Are there any medical alert companies that help people who can't speak?

My mom uses MobileHelp. If you accidentally set off the alert, you can press the lanyard button for an extended amount of time (I think six seconds) and it will cancel the call. On the main unit that sits on her table, it also has a cancel button. I'm not 100% if they require you to speak after you've pressed the cancel button, but you might want to check them out.

My husband has primary progressive aphasia. He can no longer use technology. While I or someone else is always with him, in the event he's somehow alone, I created a "business card" and had it laminated. I ask him to always have it on him, and to show it when approached. It states: "My name is ___ and I have Primary Progressive Aphasia with Dementia. I am unable to speak. Please contact my wife, Alicia, phone #. " On the back, I listed contact info for his primary doctor, neurologist, our son, and his brother. I have a copy in my wallet should I become incapacitated, so they're aware of how to help him. There's a copy in the car glove compartment readily visible, and I posted this information on the refrigerator as well.
I hope this helps. I understand all too well how much worry and concern one feels for a loved one, especially when s/he cannot communicate. Good luck to you.

Hi
Lots of good information in previous answers. We also use life alert. My husband is deaf and can't respond to the dispatcher if the alert is activated either accidently or due to an emergency. We have it set up that BEFORE they send the EMT/Fire Dept/Police they call me or my daughter (who luckily lives down the street). We have a keypad on the garage door so emergency help can gain entrance if for some reason one of us isn't available. We live in a small town, so I don't mind giving the EMTs/Police/Fire Dep. the code to keep in their records. I hope you can find something that works for her (and you).

NJtoWV: Perhaps your MIL will have to get a different medical alert company, since the current one, even though they've been advised of their client's inability to vocalize, may be just erring on the side of caution. Perchance their client could be on the floor.

Her current alert company are a bunch of wombats, then. How many thousands of their customers must have impaired speech? In fact, I'd be surprised if there isn't some way round this - an agreed alert such as a handbell or squeaky ball or anything that can be used to give an okay message or an emergency message. It could just be a matter of setting it up with them - have you been able to ask a human being in customer service about this?

On Tuesday I tested a couple's smoke alarm, a routine part of our assessments. Oh boy. Ten minutes later their neighbour hammers on the door to say don't panic don't panic the fire brigade are on their way - ! The couple had either forgotten or at least had forgotten to mention that their smoke alarm is linked in to some fantastically sophisticated (= paranoid) multiple hazard protocol that silently sets off an emergency escalation. And which we had no way of stopping once it started.

The firemen were very nice about it. And the couple are letting their contract lapse.

My 89-year-old mother has aphasia. I recommend you do what I did. Contact your fire department and ask for their input and recommendations. With their help, Mom and I decided on LIFE ALERT. We also had an emergency "lock box" put on the house so that EMTs, the FIRE DEPARTMENT and POLICE could have access "BEFORE" a family member arrived and could start investigation of whatever emergency had arisen. Life Alert was excellent from our perspective. My only problem was getting Mom to remember her "remote" button when she went outside to take a walk, get the mail, etc. The pendant she wore only worked a short distance outside the house doors. Again, talk to those people who would respond to emergency alters (and even physicians) on what best suits your mom.

Call your phone company to see if they have a phone available that allows her to type her responses. Or look up 'speech to relay services' in your area

If your MIL can operate a smart phone, tablet, or computer she can use a free translation app to speak for her, such as Google Translate. Select the option to translate English to English and then type in what she would normally want to say ("I cannot speak. I pressed the button by mistake. Do not send an ambulance") and then hold the phone receiver to the smart phone, tablet, or computer speaker so the medic alert company can hear what she has typed. I worked in vocational rehab for 28 years before retiring 2 years ago and this was a widely used method by our students that had trouble speaking.

There are special devices for people with aphasia, too, you can do a web search for those. They are basically small tablets with keyboards that do the same thing as a translation service. Your MIL's insurance may even help with the cost. Our state has a 'lending library' of assistive devices for people with disabilities that I used to provide technical support for as needed so know such devices exist.

