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Aids For Communicating With Hospitalized People?
charliezcc writes "My grandmother recently fell and broke two vertebrae (among other things) and is in the hospital while she recovers. Thankfully, she was not paralyzed and retains the use of her limbs. However, they have placed her on a respirator and she is virtually unable to communicate with us, so while we try to keep her company during her recovery, our company is reduced to mainly one-sided conversations. Asking her questions, even yes/no questions, is hard because of the neck brace — it turns into a guessing game and very quickly becomes frustrating for both parties. I'm a firm believer in the power of positive mental attitudes and to make her recovery a little better and I'd like to be able to facilitate two-sided conversations with her so she can keep positive. Keeping in mind that she does not have much technology experience, what would you suggest I utilize to ease the communication barrier? I remember seeing devices with a number of buttons that say whatever you program it to say, but I can't find these anymore. What other kind of devices are available?"
Paper and pencil?
I sympathise with your problem and wish your grandmother well. But try to get her to blink rather than nod her head. It is used quite frequently in cases such as this. I'm not trying to be rude, nor to sidetrack your question, but while you are doing your research it will enable limited 2 way conversation.
Have a look at soylentnews.org for a different view
If she can move her hands you can setup a type of "communication board" -- the simplest of these can be words written on a piece of paper/cardboard. If she is able to point to them then she can communicate in a limited way. You can have one for basic needs and another for spelling words. That is the less technological version of what some people use (and I can't remember what it is called) that let's someone touch a screen that, in turn, speaks for them. A quick search and I find stuff like this. I'm sure there is more -- better -- out there. Good luck. That isn't easy.
It has to be a pen at least, and better one of those pressurised ones which can write under water (You never know).
Deleted
Time to go to sleep. When I read the headline I thought, "Yeesh, that's a pretty harsh punishment for commuting with hospitalized people. And why do people in the hospital need to be sharing a car, anyway?"
Why do users with IDs under 100,000 or over 700,000 usually have the most worthwhile comments?
i've used these products in the past with children with special needs - they're great communication tools - a bit expensive - but good - you can rent them weekly as well so that might be a plus - good luck! http://www.dynavoxtech.com/
For the extreme case there's eLocutor. It was designed for Stephen Hawking who can only push a single button. But it also has a mode for users that can control arrow keys in addition to a single button.
I don't know the field at all and I don't know eLocutor but from an article. Maybe it has a huge learning curve and is thus inappropriate as a short-term solution.
She probably shouldn't nod and shake her head to signal yes and no, as that may strain her spine. Propose some other signal. The easiest of all is probably that she make the same movements with her fist that she would otherwise make with her head, imitating nod and head-shake with her fist.
Or better, give her a chart of the Sign Language Alphabet. With that she can say anything, if she and her listener both have enough patience. With that she could sign "Y" for yes and "N" for no, and in many cases choose among alternatives with just an initial letter.
Terrorists can't threaten a country's freedom and democracy. Only lawmakers and voters can do that.
How about morse code, of course, one needs to learn it first. Rest may also good for those in this situation as they may not want to have real, extended conversation anyhow until they are rested.
The easist solution is a whiteboard. They make them small enough to hold in one hand.
Here's the catch though. If she's on a respirator, she's under some level of sedation. She might be pretty awake and all, but she's unlikely to remember much (if anything) while she's on the respirator. (Respirator's are not fun to the body)
I used to be a Sp.Ed teacher working with severe autistics (which has really made me a great member of a dev team). I had many students who could communicate, but did not have the fine motor skills to speak. High tech is sometimes more than you need. I know you're willing to spend whatever it takes for your grandmother, but in this case, a little time investment may be wiser than a cash investment.
My first suggestion is American Sign Language With a minimal amount of effort you can be communicating simply, and there's no reason to not spend more time learning more and stepping up to high end communication. I find ASL so useful that I've taught it to my friends for communication in loud bars, silent communication in meetings, secret messages we wish to pass in a room full of people, etc.
In terms of full fledged speakers, since you are not looking for a permanent solution, I'd recommend just using a OSX notebook. Open up the terminal, and type 'say hello world' You get the hang of it really quickly. On the windows side, Read Please is quite competent, and has a 30 day free trial period. Plus there is probably wifi in the hospital...
If you don't have a laptop that she can use, I would suggested printed boards. The 800 lbs gorilla in the field is Mayer-Johnson. Look around their products and see if maybe you can get away with something like their Picture Exchange Communication System. Essentially they are cards with pictures on them that can be used for communication. It's not a great system for an adult, but if you need something temporary it's only $179.
I wish your Grandmother a speedy recovery.
Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm
Simple interface. I highly doubt someone alive doesn't know what a typewriter is.
have a TV or large monitor brought in with a mouse... the interface can be VERY simple... the standard typewriter layout with a text box for feedback, and a "finished" button allowing her to display what was typed.
additional optional buttons could be "yes", "no", "thank you", or other simple often used responses.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
I think ASL is the best solution. If she is up to it, and wants a mental chalenge, find a tutor. A local Deaf Ed, or Speech Pathology student, or the hospitol's ASL interperetor. If I were that incapacitated (I know my spelling blows) I would CRAVE this kind of mental challenge. Sinple Yes, no, maybee, later, now, alphabet.... I would think it would be a real shot in the arm. You need to attend her sessions too, and take it seriously. Limited ASL can be very intuitive as well.
When I lost my voice for a few days from tonsilitis, I carried around my laptop (an iBook G4) and used Apple's text-to-speech program. You can highlight any bit of text and it will read it. If she can type, this would be an option. It suited me pretty well... definitely made for an interesting game of D&D =P If you have an old laptop lying around of any variety, I'm sure there's a program you can download for Windows or Linux that does the same thing (Vista may even have it, I haven't checked).
For those who can't do this, they have systems out there that allow you to spell words just by looking at the letters and blinking, which then convert to speech.
If the g'vt kept the data on you that google does you'd better believe you'd be calling it "doing evil"
Low-tech solutions sometimes are the best... What about a small piece of whiteboard or the paper/cardboard idea mentioned before?
Other ideas include an Ouija board.
Fight hunger. Filet a politician and send him to a 3rd world country of your choice.
I am a stroke survivor. the palm form factor was just becoming ubiquitous when I was in rehab. I saw many applications for what I thought of as an "institutional computer", one they hand you at the door of the institution. in addition to the obvious (and not so obvious) communications uses. (I had a roommmate who spoke only thai. needless to say the staff did not, such a computer could also be used to provide you info on your condition, and be used to track your progress and help you with the ADLs of rehab (going to rehab is not unlike going to school, with many classes you need to keep track of.) such a machine would have to be what I think of as sony yellow and/or "pukeproof". at the time I believed these machines would be nigh on to pure "moore's law machines" and drop by half in price every year, making handing them out at the door viable. but manufacturers have opted for feature-itis, and killed a market segment.
If your grandmother is stuck on her back, and it sounds like she is, she might enjoy an occasional reading session--not too lengthy, though. Check at home. Does she subscribe to any particular magazines or to the newspaper? Chances are she's missing those. Any particular authors she enjoys? Something lightweight in her favorite genre (mystery, sci-fi, thriller, classics whatever) might be enjoyable. Religious? Bible or other scripture might be wanted. Of course you can get audiobooks of all sorts, but the actual presence of somebody she loves, who cares enough to take time with her, is a good medicine in and of itself. Check with the occupational therapy folks regarding the boards they have for communicating needs/wants.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
www.globability.org - The Global Ability Initiative have a program called T-Board the Virtual Keyboard.
The program runs on DOS/WIN98/2000/XP and can be run in Linux under a DOS emulator - No sound though in the published test version.
Notice the site hasn't been updated for a long time but the guys are, in their very limited spare time, working on porting their products to linux as open source, and the products will be Free as in beer and Freedom.
The curent system can have up to 7000 Preprogrammed sentences linked to icons/images - 70 available at the time on screen accessible via a single click switch.
A roughly 800 image/words dictionary is available as it is. available in 9 nine languages - English included.
The project is always interested in volunteers who can assist - both technical and non technical assistance is appreciated.
I hope this can be of assistance.
Rgds.
Einar Petersen
When my great-grandmother was on a respirator, we just used pencils and a pad of paper. It worked remarkably well.
I would also point out that my great-grandmother found the pencils very useful for making her points. For instance: if people weren't paying attention to what she was trying to say, she'd break her pencil in half and throw it at the offending parties. Very effective.
You could also try a laptop, but if the person isn't comfortable typing, then it isn't really as effective a solution as you might think.
While I'd agree that simple pencil and paper is often easiest, I thought I'd post this link to Dasher, which is a pretty cool little program for alternative methods of text entry... it can be eye controlled, breath controlled, finger controlled, pretty much anything, and apparently has a fairly quick learning curve, after which you can enter text over 30 words per minute-
http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/
Wow, and I thought it was bad enough to have a computer virus!
A small whiteboard and marker pen
Pen and paper
There's no need to go any higher-tech than that, because you would have to teach her how to use the device instead of using her existing knowledge of how to write.
Just for trying to talk to them? That's a bit harsh!
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i would suggest searching for "augmentative and alternative communication" or "communication aids" or "AAC). Wikipedia lists a number of resources. You can also try http://unl.edu/ which is the AAC site from the University of Nebraska and has loads of resources. Also you can look into http://aac-rerc.com/ which is a federally funded center for research in AAC.
