Experience with the Jitterbug or Raz Memory cell phone?

LaurieRZ

My 78 year old mother has early Alzheimer's and her doctor wants me to put a tracking app on her phone. My mom doesn't even have a cell phone, so I've been looking at easy-to-use ones. For now, I put an Apple Tag on her keychain, so I can check up on her to see where she is during the day as she lives on her own. I still need to buy a phone in case she gets confused and needs to call me while she is out. This hasn't happened before, but I'm afraid she will get to this point before I realize she's there and I want to be prepared. It seems the main options for cell phones are the Jitterbug and the Raz Memory cell phones. I get overwhelmed when I read the reviews though, because there seem to be so many bad ones. I'm not sure if these aren't as good as they're made out to be or if only the dissatisfied customers are writing reviews. Does any have any experience with either of these or another good alternative?

Unknown By Man

My mother has the AT&T senior plan. She has a very basic flip phone that she can navigate with general ease. I do not have experience with the other plans,y mother had At&t for 20 years so I just went with the carrier she had. I can still locate the device theo8gh find my device. Though I use a diy GPS device using a raspberry bi that I have put in all her handbags. 

She has a smart watch as another backup. 

harshedbuzz

I am kind of side-eyeing your doctor's recommendation.

It's very possible the reviews are more a function of the people given the phone being unable to operate it. If a person has dementia and has not used a cell phone until now, their short-term memory may be to a point where they are unable to learn new-to-them technology. 

An Air Tag (or even an Apple Watch) is an option that may work for a time to track her, but eventually no device will take the place of supervision.

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Fairyland

My mom was hopeless with any tech always, long before MCI started in on her, and I tried another “senior” phone many years ago - not the 2 types you mention but similar- but she just accidentally kept calling the emergency services-with lots of loud squawking- it was awful and we had to abandon it very fast. Later I got her an iPhone and with a huge effort and continual practice, she managed to use it somewhat with lots of coaching up until last year. She went to senior classes even though the teacher there was super patronising and not very good, what do you expect for free - lol. But gradually she lost skills she rarely used like being able to call an Uber when the car broke down, then the pandemic isolated her at home alone and destroyed everything she had achieved. I keep hold of it now to screen robo scams and her landline blocked calls, and to be able do her banking verifications etc. 

But I may try a new one (hers is obsolete now) and do some work on making a simplified screen with photo buttons etc for her so she can take it with her and be able to call a taxi ride to get home, or me if she needs help. That is a function I would like to reinstate so she can go somewhere without me while I work, like her senior exercise class.  I don’t want her driving anymore and she seems ok with that but it has the knock-on of making my life impossible.

Issues include: can’t unlock screen, but if it’s set to not need unlocking, then accidentally doing all sorts of unintended presses, but the touch screen and fingerprint sensor also doesn’t respond correctly to her dry old skin (Biggest problem!!). Every software update or alert freaks her out and she doesn’t just “dismiss” or press whatever button needed to carry on, instead she freezes and gives up.  She doesn’t know where to hold it in relation to her head as some relatives do FaceTime and others don’t.  She doesn’t respond when it rings. She can’t type (never could) so qwerty keyboard is useless. She can’t use or switch between any app, Etc.  She can’t remember to charge it. She keeps it in the depths of her handbag and forgets she has one. 

She isn’t even that far along in her impairment.  She was an artist and CAN take great photos with it. Figures, when you think about it!

I don’t have the knowledge or time to learn it all and set everything up for her. It’s very frustrating but technology design seems determined to get ever more complex rather than truly assistive.

LaurieRZ

harshedbuzz -Just curious, why the side eye?

Fairyland - I would have never thought about dry skin being an issue.

abc123

Introducing a cellphone to an older person with dementia just seems odd to some of us caregivers, that’s all. We know every PWD is different. It might work, I’d be pleasantly surprised if it does. Good luck!

Emily 123

Hi Laurie,

A lot of times if it's a new piece of tech or something they don't generally use they will struggle--either they can't recall it's available, or it's going to be too much to learn because their short term memory is diminishing.  Remember that she's already having trouble with recalling familiar things and routines.  If she gets to the point where she starts to get lost I wouldn't rely on her ability to use a phone.  I don't want to discourage you, but the advice to see how she does with yours first is sound. Good luck. 

