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accessibility recommendations?
Hi all,
I have just returned from my Grandfather's 100th birthday party. He is physically less than stellar, as his transport is failing him and his doctors seem to make the same mistakes every time he is admitted to the hospital, but there you are. He is mentally in top form, but has lost access to the internet in recent years when his favorite platform (webTV, which he could zoom to giant font on his giant flat screen TV) was discontinued.
During this last visit, he asked several of us to get him back on the internet. Our solution so far: the iPad Air 2 with separate keyboard. The accessibility font size works well for him. There are direct apps to newspapers, email, YouTube, and real estate, which he loves. He tried my Dad's and liked it. Apparently, 100 years old is a good time to try a new OS, you know? I love this guy, he is so sharp.
His needs:
A clamp mount for the iPad--he'll prefer it farther away to see better, and tends to put a thumb on the touch screen when he's holding it.
An external, full-size keyboard. Requests: minimal multi-key shortcuts to learn (dexterity is getting limited) maximum keyboard functionality, ease of charging if cordless and a way to set it aside that doesn't take up space on his limited surfaces.
Specifics: Grandpa is in a motorized wheelchair, recliner, or bed most of the time. We would like a clamp mount for the Air 2 that could currently attach to his rolling hospital table without taking up much surface space. We could also envision a clamp that could mount to his chair instead, possibly on the removable leg support, which would mean my aunt (primary caregiver) could take everything on or off at once. Anyone have thoughts on a good brand, recommendations for adaptations or hacks, or experience that they could share?
Next question is recommendations for a good keyboard. Not a case (lots of tablet keyboards are also screen covers or mounts, we don't need that) with a full-size set of keys for Grandpa's hands. Bonus: extra keys to scroll or control the volume. Also a bonus: easy to charge or has a cord to recharge in situ, or has a dock etc. We are not particularly attached to the apple brand here, just need something compatible.
Final question: for those who often use media in a bed or chair, is there a good pocket organizer for a table/bed/chair that you recommend? We want it out of the way (for example, in the hospital rolling tables, where a food tray will take up the whole space), but reachable by Grandpa (so, not over the back of his chair) and primarily to store the keyboard, but possibly also a stylus. I have seen silicon pockets that just sit on a table and fall off the side, but I can't seem to find them in an online search.
Thanks in advance, knowledgable peeps! If you know of something awesome I haven't thought of, please do share as well. I really appreciate it, and don't want to miss out on anything Grandpa wants to tell me.
I have just returned from my Grandfather's 100th birthday party. He is physically less than stellar, as his transport is failing him and his doctors seem to make the same mistakes every time he is admitted to the hospital, but there you are. He is mentally in top form, but has lost access to the internet in recent years when his favorite platform (webTV, which he could zoom to giant font on his giant flat screen TV) was discontinued.
During this last visit, he asked several of us to get him back on the internet. Our solution so far: the iPad Air 2 with separate keyboard. The accessibility font size works well for him. There are direct apps to newspapers, email, YouTube, and real estate, which he loves. He tried my Dad's and liked it. Apparently, 100 years old is a good time to try a new OS, you know? I love this guy, he is so sharp.
His needs:
A clamp mount for the iPad--he'll prefer it farther away to see better, and tends to put a thumb on the touch screen when he's holding it.
An external, full-size keyboard. Requests: minimal multi-key shortcuts to learn (dexterity is getting limited) maximum keyboard functionality, ease of charging if cordless and a way to set it aside that doesn't take up space on his limited surfaces.
Specifics: Grandpa is in a motorized wheelchair, recliner, or bed most of the time. We would like a clamp mount for the Air 2 that could currently attach to his rolling hospital table without taking up much surface space. We could also envision a clamp that could mount to his chair instead, possibly on the removable leg support, which would mean my aunt (primary caregiver) could take everything on or off at once. Anyone have thoughts on a good brand, recommendations for adaptations or hacks, or experience that they could share?
Next question is recommendations for a good keyboard. Not a case (lots of tablet keyboards are also screen covers or mounts, we don't need that) with a full-size set of keys for Grandpa's hands. Bonus: extra keys to scroll or control the volume. Also a bonus: easy to charge or has a cord to recharge in situ, or has a dock etc. We are not particularly attached to the apple brand here, just need something compatible.
Final question: for those who often use media in a bed or chair, is there a good pocket organizer for a table/bed/chair that you recommend? We want it out of the way (for example, in the hospital rolling tables, where a food tray will take up the whole space), but reachable by Grandpa (so, not over the back of his chair) and primarily to store the keyboard, but possibly also a stylus. I have seen silicon pockets that just sit on a table and fall off the side, but I can't seem to find them in an online search.
Thanks in advance, knowledgable peeps! If you know of something awesome I haven't thought of, please do share as well. I really appreciate it, and don't want to miss out on anything Grandpa wants to tell me.
no subject
For side pocket organizers, I might look for a somewhat customizable fabric one off Etsy or somewhere: https://www.etsy.com/market/mobility_tote?ref=l2
That's the sort of thing where you may want to get a less expensive one with what you think are the correct pockets first, to try it out, then equipped with the "well, I wish that was zipper instead of velcro, and just a little wider but less deep...?" sort of thoughts from Grandpa, go for something durable as hell. A bonus with fabric is all the fun prints!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KTIYNIS has been working out well for me; it's iPad compatible, 2 AA batteries (I don't use it every week so I don't know how the actual battery life stacks up), with shortcut keys. It's a little smaller than I would like, but it's the closest to full size under $50 that I was able to find when I was looking.
Good luck, and I hope he gets back online quickly!
no subject
The keyboard looks like a good rec. I suspect that he doesn't need a number pad, but I like the look of the bottom of that one for comfort on one's lap.
I think I may have hallucinated the silicon table pocket organizers...most that I find now wrap around a bar, as you have also seen. The custom route could be an excellent thought...
no subject
You can get special "lap desks"/lap cushions/lap pillows designed to go under a laptop or keyboard, e.g.:
http://www.amazon.com/Beanbag-Laptop-Notebook-Computer-Keyboard/dp/B000LWSSFQ