Aids For Communicating With Hospitalized People? 160
charliezcc writes "My grandmother recently fell and broke two vertebrae (among other things) and is in the hospital while she recovers. Thankfully, she was not paralyzed and retains the use of her limbs. However, they have placed her on a respirator and she is virtually unable to communicate with us, so while we try to keep her company during her recovery, our company is reduced to mainly one-sided conversations. Asking her questions, even yes/no questions, is hard because of the neck brace — it turns into a guessing game and very quickly becomes frustrating for both parties. I'm a firm believer in the power of positive mental attitudes and to make her recovery a little better and I'd like to be able to facilitate two-sided conversations with her so she can keep positive. Keeping in mind that she does not have much technology experience, what would you suggest I utilize to ease the communication barrier? I remember seeing devices with a number of buttons that say whatever you program it to say, but I can't find these anymore. What other kind of devices are available?"
Bed Time (Score:4, Funny)
Re:A Low tech solution (Score:4, Funny)
Re:A Low tech solution (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Paper and pencil? (Score:2, Funny)
Listen, this is Slashdot. Stop being practical and start thinking like a wannabe nerd.
Don't listen to him, Charliezcc! Here's what you have to do: First get a PDA - not a current one, mind you, but something old and preferably unpopular.
Then, port Linux to it. You'll probably have to write the handwriting recognition software yourself, but no problem, right?
Once done, it will be the ideal device to facilitate two-way conversation between you and your grandmother.
Off you go! Shouldn't take more than a week, I'd say.
Oh, and I wish your grandmother the best and hope that she has a speedy recovery.
Re:Paper and pencil? (Score:4, Funny)
Low tech is handled by luddite.org.