Human beings have always been clever in creating tools that could help in daily tasks. Our ancestors turned rocks into knives, pens, arrowheads, and fire starters. They turned animal hide into clothes, tents, and blankets. Today we make sophisticated microchips made of sand to operate computers for work and entertainment. There are also countless tools for other needs such as aids for daily living that are especially useful for seniors.
Reachers and Pickers
Seniors who have mobility issues will have difficulties with even the simple things like getting out of bed and reaching for items they need. Caregivers should place essentials near their bed so that they can grab these with minimal effort. Seniors may also be given reachers and pickers which are long items with handles that can extend their reach by a foot or two. Some of these can be extended like an antenna. Others can fold out to increase their length.
Verbal Alarm Clocks
Medication should be taken at the right dosage at the right time. Seniors may have trouble remembering when to take their pills so providing reminders will be necessary. Written notes may not always be enough. They may have to be told about it with proper timing. Use digital alarm clocks that play voice recordings instead of random sounds. Set this to a high enough volume to gain attention.
Desktop Magnifier
Vision falters as we age. Even reading can be difficult as a senior when glasses no longer suffice. Some will actually need to use a magnifying glass to recognize the words on pages and place threads through needle holes. Others will have more modern solutions such as a desktop magnifier that can show enlarged versions of book pages on a computer monitor.
Sensor and Pager
Sometimes seniors will wander around aimless and get lost when no one is watching. The family might want to consider placing sensors and alarms at strategic locations. These can trigger sounds to alert people about motions detected. Some of them can also be used as intercoms with microphones and speakers.
Sound Amplifiers
Hearing generally declines with age as well. Many seniors will need hearing aids that they can wear around their ears to amplify sound. This will allow them to converse with other people in a natural manner.
Scanner Reader
Some aids for daily living work by scanning pages and recognizing the characters. The software can read the words aloud so that users can simply close their eyes and listen to the narrator.
