Smart Living Technology represents an enormous business potential for major companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple. That explains the explosive growth of this technology as they and many others compete. The devices and systems they are developing can bring benefits for people of all ages. They improve the quality of life and can help in a whole variety of activities.
For most people of whatever age, the technology is a nice-to-have boon for life. However, there is one group for whom it is invaluable given the challenges they face. This is those who are becoming seniors. For this reason, there are companies that are developing Smart Solutions specifically for the specific needs of this population.
Becoming a Senior Is a Major Change
The vast majority of those who become seniors do not realize that their lives will become very different. For most of their working years and perhaps while bringing up their children, their work and their family has defined much of their life. How they spend each day and how they occupy their time is set by their commitments.
Suddenly everything changes. Their commitments are reduced. They have almost complete freedom to do as they wish. For many, this transition can be very traumatic.
At the same time, they may find that medical conditions and their physical well-being may be giving them new challenges. Even if they acknowledge all that is changing, they may have difficulty accepting what they should be doing.
Occupational Therapists Can Help Define a Better Quality of Life
Perhaps the simplest way of describing this transition is as follows. Up till now, they have had a particular way of living. They must now change many of their practices and habits. What should they do to handle any concerns they have?
Whenever there is a need in society, it often means that someone will work on how to fulfil that need. This need to change the way they do things is naturally handled by an Occupational Therapist. They are particularly useful when it comes to seniors. They have a wide knowledge of ways of doing things that a senior will find effective. They are also aware of how the challenges a senior may have can be overcome.
Challenges Can Be Overcome With Smart Living Technology
The most difficult challenges are those caused by the mental and physical changes that occur as one gets older. Memory lapses can occur. Getting around may be more difficult. You may not have the strength to handle tasks that once were so easy.
Thankfully in many cases, there are Smart Devices and Solutions that can provide major assistance. To the extent there may be caregivers, such technology provides many ways in which they can be aware of what is happening. Most importantly if hazardous situations arise, then there can be instantaneous communication.
This availability of Smart Living Technology opens up the possibility of many more ways of setting up your home in a way that is truly helpful.
Aging in Place
The ideal way for many seniors is to continue living in the same place where they have spent their working years. This is often called Aging in Place. This reduces the amount of change they must make and extra costs they might face. To that extent, this is a very much easier choice. Nevertheless, some changes are absolutely necessary to accommodate the physical and mental changes that may be occurring.
Here are some of the more important Smart Technology Solutions that may be helpful to make Aging in Place a reality:
- Security
- Avoiding hazards
- Communicating with others
- Mobility
- Medical monitoring and support
- Entertainment
- Home cleaning and maintenance
How Senior Living Homes Can Ensure a Better Quality of Life
Having to move to a Senior Living Home might be thought of as a much inferior alternative to being able to Age in Place. You might assume that a Senior Living Home will mean that caregivers are there only to monitor where you are and prevent you from suffering hazards. Such a monitoring system would likely seem very intrusive. Using Smart Living Technology can avoid this somewhat depressing view.
With thoughtful design, the living experience can be very similar to what you would achieve if you were Aging in Place. A Senior Living Home that sets out to achieve this will be much more successful and will have residents who are much happier.
TechieLiving can help in both situations. That is either where someone wishes to Age in Place or where a Senior Living Home owner wishes to install Smart Living technology to improve their residents’ well-being. We are an ideal choice because:
- This is our focus
- We have the right solutions. This includes dedicated solutions developed to address specific senior needs combined with Smart Home solutions designed to address senior needs
- We have the right team. Occupational Therapists work together with technical teams to determine what the senior needs. Together they design and implement Smart Living solutions that best address these needs.
- We have the right service model. We start with evaluation, design and implementation. We provide ongoing, support and periodic re-evaluation of needs and technology availability. This can lead to solution adjustment where appropriate.
Further reading on this topic
A great deal is being written on this topic and the following articles are of interest:
- What every older Canadian should know about: Planning for their future housing needs
- Aging in Place – Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
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