An "Article" is an opinion piece on a topic relating to aging, technology, and better living as we age. These articles are written by individuals with expertise on the topic about which they are writing.
We have found that Care Managers can be exceptionally helpful when a sudden need to become an expert on helping aging parents is thrust upon family members. Yet many of the older adults and their families with whom we talk are unaware that this profession even exists. As part of our series on “getting expert help”, we asked Kira Reginato to write this article about what Care Managers do, why you might want one, and how to find a good one.
Wondering what a Professional Fiduciary is, when you might need one, and how you would find a good one? We asked professional fiduciary Kim Schwarcz to explain.
In this interview with Dr. Jeff Johnson — who with Dr. Kate Finn literally “wrote the book” on designing for older adults — Jeff discusses with Richard Caro a variety of topics relating to designing better products for older adults.
Retired physician, Dr Bob Kolock, shares his new “hobby”: Alexa Skills Developer. He describes how he came to be interested in Alexa, and describes some of the 13 skills he has developed. Many of these skills are useful for older adults, and Dr. Kolock’s perspective from “both sides of the stethoscope” makes them especially intriguing.
Perhaps it seems counterintuitive that an artificial intelligence(AI) might help combat loneliness and isolation. But as our Longevity Explorers evaluate the latest version of Alexa, paired with the Amazon Echo Show, which has an excellent video call capability, we are starting to see great potential for these products to do just that.
And while there are a variety of initiatives evaluating the potential of interactions between older adults and Alexa (Amazon’s artificial intelligence) as a way to reduce loneliness, we think the communication capabilities of the Echo Show may make possible deeper human to human interactions (with friends and family for example) as well.
This is a live recording (slides and audio) of a talk given by Richard Caro entitled “The Future of Aging, & the Intersection of Aging & Technology“. This talk was given in March 2019, at the Commonwealth Club, San Francisco.
I’ve said it before. Most of the products for older adults that we see are frankly not very good. This article is about two especially common pitfalls. I think of them as the “eat your broccoli” error, and the “I know how to market to 40 year olds” issue.
“Hi, this is Lisa. I’m not sure I can take care of myself right now. Can you bring me some food?” I found that scary sounding message on my voicemail one Saturday morning. It started me on a journey to coordinate care for a close friend. I learned several things that I’ll share with you. I hope that if you are ever faced with a similar situation, my experience will help you.
How a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) works is a question that often pops up when our explorer discussions turn to where and how to live as one gets older. This article explains how this model of retirement living works, and discusses their financial model.
Learn about Low Vision Aids & Adaptations in this detailed overview by Dr Marlena Chu. For people with low vision, these tools can make a big difference to the ability to live independently, and to quality of life.