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.
I recently became aware of an entire ecosystem of services to help people with all levels of vision impairment enjoy movies. These services provide an audio description of the visual scene. It’s a bit like subtitles, but for the blind. Of course these services can help those with other vision impairments as well. This article explains how this all works.
Reading under poor lighting conditions is a common problem, not only for reading menus, but also for reading in bed, or seeing small type in a poorly lit space. What is needed is some type of lighted magnifier. There are four categories of solutions for this common problem. The pro’s and con’s of each solution are detailed below, as well as in the individual product listings we link to.
Seniors report avoiding, or using in as stealth a manner as possible, technologies that would improve the quality of their lives — even enhance their safety — because they are associated with or specifically designed for the elderly. The paradox, then, for good UX design that addresses seniors’ needs is to do so without explicitly seeming to target the “old.”
Earlier this month we invited the inventor of a new type of walker to come along to one of the Longevity Collective circle meetings and show the older adults members of our circle the prototype of her invention and get their feedback. It was pretty interesting. This article is about the experience.
Stimulated by a recent NPR segment on working at 90, here are some thoughts about user interfaces for older adults, and why they fall short.
Over the last 18 months I have talked with literally hundreds of people who have realized they now have an extra “job” that they were not expecting: engaging one way or another in looking out for an aging parent. Many of them wanted a “guide” to Caring for Aging Parents, and asked for recommendations. Sure enough, there are a number of books on aging parents on Amazon. I decided I wanted to find the most popular, and then read them and see whether I could identify a handful of them to recommend next time someone asks for a Guide to Aging Parents. This article is the first installment in my journey and focuses on which are the top selling books in this category (presumably the ones others have found most relevant).
Drug company advertisements often end with the phrase “Ask your Doctor about…” followed by the newest drug being promoted. While surely they mean to ask if the new drug is right for you to start taking, I suggest a different question to ask your Doctor: “Of all the drugs prescribed for me, which one is most important for me to take correctly?”
My mother has severe short term memory loss. As her caregiver, I have found that her short term memory impairment has many adverse consequences. My experience with my mother has made me concerned about how I could avoid the horrors that come with short term memory loss when it inevitably hits me in the future.
While I cannot prevent short term memory loss, I do believe that I can mitigate the confusion and anxiety that comes with not being able to mentally track my daily activities. My solution is a simple technological memory prosthesis – a “wearable” calendar. This article describes my idea and how I am implementing it.
For the older adult worried about falls, one of the most important tasks is to “fall-proof” your house. There are numerous services you can retain to help with this. But how do you know they have done the right things? And, if you are the friend or family of an older adult, how can you do a “check” to make sure the house of the person you care for is relatively well “fall-proofed”? Here is a useful checklist developed by the Executive Director of Marin Villages.
We have been looking for good arthritis clothing solutions. These products range from various special shoes for arthritis to a special type of arthritis bra. This article uses videos from around the web to demonstrate some of those solutions, and we add our comments and questions.