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Ask Slashdot: Local Navigation Assistance For the Elderly?
An anonymous reader writes: I have an older (90+) relative who is experiencing mental decline. He's still fairly functional (you can have a decent conversation with him, and he's amazingly positive for someone in his condition), but his memory of anything recent is terrible. He's in an assisted living center, but he's having serious trouble for example finding his way to the dining hall and back to his room. He has visitors daily and the staff are supportive but 24/7 oversight is not an option. I am looking for a navigation system suitable for use indoors that will help him move around. The distances involved are short, and his schedule is pretty regular so it would be OK to have a schedule of where he usually is at a given time (lounge, dining hall, room) and a big green arrow that always points out which way he should go to get there (so it would need to accommodate doors and hallways etc, not just the straight line direction). Is anyone here aware of such a system? I've thought of trying to write an app for a smartphone but I'm not sure if GPS is really the way to go, seeing as it's indoors. Also, battery life would be an issue — he would have trouble remembering what to do if it stopped working and I'm not sure if he'd remember (or be able) to connect a charger. For the same reason it would need to be pretty bomb-proof — he's not in position to troubleshoot if it fails.
Sadly I've experience this as well. With failing short term memory you can't really change habits, learn a new tool, etc. Its too late. Such things have to occur before short term memory becomes too bad.
In my situation we'd have intelligent conversations (yes, long term memory was rock solid) about things to do differently, we'd agree, but by the next day it was all forgotten. Various devices like medical alerts and such would sit on the dresser gathering dust. You can't get the new device added to the routine. When short term memory was still OK we had the device but the family member blew it off, "I'm OK, I don't need that yet". And that opinion gets locked in and the device remains on the dresser unused years later when it is needed.
You have to get the elderly family member to change habits and use a new tool before short term memory degrades. You have to explain the preceding, that new habits need to get wired in while still relatively healthy. Keep in mind that you will be severely limited with respect to upgrading the device. A replacement needs to be substantially similar in look and usage.