iPads has allowed older people to become more involved in shaping the activities themselves, creating sessions which are specific to each participant. Tim Lloyd Yeates directs Alive! and facilitates many of the charity’s activity sessions across the South West. He is passionate about empowering older people, especially those living in residential care, and campaigns for care home residents to have access to stimulating activities and a guaranteed rich quality of life. Tim is a member of the Alzheimer’s Society, a trainer for the Life Story Network, a Dignity Champion for the Department of Health and a Quality of Life Assessor for dementia care homes managed by Bristol City Council.
Alive!, Create Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol, BS1 6XN 0117 3774756

[email protected]

Alive

Memory apps for dementia

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