how to set up ipad for elderly user

Hi,

I have been looking into this subject. We are buying my father-in law an ipad for his 91st birthday in two weeks. He had unsuccessful surgery for a detached retina a couple of years ago and so has vision (not too good) in only one eye. When we were researching how and if he'd benefit from an ipad (which he wants) we weren't sure, but then I read about VoiceOver that is built into every ipad. We're all very excited about it.

http://www.apple.com/accessibility/ipad/vision.html

Because you said they have a desktop, they can also set up Home Sharing between their desktop and the ipad if they have a wireless connection. If not, they just need an inexpensive wireless router and a little help setting it up. We're getting a $40 ish Netgear for him that we paid $80.00 for two years ago. They're practicall plug an play and need only cable modem box, which most have these days.

Your father/parents will be able to do more than listen to audio books. With an ipad he can do a lot more. He'll be able to read and hear newspapers, magazines, etc. There are many games/apps that he can buy that can exercise his brain. They will speak to him! Some months ago there was a thread that went on and on about how nurses/family membes who were finding that their senior parents/patients (some with Alheimer's) became more alert when working with someone on the ipad. It was encouraging. IF he has netflix he can watch movies on it. Your music might be on your computers from cd's. If they have music cd's at home, you can quickly upload them to their computer, put them in itunes, and sync them to the ipad, too.

VoiceOver will help with so many other things that are explained in the link I gave you earlier.

Please also check out you tube videos for using VoiceOver in the ipad. The setting up and usage videos are very good and many examples are given by blind people. (Seeing how VoiceOver even reads the apps that might be on the front page as fingers glide over them is great.)

Also, I'm not sure where you live. Many libraries have free e-books with or without audio that your parents can take out. I learned last week from someone looking for the same, that if you're in Canada there is something called CNIB where people with vision problems can get all the e-books they want. You might want to google it and see where you can get free -ebooks for your parents. Audio books can be expensive. The thread below

Please go to the link above and then check out you tube.

I wish my 86 year old Mom (vision is good) would use an ipad.

I hope this helps.

My Dad is 81 years-old and he is in aged care. As soon as I leave him unsupervised with his iPad he goes into the settings or the control centre where he deletes the wifi password or turns on aeroplane mode. He has no insight that he has caused the iPad to be disconnected internet.

Unfortunately, Apple has not included the ability to restrict access to these settings to be able to make an iPad 'tamper proof'.

The best Apple could advise was to disable the control centre so it does not pop up and hide the settings within a folder. Of course Dad still manages to readily find the settings and muck them up.

I understand there is the ability to lock the iPad to one app so I wondered if anyone can recommend a dashboard app that acts as a menu for other apps and music. I have looked at the app "My Dashboard". Has anyone tried this out?

Any other suggestions would be great.

I am interested in this and other similar questions, but not seeing a lot of answers here. My challenges for my father are not visual, but in creating a simplified version of the phone with only the apps he needs - perhaps even simplified versions of those apps, and locking down the ability to get mixed up in the airplane mode , as the jlambhome describes. My dad is 81, still driving and living at home. He has used his computer and mobile phone for years but has recently encountered challenges. I would like the phone to have the following apps:

1. Phone simplified with easy button to find voicemail

2. Uber or Lyft

3. Simplified email

I want to lockdown and control the "find my iPhone" "Friend Finder" and other wifi and on/off settings. I've googled and found a few options and wondering if people have tried these: silverline software to simplifiy the desktop, and grandpad, which includes hardware, software and services (more than we need as he has several apple phones/ipads that I'd rather configure.

thanks lizzie, love the idea of moving the unused apps to another screen.

I´ll try it.

Ive heard that dragon dictation works well with seniors, because it is usually difficult for them to write on the ipad. have you tried that?

thanks a lot!

Hi danigoico,

I was hoping you and Lizzierose would see my post. Sometimes I get e-mail notifications, sometimes not. I had kept out the post in a window last night trying to figure out, given time posted, if/when you both might check might check today. (We're in USA on East Coast time, but it posts West Coast time...) I was happy when I checked my e-mail this am and saw that you, at least, got the post.

I hope you checked out you tube videos.

Just an fyi, I just orderred my father-in-law's ipad. We bought an ipad 2 16gb in the refurb store for $319.00. It wasn't our first refurb store buy. We were getting my husband one, and asked to to wait until the old, new, (discontinued after months) ipad came out so I could compare. Given what I researched, (some major heat on the back and lower battery time, attributed to the larger, faster battery for the retins screen) we decided to stick with the ipad 2. However, we couldn't find a new 32 gb anywhere. So for the first time we went to the Apple refurb store and given the price, we went for the 64 gb. When our younger son came home from college for the Summer, he loved the ipad 2 and so he got one. Both are very happy with them and no heat and about ten hours of battery time.

The ipads in the Apple refurb store come with new front and back covers, a brand new battery and a full one year warranty. It also ships in the same new box as a new ipad. There's just a little line that says it is a refurbished ipad. I have them shipped to an Apple Store near us and we had both set up there. If you're near one, you might want to do that. Just be sure you have the e-mail address of the person you're buying for, and ask that person to give you a new Apple ID password. They'll set up itunes, icloud, etc. They'll all have the same ID and they can have the same password. PLEASE write down the ID and password. You'd be amazed at how many posts are made asking for help because they forgot the password, and the problems that can create.

Please note that there can be a lot of turnover and what you want might disappear. When I ordered my husband's, it was on the site. When our son decided to get one, it took over two months for the 64gb to come back on the site. (I've been checking the site for a couple of weeks. No 32gb have been there and only black 16 gb. This morning, though, a white one showed up. 64 gb are usually there.) I'm sure, especially with Home Sharing and libraries, I think 16 gb would be enough. So if you consider a refurb ipad 2, I'd suggest you get it fast. You'd have 14 days to return it. Don't forget about a wireless router.

Whatever you decide, please let us know, and hopefully, this will help lizzierose, too.

Hope this helps!

One item I don't see discussed is how to protect the iPad from inevitable tumbles plus making it easier to handle. Have always found them a tad "slippery" and prone to fly to the floor when least expected. A good protective shell can go a long way to ease the handling and avoid damage. My iPad 4 has been encased in a Lifeproof Nüüd shell from Day One: the rubberized coating makes it "grippy", I've used it in the middle of storms and has survived several hard falls with no damage. Plus you can add the cover for when not in use or the hand strap for even more ways to handle it.

As for protecting the configuration, may I point out to the Restrictions options (see the manual, better explanation than any I could write). Sad fact that the elderly revert to childlike states so any infantile protections from the system are quite applicable.

Be sure to WRITE ANY AND ALL PASSWORDS DOWN religiously. Else when the inevitable comes you can be left with an unusable brick in Activation Mode.

You need to peruse the user guide to get a better sense of what can and can't be adjusted: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/ipad_user_guide.pdf

Check the section on accessiblity.

Why not consider an iPod instead?

Which iPod are you thinking of? I was thinking the iPod Classic, the click-wheel should be easy to control.

Hi Lizzie! I would like to kwon If you solve this? I´m also buying an ipad for an elder and would like to know how to make it easier for him to understand!! thanks!

Hi! I went over VoiceOver and looks incredible, and also learned you can use Zoom too! this is great! thanks for the information.