Mobile phones can be a double-edged sword for someone with dementia
You want your mother to be able to use a mobile phone. It brings her convenience, safety, and peace of mind.
And knowing that she could easily reach the people she loves and depends on gives you peace of mind.
But she has Alzheimer’s, so using a mobile phone has become a real challenge. You’ve noticed a few worrisome issues.
First, placing a call requires several steps – and she’s having trouble remembering those steps. She ends up getting lost in the menu system or settings.
She also struggles to remember the names of the people she wants to call.
Sometimes, her phone rings and she ends up in conversations with predatory telemarketers who try to take advantage of her.
And often, she calls 911 when she shouldn’t.
An extremely simple and safe phone for Alzheimer’s and dementia
When someone with dementia reaches the point when using a mobile phone becomes difficult, or sometimes problematic, they may lose interest or family might decide it’s safer to take it away.
With the RAZ Memory Cell Phone, every feature is designed to help someone with dementia stay connected safely and easily and use their mobile phone for as long as possible.
1. It’s designed for extreme simplicity This phone only makes voice calls and there’s only one bright, extra-large screen with three essential features:
Photos of people with their names underneath
An emergency button
The time and a battery power indicator
There are no settings or apps that may cause confusion. Simply press a person’s photo to place a call.
In addition, the home screen is always on so the phone is always ready to use. It will never “fall asleep” and will never lock. Mom won’t have to remember a passcode or how to “wake it up.”
2. It has special safety features If mom is at risk of being taken advantage of by telemarketers or questionable “friends,” you can limit incoming calls to only the trusted contacts that you’ve added.
And if you’re worried that she’s gotten lost, you can track her phone’s location.
Families can manage the RAZ Memory Cell Phone from anywhere in the world through a simple and secure online portal.
The portal allows you to create and edit contacts, track the location of the phone, control settings, and much more.
Control out-of-control calls to 911
Unfortunately, imagined emergencies and repeated calls to 911 are fairly common in people with Alzheimer’s or dementia.
RAZ Mobility offers an add-on service that helps you manage this challenge.
With this service, emergency calls are automatically routed to a private emergency dispatch agent rather than directly to 911.
The RAZ Mobility agent knows that the caller is living with dementia and, with this in mind, will determine whether 911 should be contacted.
At the same time, text messages will be sent to designated contacts, notifying families that the 911 call has happened and giving them a chance to cancel the emergency call so that 911 is not contacted.
RAZ Mobility develops and sells mobile assistive technology for people with disabilities, including people with intellectual disabilities, memory loss, vision loss, hearing loss and mobility disabilities. RAZ Mobility sells these solutions to government agencies throughout the country, as well as directly to consumers.
This article is sponsored by RAZ Mobility. For more information, see How We Make Money.
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