Another possibility is that If MIL can operate a phone or tablet but finds the translation service a bit too much someone can prerecord a message and put it on the device so all she has to do it open it and let it play for the medic alert company (you could even use an old school tape recorder and do the same thing). It could include anything you want it to say including a number for them to call someone (you, neighbor, friends, etc.) so they can check on her without sending an ambulance. The problem with this is that if the medic alert company starts asking questions, she won't be able to answer (might want to state that in the recorded message).

For your MIL's needs it doesn't look like there is any solution that isn't going to involve some kind of technology, so I hope you find a solution for her. Good luck.

Even though family names were added. Who’s to say if the accident is or isn’t really happening . They’re not there to see if she is really ok. Some if the ambulance were to call them they could just send them away within knowing if she’s hurt or not. It’s best they come to check. Someone should be there with her or have s camera connected to co. How about ADT. Life Alert..

It’s it possible u can have it like blind ppl do for braille. This way it could be typed once she picks up. Get in touch with a company for the blind and see how they do it. It’s good they still come out bc u never know.

Maybe 911 can be alerted that she cannot speak and can set up a system (of
maybe sos) if she need help or yes/no
maybe they could call her handicap phone ? I believe she can type in a message ?
my brother got one free.

I’m wondering if the deaf community would be able to offer any ideas.

This isn’t going to help you and I don’t know if this will ever come to fruition. Although I don’t work in the home automation market, I’ve been a user of home automation for at least 30 years. Rarely have I seen anything offered by that market, for elder and medical care, even with the Aging of America. I don’t know if it is legalities, disinterest, or ignorance. But it seems it might be a huge boon for that market. The only 2 things I’ve seen were a horribly-designed button necklace offered by a home automation system Lowe’s used to offer and system called Mother (or something like that, that couldn’t seem to get off the ground.

I was looking for something like that in my 30s and I’ll soon be 60. The closest I’ve come, is having an Apple Watch, that will detect a fall — maybe. I used to work for Apple. So, they’ve been able to move into this market a bit.

Perhaps like the rest of the tech market, they’re looking at the youth geographic and trying to make whatever’s cool, forgetting that a lot of people who grew up with tech are getting older, live alone and can’t afford in-home healthcare, let alone a nursing home. If they even have children, those children are often working 2+ jobs and are not going to be providing eldercare, when they can’t even afford to save for their own retirement and eldercare.

So this might be a win/win, for both home automation companies and families. But there has remained a crevasse in this market, even with neighbors who need help, medical care, and eldercare going after their neighbors, to force them into service. Trust me, I know. I have such a neighbor. She retired early and her family lives in-state, but she feels entitled to my life and has smeared me to others, to get me to comply with what she wants.

No answer. Became an issue for my mom when aides were leaving before they should because they'd ask and she'd say OK even though we told them not to. She was in a wheelchair from stroke, couldn't manipulate phone/button on alert. We worried the next aide wouldn't show and she'd have no way to let anyone know. We looked into cameras, ended up insisting aides were never to leave without next aide there. She died in October. I don't miss this piece of her care. ❤ Even though most of the aides were adequate at best, we were able to keep her home. She went quickly in the end. Less than 2 weeks...

She is a vulnerable senior adult whose disability makes her (mostly) unable to call for help. It makes me uneasy that no one is with her during the day. She should have a sitter at least.

Yes, Willie is correct. There should be where a contact is listed and called before an ambulance is called. My Moms had a fall sensor so an ambulance was called automatically if she did not answer. Mom also used Phillips.

Do the newer ones still need a landline? If a cell can be used then she can text she is ok. Call your County Disabilities Dept and see if they can help.

It's been a while since my mom had Philip's Lifeline but they were set up to call a list of contacts before resorting to an ambulance if none of those were available, so for my mom her neighbours, then family, then local EMS. Plus the base for the unit had a button on top that could reset the unit, so I assume that could be used to confirm that your mother is OK if she was asked to hit the reset.
Another solution would be to use some kind of prerecorded message that she could play for the call centre.