This problem requires a low tech solution. And fortunately, this is a problem that has a lot of practical solutions, derived from years of experience dealing with hospitalized, incapacitated patients. I used these to help take care of my mom, she was unable to talk.
Consult your hospital, they often have little message boards. There are some that have a little flip chart at the top, divided into functional categories like "I feel.. (sleepy, nauseous, good, thirsty etc.)" I want (water, pain meds, bedpan, etc.)" and then it has an alphabet at the bottom to spell out words that aren't on the chart, along with a list of common words so she doesn't have to spell them out (it, and, the, etc.).
If she can write, I recommend a "Magna-Doodle" pad. Very easy to use, clears with a push of the lever, designed for little kids so it's easy to use even for someone weak and incapacitated. Get a big Magna-doodle pad, that makes it easier to write long messages, or write big if you have poor motor control.
have a TV or large monitor brought in with a mouse...
Um...no. Don't bring a pickup truck-full of electronics into the hospital room. The nurses have enough to do without stumbling over cords from devices you brought from home. The original poster said that the patient was on a ventilator. There are probably already quite a few electronic medical devices in the patient's room. If you are thinking of bringing in something bigger than a laptop, check with the nurses on that unit first.
Yes, I work in healthcare.
It's too bad some product, like from http://www.prentrom.com/, aren't readily available to all hospitals. Maybe they do, as they're not cheap, but very useful with someone with a permanent condition.
All will depnd on her ability to do anything. Asuming she can use her hands, you could connect this keyboard to a portable. The portable only needs to run some sort of simple editor wiith a huge font, so she can read it easily.
If you want a solution, you need to give more infor on her ability.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
First, hope she gets well soon.
Why must hi-tech be the answer?
Why not use paper and pencil?
Are her hands free? She can gesture yes and no in a way that you can tell her to.
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After my father's hear surgery many years ago he was intubated and couldn't communicate. I quickly drew up a chart of all the letters, numerals and "YES" and "NO". He spelled out "SEDATIVE".
People were impressed with it, but it's bloody obvious.
Try Abledata or Assistivetech.
If you have a cheap laptop around, you can install Dasher. It requires virtually no mouse movement to write text, and it's actually fun to use too!
Pencil and paper, or some type of pointing board with common phrases/questions/answers on it. Most hospitals will have both.
As far as having his GRANDMOTHER learn any new technological choices, while in a hospital, sedated, on a ventilator, in a neck brace - FORGET IT. She's not gonna learn sign language easily, except yes/no. If she can't even write, because of medication/delirium/whatever, then she's not going to be able to learn new ways of communicating.
Sounds like she's an old lady, and somewhat frail like many older people. Becoming intubated for a vertebrae fracture is not normal, so I think she probably has multiple medical problems (I'm a doctor).
Stick to what she knows, and is comfortable - and she will do better with it.
..........FULL STOP.
Sorry to hear about your grandmother's injury and I wish her a speedy recovery. If she can type in her current condition, then possibly she could use a Dynawrite: http://www.dynavoxtech.com/products/dynawrite.aspx
It is a keyboard which can speak aloud any text you input. And it has some predictive
features for commonly used words, as well as can learn phrases for playback with a "hotkey".
Disclaimer: I have no connection to this company other than experience with the device, as my
mother uses one after loosing the ability to speak to a neurologic condition. Also, this is quite an
expensive solution for someone whom it seems could recover and regain powers of communication.
Worked for us, but YMMV.
Kudos for an original idea, but do you really expect some old grandmother, sedated, on a respirator, from a minor vertebral break, to learn Morse code? For a young person, it's a better idea, although limited, because not everyone knows Morse code. With pencil and paper, she can communicate with everyone.
..........FULL STOP.
Please accept my heart-felt best wishes for your grandmother's speedy recovery. (My mom was on a respirator for a couple weeks and it was difficult.) I also commend you for being pro-active about trying to find ways to help her.
As a card-carrying nerd, I immediately thought of high-tech solutions to the problem of my Mom's inability to talk. It bothered her and I wanted to find a way so she could TALK. As I ran through one possibility after another, I found that elegance and complexity is not necessary.
K.I.S.S. - We used pens and small pads of paper. The small size (about 5x7 inches) made it easy to hold. The thickness and the backing provided a built-in support to write on. It was simple to hand back and forth. This worked just fine for us.
I'd also encourage you to ask the hospital staff what they have found effective as well as ask them to seek input from other facilities.
Other ideas (in order of increasing technological complexity:
There's also text-ing messages and IM-ing (e.g. jabber, AIM) but that's overkill for this. Paper and pens require no batteries, emit no interference to sensitive medical devices, and the hospital could probably provide you with them free of charge.
Ultimately, it boils down to helping her find a way to communicate instead of finding a way to help her "talk". Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
P.S. Some of the most precious times I remember with my mom during her last days was just sitting there and holding her hand. I have found that words are just a convention that allows one person to share what is in their heart and head with another person. Holding hands does that.
