My has been using a flip phone for several years, and needs to be replaced. It was not her primary phone until she moved into assisted living . She uses it ,only for calls. Speed dial is the only function she has ever used, a d was doing pretty well with it but as her dementia symptoms have increased it has become more difficult for her to use. I think a phone as basic as possible would be best. A,larger screen than her flip phone would be useful, and a larger font. Voice mail would be helpful and she may enjoy using a camera. A touch screen would be too confusing. A phone with more functions would probably be ok, as,long as making calls would be straightforward . Basically all she would need is to make calls . The more some the better. I would love to hear suggestions .
I had given my Dad a portable landline phone but 9 times out of 10 the phone was dead because Dad never remembered to put it in the cradle. Which I could understand as elders never had to "charge" a regular landline phone.
- Use any home phone the loved one is used to using
- Blocks all telemarketers and scammers
- Only pre-approved contacts can call the loved one
- Mobile app for caregiver to review callers, voice mail and set rules
- Set Quiet Hours, including friendly custom message for loved one if they call you at night time
If a person who is not cognitively able to understand a contract is suckered into one, SOMETIMES you can talk to management and get it cancelled, sometimes a call to Better Business Bureau or Atty General will get it done, but not always. If not, maybe someone else can use the phone and get her something much simpler on their plan if they have the flexibility.
I would never get my Dad a cellphone, he keeps misplacing the TV remote, so heavens knows where he would misplace a cellphone. Plus if the cellphone rings in his bedroom and he's sitting in the living room, there is no way he would be able to get to that cellphone with his walker. At least with a landline, he has one in his livingroom, one in the kitchen, in his office, and in his bedroom at his senior living facility. I have the same here at my house, just about every room has a landline.
They also believe the cordless phone is a cell phone and try to take it with us when we go out out in the car.
Do you think this is a better option than a landline in her room?
My husband used his when he could still run errands on his own on his scooter. I'd make sure it was on. Go over the directions again for using it, put it in his pocket at hope for the best. If he wasn't home "on time" I'd call him twice (it took him that long to get the phone out of his pocket), he'd answer, I'd ask how things were going and whether he finished his errand, and he'd tell me that his errand went well and he decided to stop on his way home for a Dairy Queen. :) The scooter gave him an exhilarating sense of independence, and the phone gave me some reassurance. I think he called me once on it. Also, we each had our phones when we got separated at a very crowded state fair and I was able to call him and figure out where he was from descriptions of the surrounding food vendors. :)
Your loved one's needs are a little different than out, but simple is good!