Dementia and Smart Watch Configurations -iWatch
I wanted to share a moment from working with an older client who has dementia.
He already owned an iWatch but didn’t know how to use it. We set it up so:
Calendar prompts & reminders would guide his day.
His home address was saved in maps so he could just ask, “How do I get home?”
SOS info was updated and fall detection switched on.
We trained the voice control so the watch could “talk” to him in a way that felt familiar.
He could make calls just by asking the watch—no menus or scrolling needed.
What stood out to me was this—he couldn’t easily follow what was happening visually on his phone, but he could hear the watch and understand. The auditory prompts worked where visual cues didn’t. Calibrated the coaching to his capacity.
It’s funny how something classed as an “everyday item” became such a powerful tool when customised to his needs. It’s a shame we can’t organise these for all clients through NDIS, but if you ever get the chance to buy one for someone with dementia—and set it up properly—it can make a world of difference.
Sharing in case it gives someone here an idea to help the people they support.