Caring for Our Aging Parents & Elders

Community and connection are key to creating a healthy environment and creative solutions for your loved ones.  It is now a time to engage our Elders in the conversations and co-create solutions with universal design principals and compassion for all.  I am excited to share with you a collection of resources that can support you and the elders in your life to get connected and thrive.

The human connection will always be necessary and essential for health and happiness, everyone, is a Techhero, when you help someone; gain access, learn, troubleshoot, support, listen and care, we can create positive outcomes for all.

Start Learning About Caregiving With Our Free Online Resources!

Caring for a family member or a loved one? We’re here to help. Our interactive learning videos could help you learn how to put together a caregiving plan, assess your loved one’s needs, give you information about important financial and legal documents and more. Plus, be sure to check out our Featured Content: Prepare to Care – a six-part caregiving series.

Helping Bloomington  . . .

Bloomington's online resource for services providing an online platform for the community to research, contact and learn about the resources in our community.

54 Useful Products for Independent Elderly Living Along

Here’s an overview of the various innovative independent living products for seniors that are on the market today. We’ve gathered a collection of gadgets, from new technology that helps bridge the digital generation gap, to more traditional elder care equipment. (updated for 2020)

With the help of independent living products, as well as medical technology, and some assistance from other people, seniors can retain a certain level of independence.
By increasing independence, and thus dignity, elderly are likely to feel more confident and happy. Which is why these assistive devices make great gifts too.

Come to the Digital Neighborhood of highway61.co

Fun community building social network for people 50+.  This is what Sylvia has to say about Highway61 which was co-designed and created by her and her daughter Eva. "As a member of Highway61, you should feel empowered to share your opinions, to learn from one another and to support one another. Everything on Highway61 is in real time which I felt was the most important part. There’s a lot of social media platforms out there, but I couldn’t find one where I felt comfortable on nor did I feel like it was created for me and my interests. I also wanted to talk to people throughout the day, not just watch a video or read posts." I call it, "REAL COMMUNITY." -Jenny

 Senior Planet - TechSupport

Aging with attitude. Senior Planet, powered by OATS (Older Adults Technology Services), harnesses technology to change the way we age. '

Our courses, programs, and activities help seniors learn new skills, save money, get in shape, and make new friends.

Fun & Games

Dr. Howard Fillit, founding executive director and chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation pointed out that, “One large clinical trial known as the ACTIVE study reported that playing a specific type of brain training game reduced the risk of developing dementia.”The ACTIVE study used a game that Fillit said “trained ‘speed-of-processing,’ which was designed to improve the speed and accuracy of a person’s visual attention.”“You can think of the aging brain like an old computer,” said Fillit. “Speed-of-processing tasks help the aging brain perform more like a new computer by training it to process visual information more quickly.”“And this,” he continued, “may help stem cognitive decline.” https://www.healthline.com/health-news/puzzles-can-help-maintain-brain-health#Keeping-our-brains-healthywww.healthline.com/health-news/puzzles-can-help-maintain-brain-health#Keeping-our-brains-healthy

Robotic Pets for Elders

It's the first product in the Joy For All range, an initiative that Hasbro says is about going beyond play and into areas that combat bigger problems. In this case, it's loneliness.
The robocat is designed to mimic a real animal. It miaows, semi-convincingly, and it purrs, very convincingly. It's fluffy and nice to stroke, although the rigidness of Alan's electronic innards spoils any illusion that he is real.

And research suggests there is a real benefit to providing people with companion robots, particularly if they are suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's.

Sharing Photos . . . At a Distance

"Digital photo frames are dedicated screens that can show slideshows of pictures you either load directly onto the frame or access from the internet. They saw some popularity for a period of time, but started to wane as social media became a more integral part of sharing photos. But there are still some nice, artsy digital frames on the market, and they serve their intended purpose very well. " www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-digital-picture-frames 

Also check out Tom's Guide

Bloomington Stories

Working with StoryCorps and providing a overarching goal that supports awareness of the unique city of Bloomington and captures the stories of our residents as well as allows them the opportunity to grow and participate in digital life. All participants 50+ will be able to access highway61 chat as an effective tool to mitigate isolation in our community.

"When an Elder Dies, a Library Burns. ~ Proverb

Reach out to suggest a Story that needs to be heard . . .  www.bloomiingtonstories.com

Make a Picture Book

Everyone loves a photo album and you can easily create a family photo book that you can have printed and delivered to your loved ones.  There are many websites that offer simple solutions.  Here is the latest recommendations https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g27154713/best-photo-book-maker-websites/www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g27154713/best-photo-book-maker-websites/

How To . . . . Organizing the old photos https://thriftylittlemom.com/2013/09/05/how-to-organize-old-photographs/thriftylittlemom.com/2013/09/05/how-to-organize-old-photographs/

How To . . . Download my photo from Facebook to make a REAL Book

My Noise .  .  .

myNoise creates beautiful noises to mask the noises you don’t want to hear : your chatty colleagues, tinnitus, or even your inner voice when you can't shut it down! The concept is simple, works extremely well, and does not require expensive noise-cancelling headphones. Thanks to its unique audio engineering, myNoise sets the standard among background sounds.

myNoise generators cover the whole audible frequency range, from 20Hz to 20kHz, over 10 color-coded sliders. Our calibrated noises are even better: they can be shaped to your personal hearing thresholds!