LaurieRZ

That makes sense and I do have my own concerns about her learning something new. That's also one reason I'm leaning towards the Raz Memory phone (if I get one) since it's the most simplistic. I've thought about not getting getting a phone since I added the Apple Tag, but I just have that concern she will need to call me for help. There's a chance she will have to give up driving before long and a cell phone would be unnecessary at that time. It's just tough knowing the right way to handle things. Thanks for your input.

Unknown By Man

I will say if you have concerns of getting lost then driving should already be out of the question. Though it easier in some areas, I live in NY so not having a car is not too much of a hassle with accesses-a-ride and generally everything is within walking distance.

loveskitties

You might have better success with a safety pendent.  There are many brands...I consider a fall alert to be very important for dementia patient.

Some will let you set up a call list...so in the event it is activated they will also call you as well as medical help.  Since these go to a call center first, they can help determine if she needs 911 assistance or just you calling her.

It would need to have GPS capability.  

They are not attractive, but given all the options available, you could track her, and she could receive help even if she did not push the button herself.

harshedbuzz

LaurieRZ wrote:

harshedbuzz -Just curious, why the side eye?

To me it suggests the physician has no concept of how dementia impacts an individual. Is this a neurologist or her long-time PCP? 

New technology is seldom more than a very temporary Band-Aid. A PWD who is used to a specific kind of phone might retain that as muscle memory, but adding something new- whether a pill dispenser, TV remote or phone seldom goes well. It's not just the short-term memory glitches, but also the loss of executive function skills needed for problem solving that are present fairly early in the disease process. Your mom could get lost or have an accident and not have the band width to see calling you as an option even if she could operate a new-to-her phone. 

Some people are OK to drive locally in the earliest stages of the disease. My dad's neurologist patently stated that he was not so he would have been driving AMA which would have meant his insurance carrier would not cover him in an accident. When I talked to my agent, he informed me that dad's policy would not cover him with a dementia diagnosis in his medical record unless he'd been tested by a specially trained OT. He didn't have the wherewithal to schedule such and evaluation so it never happened, and we saved the $500+ it would have cost. Even if your mom remains covered by her policy, she could be sued in an accident even if she wasn't legally at fault and with the time elapse between the incident and court, she will likely have progressed which would complicate things. 

It sounds like your mom is local to you. One suggestion I make to people whose LO is newly diagnosed is to stay with them for several days 24/7 and observe how well they function throughout the day- does cooking look safe, be a passenger in their car, do they seem more confused in the evenings or wander the house at night? Early in the disease a PWD can seem more OK than they are because of a phenomenon called "showtiming" where they can hold it together for a period of time. My parents lived at a distance, so I always stayed over a few days whether I drove to MD or flew to FL so I had a pretty good sense of what dad looked like through the days and nights. A friend whose mom lived around the corner and spent hours daily with her mom was shocked by her mom's nighttime behaviors when she moved mom in with her. In preparing her mom's house for sale (they moved into a larger in-law suite equipped home together), she was shocked by out-of-code foods, dangerously stored household chemicals, and hoarded paperwork.  

HB

LaurieRZ

HB - Thank you so much for the additional information. It was very helpful. I did not mean to give the impression the doctor wanted me to get her a phone. I think he assumed she already had one and wanted me to add a tracking app to it. I guess I was just trying to figure out the best way to follow his advice and I've had all the concerns you mentioned. She was never tech savvy before the dementia, so will she be able to learn something new now. Her physician is a neurologist that we've seen twice. He said she should not drive at night at this time. 

If the doctor has not recommended she stop driving yet, but she does have the diagnosis of dementia, could the insurance still refuse to pay if she was in an accident or is it only in the case of AMA? It's so tough knowing when she should no longer drive. She and I made an agreement that she will only go to Kroger, Walmart or my house and I will drive her if she needs to go anywhere else. Since she's still in the early stages, I don't know if she will remember and stick to that agreement or if she is still at risk of forgetting what we discussed.

Jo C.

You are a caring daughter trying her very best.  As you can see by reading experienced caregivers Posts, there seems to be more to all of this than just the phone.  Having had to face such a situation myself, I understand how difficult this driving dynamic must be.  Reading HBs input, I think much food for thought has been given.