They're already hospitalized, AIDS is just going too far.
If she can flash her eyelids, wiggle a finger, or stick out her tongue to indicate yes or no, go with it. Putting technology here will only make it worse. How would you "tech support" something like that? Tech will be foreign to her (as it it to MY mom who's in a nursing home) and you just need to keep it simple.
Now long term, it's possible to do something tying muscle-control to a light, for example, but where you are now, keep it simple. She's hurting and feeling out of control.
And good luck to her!
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov
Learning morse takes a buttload of time. It's extremely abstract, and probably isn't going to be easily memorized by someone who's sedated. If she already knows morse, then I'd say it's more of an option.
Alternatively, teach her a handful of ASL signs. "Yes" is a fist you nod. "No" is two fingers pinched against the thumb. Finger spelling resembles the written characters in many cases, so it shouldn't be a big burden to learn. Don't be afraid to invent signs - that's perfectly valid, especially when the signer has mobility issues. We've done baby-sign with both of our kids, and it's worked out wonderfully. Some suggestions:
Pain - touch left and right index fingers together, then point to the pain
Help - raise your hand like you need to ask a question
Hungry - motion like you're putting food in your mouth
Thirsty - lift the imaginary cup to your mouth
Water - place the sign "W" to your lips
Toilet - wave the sign "T"
Sleep - place one or both hands against your cheek
Done - place a hand flat over your mouth (hard to do when on a respirator, so invent one that works)
More - touch all fingers in each hand, then tap the two finger bunches together
set her up with a laptop and internet access(verizon unlimited business wireless card???) and set up some book marks to a bunch of sound boards... Sure, she might not sound quite like herself, but you'll be rolling around on the floor laughing your butt off... ;-)
"on a respirator"
Of course, only a dickhead would do that ... Paging Dickhead Cheney ... paging Dickhead Cheney. (oops ... forgot, his preferred weapon is a few shots of booze and a shot to the head).
A tablet PC with Dasher might be the thing. Dasher is designed to enable 1 finger text entry at reasonable speed. My girlfriend uses it because of her repetitive stress injury.
5 080674416&q=dasher+google+tech+talk&total=2&start= 0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasher
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=507833407
But if she can still write, that will be even better and faster.
This is exactly what I do for a living.
Consider how long her recovery is expected to last. If she will be off the vent and speaking soon, you probably can make do with some low-tech solution or a stock laptop. A whiteboard and/or a cardboard alphabet and some immediately useful messages.
If it is going to be a while (more than a couple weeks) insist that the speech therapist at the hospital see her. Insurance will pay for speech therapy if you go the "Communication allows for active participation in care and treatment which has been demonstrated to improve recovery time and outcomes" route. A MEDLINE search will find plenty of clinical proof of this if you need it.
There are several manufacturers that make computers for this express purpose. Some have been mentioned already. Here's a list of a bunch of them: http://www.augcominc.com/links.html#dv
If you are in the U.S., your state has a lending program where you may borrow such a device for a trial before you commit to buying one. (And if she recovers speech, you might just use the loaner and not have to buy one at all). Most countries with national health programs have something similar. The hospital's speech therapist probably knows how to contact them.
If you don't get a satisfactory response from the hospital speech staff, see if your closest university has a Speech-Language Pathology of Communication Sciences and Disorders department. You might be able to get some good advice there.
Good luck.
There's a perfect xkcd for my sig but I'm too lazy to look it up. sudo someone go find it.
Can she still say this? Old people sure are funny.
Our t86i allows us to set ringtones and once can set their own. The useful part is when you go to any phone number in the addressbook and assign a ringtone, you move the up/down button through the ringtones and they play the one the cursor is on.
So, on a modern mobile phone, record your voice for YES and NO and label them so they show up in the top of the list. Then, practice making it play each ringtone with the up/down buttons and then show/teach your grandma how to touch the buttons to "talk".
You can add other things later once she gets the hang of it.
LoB
"Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
If the hospital where your grandmother is at has a pediatric speech and hearing clinic, wander over and visit them. A number of other writers have suggested products like Boardmaker (Mayer-Johnson) and Dynavox products. Depending on your grandmother's level of functioning, she may only be able to operate a one-button switch right now. The most common type is called a Big Mack. The pediatric rehab and speech clinic would likely be kind enough to loan you a simple device, and help you make some communication boards that your grandmother can use. There is also probably also a geriatric speech and hearing person on staff in the hospital who specializes in the same thing. Don't try to go it alone -- there are lots of resources out there to lend support. Plug into those and give them the information they need to get to work.
When my granddad was in the hospital with a repirator and a feeding tube and all that, we got a smaller whiteboard, and velcro'd a marker and eraser to it. Worked very well.
