AzTAP: AzTAP’s Initiative on Aging:Assistive Technology and Aging in Place

AzTAP’s NEW INITIATIVE ON AGING: Assistive Technology

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Article 2 - Independence Can Be Cheap and Easy With Low Tech Assistive Technology
Randy Collins, M.Ed
Training and Outreach Coordination, Arizona Technology Access Program

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One informal definition of assistive technology (AT) is “any tool that will enable us to gain and/or maintain greater independence.” This is what assistive technology is all about – providing us with more ways for participation and independence in activities of our own choosing. More options exist than you can imagine. The field of assistive technology is large and growing and that is very positive for seniors. As we age, it is not uncommon to notice that certain tasks have become more difficult due to changes in strength, coordination, mobility, memory, vision and/or hearing. The good news is that there are many categories of assistive technology available to help address and reduce some of the functional limitations associated with aging. Being able to engage in meaningful activities certainly can help to lessen depression. In the broadest perspective there are two general categories of AT:

  1. High technology is referred to as “high tech”. A good example of high tech is a wheelchair that climbs stairs or a laser cane for people who are blind. As you might imagine, high tech AT is likely to be complex and expensive.
  2. Low technology or “low tech” is just the opposite of high tech, but it is no less valuable. Low tech can be something as simple as a magnifying glass, or a grab bar to assist safe entry and exit from the bathtub or shower.

All of us have been using assistive technology for years, but we’ve have had other names for it – gadgets, gizmos, thingamajigs, etc. In reality, they are simple tools that make life’s daily activities easier or even possible. The following are just a few examples of low tech items that can help make us more independent:

Limited, Strength, Coordination , or Use of Only One Hand:

  • Rubber handle knob and faucet grips covers enable handles, knobs or faucets with less gripped and twisted effort
  • Spill Not™ Jar and Bottle Opener – open jars and bottles with 1 hand
  • Rocker knife – cut meat, veggies with a curved bladed knife with 1 hand
  • Drinking straw holder – fits over a glass or cup and holds the straw stationary for those who have limited use of their hands
  • Big Handle cooking and eating utensils – Provide an easier grip for people who have limited use of their hands due to injury or conditions such as arthritis. Hand grips are fatter and are much easier to grip. These can easily be made at home with your own utensils and pipe insulation
  • Dishes with raised edges for better scooping – People who have use of one arm often find a raised edge dish enables them to push food or vegetables onto their eating utensils
  • Weighted utensils provide more control by reducing hand tremor
  • Autodrop Eyedrop Dispenser - Eliminates eye blinks, insures drops are delivered to the eye
  • Color coded, big numbers measuring spoon set – This is an excellent and inexpensive kitchen aid that aids in identifying correct measurement for cooking.

Vision Loss

  • Talking kitchen food scale – the weight of food items is spoken aloud
  • Vibrating or flashing kitchen timers – In today’s noisy households everyone should have a flashing or vibrating timer to let them know when food is ready
  • Talking pill box organizer – An excellent device not only for people with limited sight but also for people who forget or become confused
  • Magnifier tweezers or nail clippers – Cutting fingernails no longer has to be a source of adventure for those who need a little more clarity when cutting their nails
  • Check writing guides - Assist people who have low vision to write checks. The guide fits over a standard check and enables the user to simply fill-in the blanks
  • Vibration Triple Mode Timer and Stop Watch with large, bold numbers – Can be used by people with low vision and/or hearing loss as timer or memory aid
  • Easy to read thermostat with large numbers
  • Talking calculators – Are an inexpensive way for people with limited vision to use a calculator. Talking calculators simply say your calculations out loud. It would be a good idea, however, not to balance your checkbook in public with a talking calculator!
  • Clip on PDA magnifier – Personal digital assistants are wonderful devices for memory, scheduling,, and note taking, but for many the screen is too small. This magnifier makes the screen contents easier to read.

Mobility and Safety Issues

  • Electric seat lift provides assistance getting up from a chair or sofa
  • Specially designed wheel chair umbrella – Offers shade and protection from the Arizona sun and can be adjusted to different angles
  • Car Caddie attaches to the frame of most vehicle doors. It offers a balancing support for persons entering or leaving the car
  • Raised toilet seat - Increased stability and balance is often a need for people who have back injuries, limited movement or strength. A raised seat means less distance up and down with less stress on hips and knees
  • Bicycle gloves with gel palms – Bike riding can become painful for some riders whose hands become sore from riding. Gel gloves cushion hands while riding. Also useful for propelling a wheelchair
  • Wireless motion alert sensor – an alarm sounds when someone is in the kitchen near the stove, for example. Can be used anywhere

Many of the devices described above as well as thousands more are relatively inexpensive (under $75.) It’s wrong to assume that nothing exists to address a particular need. Often someone else has encountered a challenge and found or created a tool to overcome it. Listed below are examples of companies* with catalogues full of AT solutions and devices. You can visit their sites on the Web or call them for a free catalogue.

This is the second in a series of articles designed to educate people about assistive technology and its benefits to older Arizonans. For more information, contact Randy Collins, Training and Outreach Coordinator for the Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTAP).

Randy can be reached at:
Voice: (602) 728-9533
TTY :  (602) 728-9536
Toll-free: (800) 477-9921
Website: http://www.nau.edu/ihd/AzTap

Support for DES-AAA/NAU/AzTAP’s collaborative project Assistive Technology and Aging in Place is provided by the NAHB Research Center’s National Center for Seniors’ Housing Research through a grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging.

Randy can be reached at:
Voice: (602) 728-9533
TTY :  (602) 728-9536
Toll-free: (800) 477-9921
Website: http://www.nau.edu/ihd/AzTap

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