Not only is there the concern whether or not she will be able to manage the mechanics of the technical aspects of the new phone, but also there could be a concern that she may not always have it with her.

The big concern is; her continued ability for safety in driving including her ability to react to danger in a split second, being able to use common sense in problem solving while the car is moving, her ability to suddenly perform needed maneuverings, her coordination, and her abilities in so multiple other ways.

I screened how many accidents happened close to home.  To my surprise, most accidents happen within five minutes of one's home.  I went ahead and copied a link to an attorney's writing.  Very enlightening.  Notice he mentions if a person has caused an accident and if they were "negligent," it appears there is a case. Since your mother has a firm diagnosis of dementia and it has restricted her in some ways, would she be considered "negligent" if something untoward happened?  A possibility to think about and to research.   You would also probably want to confidentially find out IF her auto insurance would cover her in an accident if they became aware she has dementia.   Each state is also different in their laws, but there are basics; here is that attorney's link:

https://www.pilawyers.com/blog/more-accidents-happen-close-to-home/

NOTE:  When there is an accident with costs or injury; the first thing that happens is that the law offices will send for a person's medical records.  This is standard and really leaves no room for minimizing documented problem issues within the record.

This is all something to think about very carefully; you will know what direction to take after looking at all aspects of what is at hand.

Hoping for the best for you and your mother.  Let us know how things are going, we truly do care.

J.

harshedbuzz

LaurieRZ wrote:

HB - Thank you so much for the additional information. It was very helpful. I did not mean to give the impression the doctor wanted me to get her a phone. I think he assumed she already had one and wanted me to add a tracking app to it. I guess I was just trying to figure out the best way to follow his advice and I've had all the concerns you mentioned. She was never tech savvy before the dementia, so will she be able to learn something new now. Her physician is a neurologist that we've seen twice. He said she should not drive at night at this time. 

Great that she's seeing a specialist around this. If she's not tech savvy the Air Tag may be your best option. You can slip it in the car somewhere and maybe one in her bag. If she'd wear it, a medical pendent would be good as well. My mom doesn't have dementia, so I am getting her an Apple Watch as she "won't be caught dead wearing her pendent" which is probably truer than she'd like to admit. 

If the doctor has not recommended, she stop driving yet, but she does have the diagnosis of dementia, could the insurance still refuse to pay if she was in an accident or is it only in the case of AMA?

This is a call for her insurance agent who will be best able to advise you. Her medical record of Early Stage Alzheimer's from a neurologist could be fodder in a lawsuit especially if she's taking one of the Alzheimer medications. 

It's so tough knowing when she should no longer drive.

That's the challenge. You don't know until you know. At which point she could have plowed into the kindergarten bus stop or wound up in the next state with an empty tank of gas.

Many PWD go through a period where they have good days where they can seem OK and then a day where they are clearly "off" so it can be hard to get a bead on where they are cognitively. 

One clue might be the condition of her car. In the earlier stages of dad's dementia, before I could convince my mom to have him evaluated, their cars and the garage door clearly showed signs he shouldn't be driving- both cars looked as if they'd been in a demolition derby, and he backed his golf cart into the French door of the garage. 

With my mom, I drove with her monthly to get a sense of how she was doing and even doing that I judged wrongly. Mom blew out an optic nerve and lost the vision in one eye- her neuro-ophthalmologist assured me her brain would compensate but she had 2 rear-end accidents  within a span of 60 days and stopped driving.

She and I made an agreement that she will only go to Kroger, Walmart or my house and I will drive her if she needs to go anywhere else. Since she's still in the early stages, I don't know if she will remember and stick to that agreement or if she is still at risk of forgetting what we discussed.

It's hard to say whether she'll recall the agreement or whether she'd stick to it.

Cobbling onto the point Jo C. made, both of mom's accidents occurred after she'd assured me she wouldn't drive after dark (in addition to her blind eye, she has mild AMD so night driving is a no go) and that she'd only drive in familiar places. Both accidents happened at dusk- she lost track of time. The first accident was 2.5 miles south of my house (which I bought from her when she retired) and the second was 2.5 miles south of that and less than 2 miles from her current home. 

One thing that helped me with the pain of my parents losing their independence was to remember that it was the disease taking away their autonomy, not me.

HB