Grandma, the doctors want to pull the plug. I told them they should ask you first in case you disagreed. I'll just leave this Linux terminal over here...
Did this seriously go for this long without anyone mentioning Captain Pike?
Give her the buzzer from a game of Taboo or something and tell her one beep for yes and two beeps for no.Username taken, please choose another one.
My dad has a slow form of ALS and was hospitalized a few years ago and ended up having a tracheotomy. He was able to write, but not quick enough because of the ALS and got frustrated very quickly. Through the ALS network of people someone recommended this E-Triloquist software. They guy who wrote it had his father pass away from the disease. The software allows the user to click on buttons on the screen that represent certain words or phrases and the words are said out loud by a speech synthesizer. The user can also customize the interface to each specific user's needs. Best of all it's free. If you do want to donate, you can make donations to the Les Turner ALS Foundation.
My dad wasn't completely happy with that program even though it did everything he needed. It was a little too cluttered because it did so much. I created my own simple VB6 program that uses the Microsoft Speech SDK. I basically created a keyboard on the screen so he could type with the mouse. I also created a series of really big buttons with big fonts that he could use for very common phrases, like yes, no, pain, nurse, etc. There were also pull down menus with family member's names, common adjectives and things like that. The one that he liked the most was a button that made the sound of a cowbell that he could hit repeatedly to get people's attention that were not looking at him. I included buttons for fun things too, such as Homer Simpson's "Woo hoo!" and "Doh!". Those went over really well to ease tension, especially the "Woo hoo!" when he found out that the trach was going to be removed and he would be leaving the hospital.
I would recommend the E-Triloquist software. It's easy to install on any Windows laptop and it's free. It's been refined by years of user feedback. If you're not happy with it or want to experiment, I'll gladly send you my program and you're free to do whatever you want with it. If you can program a little you can easily make it do exactly what you need.
"Aids for communicating with hospitalized people"
What a cruel and unusual punishment, and I thought communicating with hospitalized people was regarded as something desirable.
As if I didn't hate hospitals enough already. Apparently you can get AIDS just from talking to people there!
We first used a large clear board with a keyboard printed on it. All we had to do was have him look at a letter and then we would move the bord around till he looked us in the eye. Then the letter we were looking at was the one he wanted to use. It would eventualy type something out. That is not a good long term plan so we bought a vanguard II from www.prentrom.com and it worked by tracking an infrared dot on his chin to move a curser. if held the curser over a letter for a seccond it would punch it. It is a really neat device. It will plug into a computer so he could surf the internet and write books. If you are interested, we are selling it and his toshiba M15-s405 laptop for 1500$. They normally go for like 8000. If i can be of any assistance please e-mail. We are in the nashville area. Good luck, god bless. Chad Yarbrough cyarbro2@utk.edu
of course!
Not hospital phones...
When my father had broken several vertebrae in his neck, he was in a halo collar to stabilize his neck. With the swelling of the fracture site, he lost the ability to swallow and speak. So, we purchased a small 8x14 inch white board and some dry erase markers. He had been unable to speak or communicate for several days before that, and his first words were based on a conversation the doctors had about his medication they had 2 days earlier. It was incredibly frustrating for him not to communicate.
Though he succumbed to his injuries, he was able to communicate with us and that made a tremendous difference in his care and our well-being. The other thing I can suggest is that if your grandmother does have swelling from the injury and the inflammation does press on the nerves. What we did the day before he died was get a remote controlled power strip. It allowed him to turn on and off the suction pump that would help him clear his throat. Before that he was completely dependent on us, doing his suction. The human body makes 2-3 gallons of saliva/mucus a day. If you can swallow it, it can go until the lungs and can cause pneumonia.
Since he's asking for technological ideas, obviously the no-brainers, like pencil/paper, whiteboard, waxboard, etc.. are beyond her current mobility. A morse code key - a straight key connected to an oscillator is a simple and easily-grasped idea. While I love the idea of setting her up an FT-817 and a window-mounted antenna so she can just talk to everyone, teaching the code to someody in that condition is unlikely. The moment the key and oscillator is hooked up, she's up to Christopher Pike-level communication - one for yes, two for no. Add in long pulses to bring attention to start the yes-no guessing game. With that key as an outlet for communication, she'd immediately be able to pick up a few key characters - The numbers, "U" and "D" for up and down, "L" and "R" for left and right, and "I" for the itches she'd need u,d,l,&r for, initials of other frequent needs, favorite foods, etc.. If she's in for very long, you can elaborate - phone and/or internet connection, whatever. A lever switch , a AA cell and holder, some wire, and a tiny peizo buzzer from radio shack - maybe an spdt switch and a panel bulb for silent comms, and possibly a small piece of wood to mount at lest the switch on, 3 minutes with your soldering iron, and her mind is free. If she's got motor control issues, you'd have to obtain or create a suitable actuator - something as simple as an extension to the lever switch to make it easier to hit, to making a separate spring-loaded switch to keep her from actuating it unintentionally.
