Mobile Phones for the elderly

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I have dyspraxia, which means I do not have good fine motor control. It also means I have sequencing problmes. My mind says: dial 123. My fingers dial 132. I have the same problem with typing as people will have noticed in some of my posts.

The tips of my fingers are also numb. So between the two and with smart phone screens being so small and my not being able to tell how much pressure I am putting on. I curse my phone.

Talking to friends I am discovering that these kinds of problems are not limited to the elderly. A significant number of adults and childrens with neural diversity have problems with smart phones. AS do people with any disability that affects their hands, again not limited just to the elderly. DD has a badly damaged right hand and arm following a road accident.

Younger people with dyspraxia, those with dyslexia, my godson has OCD and tics and finds he gets them with mobile phones as well.

I think this belief that only older people have problems with smart phones ( and don't matter as they will die soon) is a big mistake and more thought should be given to making smart phones easier for those who have neural or physical problems.

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Dragonfly's idea is best, try Ageuk they really are very helpful.
I am 83 and have a PAYG phone and I do not use it for anything other than as a telephone for emergencies, not for chatting as I did on my landline. I am exactly like I was as a child when we first got a phone in the house.
I was TERRIFIED of it.
My grandson once connected it to the Internet and it ran away with all my credit so when I came to use it - it was DEAD.
Make sure you don't overload him with apps he doesn't want or need, to him its just a phone, not a camera and certainly not a link to the wwide web and I bet it frightens him too.
Would it be possible to go into a local phone shop and pick the brains of one of their wiz-kids, then leave to 'think about it'? They should have a better idea of what's available.
For old people who are IT savvy mobiles are wonderful, but not for people like me. Or your FIL by the sound of things.

I got a phone for my dad from AgeUK. It is specially designed for the elderly on a very cheap contract. I don't know if they still do them.

I have Echoes in every room so that I can just say “Alexa, call Pete” or whoever..
I did have some help setting it up, but feel reassured that I can make a hands free call from anywhere in the house, as I am concerned about falling.

I have set up Echoes in every room, so I can just say “Alexa, call Pete” or whoever and talk.
I did need some help setting it up, but now feel reassured that I can make contact from anywhere in the house.

You’re not elderly Annodomini my 97 year old friend is as sparky as ever and if I forget a name of a member of our WI, she reminds me! ?

Good point ElaineI - I have my son listed as ICE - in case of emergency - on my mobile. What a lovely bus driver.

Even though I typed up very very basic instructions, along with pictures of the keys to press, my aunt has had her extremely kind neighbour in for the second time in five months to help her with it. I cannot understand why she can't do it, even following the instructions.

DM can barely work big button BT landline phone now. She had a mobile (granddaughter's old one) a few years ago - fell on the bus and had to get a teenager on the bus to phone me as she had no idea how to use it. Bus driver ended up driving bus to AE where I picked her up. She is registered blind though now and tends to stab at numbers with her finger if she has left her magnifying glass in the living room. Technology has never been her thing - even when younger!

I've just tried holding my phone tightly and my fingers were not touching the volume control which is above the on/off switch. It's possible that the phone could be switched off by accident, though I've never managed to do that. I usually use the speaker option on my phone. And I suppose, at 81, I could be called 'elderly' though I abhor the term.

My audiologist has linked my hearing aids to my mobile so the conversation comes straight to my ears. If I want DH to hear I press the square so we can both hear the conversation.

My 98 year old mother in law has a Doro. It seems to be ok - she does call me accidentally occasionally though!

Some cases actually block the signals more than others.
Might be worth looking at a signal-friendly case.

Nagmad2016, doesn't he have a landline phone in his room? My mother did - with enhanced volume - and tended to use that. (Well, she did, until they had to take away both her phones as she kept calling 999 at night.)

ps I have a fliptop mobile phone but only use it to call for help when I'm out. Button on the back.

As an elderly person (86) I can tell you how frustrating this is.
I need hearing aids, wear glasses to see the numbers, my fingers are losing their dexterity.
So between looking up the number I want in my ancient address book, writing it down, , remembering the number, moving to phone and and picking up the phone and using my clumsy fingers to dial it correctly And on top of that I have an illogical aversion to, fear of, modern technology.
So I mainly use my landline with the volume up.
it's not so simple.

Sorry the firm is Connevans and the phone model was a Swiss Voice ??D26.

AUNT WEARS DEAF AIDE RELUCTANTLY. DID EVENTUALLY ADMIT TO NOT BEING ABLE TO HEAR HER MOBILE.
WE OFFERED TO RESEARCH NEW ONE AND BUY FOR HER PENDING BIRTHDAY.
SETTLED FOR ONE FROM CORREVANS (ALSO AVAILABLE ON EBAY CHEAPER BUT AS A GIFT HAPPY TO PAY) HAS T3/M4 SUITABLE FOR MOST HEARING AIDES AND VOLUME CONTROL SAFE FOR HARD OF HEARING ALSO HAS QUICK PRESS BUTTON TO SELECTED NUMBERS IN EVENT OF CRISIS..
HER DH WITH DOUBLE AIDES THINKS ITS GREAT SHE IS NON COMMITAL THE COMPANY GET 5 *FOR SERVICE.

I bought my aunt a new Nokia big button phone at Christmas, because she said her 'Doro' was 'dead'. She's just been away for a week and I said to take the phone so I could ring her - I tried about three times and it was off.

She's just got back, and guess what? The Nokia I bought her is now 'dead' too! So frustrating as I'm too far away to help, I'm sure she's got problems with her hands now. Either pressing too hard or not hard enough, or something. I've told her to take it to church with her tomorrow and ask one of her many friends to help her. Her lovely neighbour who has helped her for years sadly lost her Dad recently, and is staying at her Mum's, so her normal 'helper' is absent.

I hope you got your Dad sorted Nagmad2016!

If his phone can operate wifi calling Nagmad2016, I do recommend it.

I hardly ever have a network signal here and would be stuck without the addition of wifi calling. '3' were the only people to offer this in a PAYG SIM when I researched it last March, others might do now.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. It seems the real problem is with the network signal at the care home. If he goes outdoors to the front of the building, the network reception is fine. I think the signal strength may need a boost. His phone already has a protective case, so I may have been wrong in my first assumption. Thanks again.

Does your Dad have a tablet Nagmad2016? If so, if you set up Facebook, he could phone you through Messenger?

The other thing to combat a bad signal is wifi calling, I had to change to '3' PAYG to get this.