Use of Technology in Home Modification

On December, 2014, I traveled all the way from sunny CA to beautiful Charlotte, NC to participate in an AOTA conference on Home Modification and Fall Prevention. The conference exceeded my expectations. There was a lot of new and valuable information I would like to share.

I'm adding links to the items I found interesting, with examples on ways to use them-

http://wirelesstag.net/ - Motion sensor that can send notifications when items were moved. E.g. if you're worried about your parent that lives alone and is losing weight, place a sensor on the fridge door so you have an idea how many times the fridge was opened during the day.

http://www.mobilehelp.com/ - Medical alert that includes GPS and is based on the cellular system instead of the traditional land line, can be used in and outside of the house. Can be beneficial for older adults that are active and enjoy the outdoors. The regular home systems might not have good coverage of the backyard, leaving the older adult unprotected in an area that is not visible to people passing by.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Chamberlain-MyQ-Garage-Universal-Smartphone-Controller-MYQ-G0201/204394627?N=5yc1vZc1jwZ1z0um34 - Garage door controller, operated by smart phone from anywhere. Wish we had one when we left our garage door open for a few hours. When we returned home and found our brand new bicycle intact, we were very thankful to all the law abiding people that passed by our wide open garage that day.

http://www.managemypills.com/content/ - Medication dispensing system. Can be beneficial for people who take multiple medications at different times, and have difficulty following correct dosage and timing.

The CHAT Model

Recently I read a very interesting article in the OT Practice journal about the CHAT Model. It's a perfect fit to my approach as an OT; Don't say no, instead try to find a different way.

CHAT stands for  - C - critical conversation
                                H - heartfelt hearing
                                A - amiable adjustment
                                T - timed trials

Conversation-The initial conversation should start early on, in a clear and direct manner, addressing safety and functional difficulties.
Hearing-Listen to concerns brought by the older adult and family members.
Adjustment-Act, learn all possible solutions while prioritizing safety and independence of the older adult. Discuss all options with the older adult and family, implement the solutions.
Trials-Evaluate how the solutions have been implemented, how safety observed, make adjustments if needed.  

Reference;
Parnell, Regina. "Don't Take My Wagon." OT Practice (2014): 15. Print.