This is sort of like when some technology guys decides that if we can just get computers running Linux into sub-Saharan Africa, we'll save the world.
If your grandmother is on a respirator, the last thing she needs is for someone to interrogate her. She's your grandmother, not a dying secret agent.
Listen, just be with her where she can see you. Read a book. Hold her hand. Talk gently to her. Tell her that you're there. Tell her who is in the room with her. Tell her who is coming to see her. Tell her about news in the family. Tell her what your children have been up to.
You know, things people have done for thousands of years to comfort their loved ones who have fallen ill?
Turn off your ipod and your blackberry and think a little, man. Technology may not cause cancer, but apparently it has an affect on common sense.
Keep it low tech. You can give her a very bright laser pointer (or a telescopic antenna pointer if she is too shaky for a laser) with a wrist strap. A white board on the wall or tri-pod, with some markers so you and others can write common requests/demands/answers on it. A hospital may already have a printed wall chart exactly for this purpose.
Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
There are a lot of good suggestions in the thread, and I agree the simplest are the best. Another suggestion is to seek out the Hospital Chaplain -- even if you and/or your grandmother are not religious. Most likely, they will have dealt with this kind of situation. They will be able to help you and your grandmother talk (not just communicate. And unlike anyone else you will meet in the hospital, can probably invest some serious time helping you.
JFMILLER
Strive to make your client happy, not necessarly give them what they ask for
I have an oral deaf friend (lipreads and speaks) who regularly interprets at her local hospital in this sort of scenario. I think she even did a research project on this topic.
Depending on where you are, you might be able to find a non-professional who is willing to help out once in a while. The hospital's interpreter service might be a good place to start. If they don't have an explicit person with this skill sometimes oral interpreters are decent lipreaders. Note that I'm stressing "oral" - these are not the same as a sign interpreter and companies and hospitals usually botch this distinction.
Other than that, you can try contacting an Option School to see if they know anyone in the community.
On a completely different note, there may be someone in the Rehabilitation department of the hospital who has Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) equipment you can borrow. If she has use of her hands, this will be better than scrawling notes on a sheet of paper.
Not only can she communicate, she can savor the irony.
-- Trinity in high heels carrying a whip: The donimatrix - there is no spoonerism
I thought that the 800 lb gorilla in the field. . .was an 800 lb gorilla?
With about 500 words vocabulary.
Seriously, though this is an area geeks ought to work on. Another case are stroke survivors with the inability to speak, poor hand coordination, but still "all there"
I use AAC (Alternative and Augmentative Communication) systems to do much of my daily communication. Thus I think I know a bit about this...
First: This is NOT a technological problem so much as a speech-language problem. If my computer is broken, do I go to the plumber? Of course not - computer professionals will argue that we have specialized skills in the area of computing. The same goes for speech language problems - go to a speech language pathologist (SLP) and get their input. Seriously.
I'm reading lots of people here reinventing the wheel, and doing it quite badly. Classic "not invented here" syndrome.
For instance, do you realize there are techniques that a person who can do no more than move their eyeballs can spell out anything they want with two eye movements per letter? Or that there are eye gaze systems for computers that allow a user to point at things with their eyes, and then speak what they wrote, often times composing whole sentences (with UNLIMITED vocabulary, not a few [or even a few thousand] programmed messages) with 7 or 8 "selections" (perhaps through eye gaze, perhaps through other methods)? Do you know about morse code? How about one switch and two switch scanning? Do you know the technological devices I mentioned are available for RENT often-times, at fairly reasonable cost? If you don't know these things, frankly, you aren't qualified to be making recommendations concerning someone's communication.
Contact an SLP that knows AAC. Not all SLPs do, but if you find the right person their input will be FAR more helpful than random advice on Slashdot by well meaning, but ignorant, computer geeks.
"What other kind of devices are available?"
The ones on the end of her arms. Teach her (and you) American Sign Language. Prop up a page with the alphabet on it, and maybe a few one-handed, more useful signs (yes, no, etc.) and have at it. It's cheaper, it's easier to learn (compared to a non-techie trying to learn tech), and it's useful outside this particular need. Learning is good for older brains, and learning a language, with motor skills involved, sounds like excellent mental exercise to me.
And imagine the fun you can have with grandma later when she's over to dinner and mom serves something she doesn't like. She can tell you it "tastes like poop" and nobody else need be the wiser.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
I mean, come on, don't you think if you were in her place you would WANT to communicate with people?
