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?"
Signalling yes and no (Score:3, Interesting)
Or better, give her a chart of the Sign Language Alphabet [wikipedia.org]. With that she can say anything, if she and her listener both have enough patience. With that she could sign "Y" for yes and "N" for no, and in many cases choose among alternatives with just an initial letter.
Sign language (Score:3, Interesting)
Alternatively, teach her a handful of ASL signs. "Yes" is a fist you nod. "No" is two fingers pinched against the thumb. Finger spelling resembles the written characters in many cases, so it shouldn't be a big burden to learn. Don't be afraid to invent signs - that's perfectly valid, especially when the signer has mobility issues. We've done baby-sign with both of our kids, and it's worked out wonderfully. Some suggestions:
Pain - touch left and right index fingers together, then point to the pain
Help - raise your hand like you need to ask a question
Hungry - motion like you're putting food in your mouth
Thirsty - lift the imaginary cup to your mouth
Water - place the sign "W" to your lips
Toilet - wave the sign "T"
Sleep - place one or both hands against your cheek
Done - place a hand flat over your mouth (hard to do when on a respirator, so invent one that works)
More - touch all fingers in each hand, then tap the two finger bunches together
Re:Really only TWO options available (Score:3, Interesting)
@ spineboy
Assuming these are *not* cheap, how much is too much (IYHO) before a hospital would not buy them to have on hand in cases like this? AFAIK they are not even available as even a specialty item, but it got me thinking...
-nB
Dasher - 1 finger text entry (Score:3, Interesting)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasher [wikipedia.org]
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=507833407
But if she can still write, that will be even better and faster.
Re:Low Tech (Score:3, Interesting)