250 referrals for our Digital Dementia Advisor!

With a myriad of digital products available, it can be hard to find the right pieces of technology at the right time. A Digital Dementia Advisor can demystify the tech and help you make the most of consumer technologies to support greater independence, health, and well-being.

Our Digital Dementia Advisor for Edinburgh, Kathy Wiles , has recently hit the milestone of 250 families referred since her role was established. Here is how one referral embraced technology.

Anna's story

*name changed

Anna* and I have been friends for over 40 years. We might live in different cities, her Edinburgh and I Glasgow, but she trusts me, and I think that’s really important. For the last 10 to 15 years, she would say that there was something happening to her, but it wasn’t until last year that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.

She struggles with her short-term memory and forgets where she’s put things now.?She spends a lot of her time looking for her diary, her phone etc, and that’s exhausting for her. She’s told me she’s feeling isolated and it’s not easy for her to pick up the telephone. Anna can sometimes get disorientated, and I worry about her getting lost. Our Link Worker connected us to Kathy, the Digital Dementia Advisor and she has been so supportive in helping us figure out what the best products for us would be.

I might have had a computer since the early 90’s, but neither of us are ‘techie’ people. I do think with Anna there’s a fear and a reluctance that she might not be able to remember what to do. Kathy recommended a wearable GPS that allows me to check in with her via an app. For me, it’s a comfort blanket - just to make sure she’s safe. It’ll be about getting in the habit of using it, like putting your shoes on. Shoes, scarf, GPS.

Kathy was so very patient with us when she came to set up the system and she checked in with us afterward. Even now, I feel confident that I could contact Kathy at any time if I wasn’t sure about something.

In summary, my advice around incorporating digital products would be “Embrace it!”. Having the GPS has helped me overcome my own personal fear. You don’t have to do everything all at once. It’s also important to choose the product that is best for your person. Anna always has been a very independent free spirit and that’s still there. This is about respecting her as a person and enabling her to remain as independent as possible for as long as possible.

“It is important that we don’t focus on the technology but on the person.?What does that person enjoy doing??Getting out and about??Managing around the home??Then the digital technology is presented as a tool to keep those things going.” Kathy Wiles