I'm sure if you handed her an iPhone and asked her to do multi-touch typing, that wouldn't work out. But I am also quite sure there are plenty of solutions that might indeed help and would not be in the least bit intimidating for someone not particularly comfortable with typical tech stuff. Just because she is old and injured doesn't mean she is stupid.
And btw, your condescending attitude is annoying.
http://www.ibva.com/
0 3931.htm
I've seen this device since back in the 90's, and most of geeks have seen this EEG reader.
brain eeg: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/0
I couldn't find "BUY NOW" button, but soon after googling, I kind got an impression that it's over a grand (USD) for complete kit (including software). So I'm not 100% if that's what you are willing to shell out. And on top of that, you and your grandma have to go through intensive training to fine tune the device so that she is able to communicate thoughtfully (technically) with ease.
Well wishes to your grandma.
"Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
The UbiDuo would be great for this sort of situation.
Seriously, instead of asking Slashdot, ask for a Physical and/or Speach Therapist at the hospital. This has been taken care of time and time again by them and you should really trust their opinion.
Prentke Romich Company ( http://www.prentrom.com/ ) has been doing this for a long time. They are nice people, but it'll cost ya! Don't know if you can rent/lease but I know they offer some units for demo.
http://www.theaudeo.com/ - I've recently seen this in action (plus video on their website). They have managed to process the signals from nerves going to the vocal cords and convert the data to words or phrases (and also control a wheelchair for quadraplegics). From speaking with the devleopers I learned in untrained mode it allows the user to "say" roughly 200 phrases, and after training the vocabulary supposedly can go up. There is a try it link at the bottom left corner if you want to get in contact with them.
First, I agree with those questioning just how much grandma can really handle because she's drugged up or very tired. My Father wasn't too talkative and was often drugged up on his death bed; the end was obvious and the only important communication was to tell him that I love him. No, I didn't even try this with my Dad.
Morse Code is, IMO, one step above the yes/no guessing game. If she's aware enough, you can have a poster with the dits & dahs (that's dots and dashes for those that don't know Morse Code) verses letters and numbers on it in her field of view... she doesn't need to memorize the code. If she can squeeze a button of some sort, and has any sense of timing, it's going to be more feasible than trying to write from a bed while in traction, or on her back, etc. This gives her the ability to say anything. But if she is drugged up or otherwise not with it, this could be very frustrating. You're there, you know her; you decide. Good luck.
My wife had a stroke and we had to communicate by spelling for months, so I know something about this. I bought a piece of plexiglass and a set of adhesive letters. I arranged the alphabet on the board with an empty space in the middle, so you can look through the board.
d ay-stuff-i-forgot-to-mention.html
The person who can't speak looks at the letters with her eyes, and you on the other side read them off. If she can nod or shake her head slightly for yes/no this can go reasonably fast.
http://lindabindner.blogspot.com/2004/03/more-mon
She doesn't need to know how to use it- just bring up notepad and let her type, even if it is slow one letter at a time. I'm sorry if I missed something about her situation that would prevent this.
Good luck to her, and you.
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
charliezcc, sorry to hear of your grandmother's difficulties. There are communicators for handicapped children at http://www.enablingdevices.com/ that may help. I am not too familiar with all of the products, but they have electronic boards with pictures and large buttons that she can touch to reply or ask for items. They may have programable items also. Hope this helps.
Obviously dasher. If you can breathe, you can use it. I'd use it myself if it didn't demand visual attention. Also go watch the video linked to by other posts...
My Mom is a speech pathologist (so was dad, but he taught) and she frequently has "word boards" with various pictures and simple words on them. Point and ummm... point. Works good.
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
Morse code has been used in many situations where the patient was barely able to move and unable to communicate by other means.
It does have the added complication of requiring both the patient and a recipient to know the code, but has some distinct advantages over other modes of communication. No hardware required (though I guess you could use a telegraph key if you wanted to be fancy, and if the patient had enough finger strength to use the key). The patient need only tap a finger on a receiver's palm, or blink their eyes, or wiggle a toe. Morse has the distinct advantage of being applicable across many mediums
Yeah, you have to learn it. Tt would be best to know it ahead of time. It can be learned quickly to a reasonable level of proficiency (say, 5 words per minute) given a couple hours a day and some patience. And, hey, if you're stuck in a hospital bed, you've got a lot of time on your hands.
It is not a skill for everyone (but it should be).
Whereas she is on a ventilator, I imagine she is lying in a bed on her back. As such, writing/drawing is probably impractical as either the writing surface would have to be suspended above her so she could see it, or she'd have to write without seeing the paper/surface.
Pointing at a picture or word board is a good idea, but may prove difficult for her if she is tired, weak, heavily medicated (probable for intubated persons), or her arms have IVs. Also keep in mind whether she needs to use glasses for reading - she may not be able to read the board. It is possible to use an "eye-gaze" board, where you use a small number of words/pictures on a large board and there's a hold in the center of the board. As she stares at her 'response' on the board, you look through the hold in the center of the board and determine which direction her eyes are looking to select her response.
