Mom has dementia and lives in snf, but is still highly functioning and is bored and lonely. Tries to read but can’t get past first page. I️ thought maybe an audio book option, but don’t know what is the easiest/best way to provide that she will be able to operate. Also if a book is downloaded wifi is not necessary is that correct?
I introduced her to Postmodern Jukebox. lol
Maybe your state has something similar??
Blessings for our Lord Jesus!
Short plots, running gags, something she knew from childhood?
A zillion are available free online.
Keiller is a story teller with a calming drawl as he tells about his boyhood days growing up in MN where all the kids are above average... U can listen to some of his podcast on utube... See if it mom likes. Before buying
Tennessee Library for Accessible Books and Media
Tennessee State Library & Archives
Office of Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett
1001 Rep John Lewis Way North
Nashville TN 37219
Phone: (615) 741-3915 or (800) 342-3308, toll-free
Fax: (615) 532-8856
for her its the length of the story. Max 1 paragraph.
My mother has an Alexa which enables her to listen to a few things and ask questions, such as time, get reminders, etc. Of course, Internet access would be necessary. I do download and record some audio articles from the Internet for her to listen to, but depending on the person and level of functioning, someone would have to have a very simple device use. I have downloaded audio articles on the Internet to a CD, and also to an SD card to use in an MP3 player, but my mom cannot see to load the SD card, I have to load it for her. And it was very hard finding a simple mp3 player that had tactile buttons. As far as finding audio articles to listen to, I like the jw.org website. Although it is a religious website, it has a wealth of audio articles on a number of subjects, many of which are very brief and always positive. Searching the Internet I find an occasional podcast worth recording, but most are too long to hold mom's interest.
It would give your mother a purposeful task and would be a help to the project.
What does work are TV game shows! I really don't like them, but discovered that Mom can follow along with "the price is right" or most other trivial game shows. Not jeopardy or anything like that, but the simple ones where they are doing something "in the moment" and not having to remember anything that happened a bit ago. And the lively, colorful nature of these shows is also a good thing. Nothing scary or concerning, it's all light and cheery.
Your next bet is listening to music. My mom went backwards in time and she knew words to many songs of the 1930s and 40s. If she has those cable radio channels, go way back to the era of her teens and 20s.
If you still want to use library books, Hoopla downloads to a phone but runs off of the data plan if you leave wifi. Overdrive can be uploaded to a few compatable MP3s such as Sansa clip for $30. It first needs to be downloaded to a PC with the Overdrive app. The downside of audio books is you have to remember your place if you forget to shut it off and have to go back. How does she do with technology
Your other option is to do what many MCs do... go with classic movies. If she really loved books, choose films that she might have read from such as the Harry Potter series
If you think she's capable of operating a Kindle, then no, wifi is not required to read a book on that device.
If it were me, I'd get the activity director involved in getting mom out of her room and into the activities going on in the SNF. Get her acquainted with the other residents who are at the same level of dementia she's at, so they'll be able to interact and talk together, eat meals, etc. That will help her loneliness better than any book ever could. That's what helped my mother tremendously; the socialization she had in her Memory Care ALF with the other residents. Even the ones she didn't like and complained about.........that gave her something to DO and others to focus her limited attention span on. And the arts & crafts they did together in the activity room really kept her amused.
Best of luck.
Maybe best to give her books with large pictures and just a little text, maybe not a story to follow. My 100-year old Aunt loves cat and bird books with 1 large pic per page that gives info about the animal. She reads them over and over.
Maybe just a tv in her room set on the Animal Planet channel for the aids to turn on for her.
An audiobook would require wifi to download the book initially but after that it's on the device and shouldn't be a problem to use by someone who can remember how.
My 93-yr old mother just transitioned to my iPad and plays card games on it a lot. She doesn't have cognitive or memory impairment and was using a different Android tablet for many years prior to switching.
My 88-yr old MIL in LTC has significant memory loss and has started "reading" large print romance novels. We're not sure she gets past the first page. Picture books are the best. Or a cd player for music, but again, someone else will need to turn it on for her.
My roommate has cognitive issues and is literally driving me crazy as he shadows me with repetitive conversation. It wouldn’t be such a problem if I didn’t have my own health issues.
I will introduce him to my iPad today. Thanks again, such an easy fix that slipped my slipping mind.
Sending ❤️ love.