Assistive communication device can be hard for persons lying flat on their backIt would need to be suspended above her, and she may still have problems reaching up to hit the buttons. There's also the issue of what do you do when you're not there - hosptital staf won't want this device suspended above her and there's a good chance of it getting lost or broken. If you have an old laptop with mouse, you can download free voice-output communication software called PVoice at http://www.pvoice.org/
My advice is to use a few sign language words. If she can move one hand, the sign YES is to make a fist and 'nod' your fist up and down at the wrist, like someone nodding their head. The word NO is like a two-fingered "spock nerve pinch". The best online resource for sign language is Michigan State Univ "American Sign Language Browser" at http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.ht m They provide a small video snippet for each word which makes it really easy to learn. If course, you'd have to learn a couple signs then teach them to your grandmother. Best of all is that it required no additional gizmos or equipment and you can teach your other family members too so they are able to communicate with her as well.
Good luck!
If she can't write, make a talking board; Use OO calc, some cardboard, and a large printer to make a sturdy board with a large-type keyboard with a lot of extra words written on it like "want" "change" "how" "who" "what" "when" "where" "why" etc. If she has a favorite phrase, put that on there too. That way, she can just raise an eyebrow or wink and point to her catch-phrase. If she's anything like my friend was though, she'll resist using it like crazy. My friend's fingers were getting swollen, so she couldn't write well anymore, but she was too proud to use something she thought she didn't need. Instead, we had to play protracted games of pictionary.
I can't believe nobody has suggested Morse code. Or perhaps someone did, and it's under my moderation level, but even then it needs to be modded up. If there was ever a good reason to learn Morse code, it's so that when you get paralyzed and can only move one digit, you'll still be able to communicate by tapping your little toe.
Nerds! Geeks! Where are you? Why hasn't someone's suggestion of Morse code been at least moderated "Funny" if nothing else?
Have your doctor talk to the speech therapist or occupational therapist. They have are professionally-trained to deal with this stuff and have lots of resources to help overcome this problem.
We geeks love to over-engineer, but in this case the best solution would be a pen and paper. Get a pad of paper, a pen and a bed tray* for your grandmother. There is no learning curve, and it's far more sophisticated than any of the yes/no signal systems. If your grandmother is having trouble holding the pen, get her a really wide, fat novelty pen. They look ridiculous but they're easy to grab.
*Google "bed tray" or go here http://www.breakfasttray.com/
Non-PC AC posts are always modded Troll, despite this not being a government context (where political correctness is meant to apply). I feel this is regrettable and ultimately inaccurate. e.g. the parent AC made a joke about AIDS in response to the horribly-worded article subject/title. That's trolling? No, probably not. It's only rude.
Actually, considering that "trolling" is an act defined by the motive of the troll, I'm not sure why, per logic, that should be available as a moderation category to begin with. Non-psychic moderators necessarily are not privy to that explicit information. It's quite a far cry from "flaming," the other negative criterion, which is obvious and prone to subjective interpretation.
Despite existing within the most amazingly free medium ever devised, the Slashdot community is woefully bound by fleshy dogma. As a longtime user, it pains me to see that any social-evolution that has occurred over the years has been for the worse.
> I'm a firm believer in the power of positive mental attitudes
I believe both positive thinking and prayer have been studied time and again, and there is no corrolation of either with likelihood of a positive outcome.
Sad, but true.
Actually, in the case of prayer, it's probably better that it's not true. I'd hate to think this reality was actually governed by a psychotic being who gets bent out of shape by people who download Girls Gone Wild videos.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Pools closed.
Because, yes, it would be more interesting for her to listen to people she knows talk about themselves than to stare at a relative/friend/acquaintance scared to start a conversation that won't work. As long as the visitor isn't talking incessantly or just talking because he or she is scared of silence.
For instance, grandparents are often quite interested in their grandchildren's activities.
Sure, she wants to talk about herself, too, but until you figure out a way for that it's okay to for visitors to chatter a _little_ about themselves.
Aids For Communicating With Hospitalized People?
Giving them AIDS will not help them communicate.
I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
I found this: https://www.shop.vidatak.com/displayProductDocumen t.hg?productId=1&categoryId=4/
You could probably make a homemade version pretty easily.
I'd add a few prewritten flashcards for 'no', 'yes', and 'thanks for dropping by'. Other than that, you've nailed it right on the head.
High tech stuff can break, crash, have its batteries die, etc... etc... Why keep forcing its use rather than questioning whether or not it is appropriate in the first place?
Communicating with hospitalized people with AIDS
totally different meaning.
Good luck.
Oh, I'm sorry sir, I thought you were referring to me, Mr. Wensleydale.