Follow
Share

My dad has moderate dementia, and cannot operate his TV remote by himself. He is living in a good home, but he doesn't have someone who can change the channel for him or turn it on and off. Is there any sort of TV system that would allow me to control his TV over the internet? Anyone else have this issues?

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Another option may be the Channel Chum assistive TV remote control
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

I'm sooo glad to find this thread! I also get soooo frustrated with the TV remote. Technology is great if you're a techie with great sight, but an elderly person with dementia struggles with the remote.

I bought the TEK remote for my Dad (the button blocker is WAY too small. Daddy is legally blind) and ended up super gluing a textured button to the CHANNEL UP button and told him to only use that one.

That helps some, but he has a habit of falling asleep with the remote in his hand which he drops and the batteries fall out meaning it needs to be reprogrammed).

The whole digital TV thing is a HUGE thorn in my side, especially when it comes to seniors. Dad's AL offers about 40 channels BUT the cable company makes them use a cable box. It's really hard to get a senior with dementia (or without it for that matter) to understand that you must activate the TV AND the cable box to get the channels to change.

I miss the days of a cable going directly from the TV to the wall and having one remote to control everything.

My semi solution is to tell Dad to NEVER turn off his TV. When his remote "breaks" (meaning the programming has gotten messed up again), he's forced to watch the same channel until I can come by to fix it. The AL staff hasn't learned to program the large TEK remote. Instead, they will pull out the small remote that controls the cable box. I can barely see the buttons on that one.

Sometimes I think technology forgets about seniors (My Dad can't see a Jitterbug cell phone to save his life...)
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

The Flipper worked fine at my house, but not AL. According to the Flipper website last July/August the box I got from Comcast merged with another company and it was not compatible with Flipper..I also have Comcast Cable at my house. She has been using remote that she got from Comcast somewhat easily..we set up the Favorites.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

I don't know what cable box your mom has, but I had no issue with the one in my dad's AL facility. I tried all the numbers listed for the box, and it worked with the highest (newest) number.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

The Flipper isn't compatible with my moms cable box in her AL.i read that on the Flippers website..have they fixed the issue?
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

The Flipper remote that SunnyGirl1 is referring to DOES work with cable boxes. It also has a solution to the out of syncing issue between TV and cable box that JesseBell mentioned. There is a code you can type in that will keep the cable box on all the time, so that the on/off button only controls the TV and therefore never gets out of sync. I installed this or my father's TV in an AL facility, and it is working extremely well. Depending on the TV, setup can take while, but there are several ways to do it, and it should work with any TV. Another great feature it has is the ability to program in his favorite channels, so that the rest don't appear.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

My dad likes the news and will watch football if I turn the TV on. But many times when I visit him it is unplugged.
Mom used to have control of the remote so I am not to surprised he doesn't know how to use it.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

From my post earlier, find Button Blocker
buttonblocker
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

Yogagirl, we burned a lot of calories back then getting up off that sofa :)

I wonder if the downfall of more people not being as healthy all started with the invention of the remote control and the Lazyboy recliners :P
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Remember when the TV had one button to turn it on and off and a dial to turn the channel? You had to actually stand up back then. Those were the days...
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

Anybody want to make some serious money? Make a dementia-proof TV controller. Or a dementia TV all together...one that comes on and plays a pre-programmed selection of shows (travelogues, Bonanza, Sky King, whatever) for a set period at a set volume. In a box with NO controls and a hidden plug (stops them from unplugging it). I had a video picture show frame for Mom. She kept unplugging it (it showed a series of still photos). Finally I asked her why and she said the pictures made her sad. Oh well.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

As I read this I am chuckling. This must be a very common problem. Another problem is my aunt turns the tv off during commercials, "to save electricity". We have lost movies this way, and have learned to take the remote with us on a bathroom trip. AND we have a puppy who loves to chew anything we touch. Working on our 4th remote!
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend a day in the ER with my cousin who has a fractured arm. It was a long day with a lot of waiting between tests. I put the tv in our cubicle on Bonanza, one of her old favorite shows, but she hardly noticed it. It was like she couldn't focus at all. I then put it on ACC Basketball, her former very FAVORITE sport, besides wrestling. ACC basketball is like a religion in NC. She smiled, but couldn't look at the screen for more than a few seconds. It's just not there any longer.
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

This was a big problem for my dad. I bought a ton of different ones and never did find a solution. Good to see new options.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

That's great info MWB123. Sometimes you have to try a few things to get one that works.

I see that I posted upthread in July 2014 about a basic remote that my cousin could use. Sadly, it didn't last long. She soon forgot about turning on a tv. It's not something that interest her anymore. I do hate that, because she used to enjoy her tv so much. Now, it doesn't capture her attention for more than 10 seconds.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

I've looked into some of these other simplified remotes, but I could not get them to program. However, I did find a new creation called Button Blocker.

It's a removable remote control, that covers the useless buttons on the remote, simplifying it by exposing only the most basic and frequent buttons (power, volume, guide). It's interesting in that it does not need to be programmed, and it fits right on the cable remote control. And it's hard to lose if it's the glow in the dark model. Worth taking a look into.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

We live in an area that we are able to use ANTENNA. We have good reception for antenna, as some places don't. It's simple, it works, and it's basically free. It works for us. We may be the last ones who use antenna, but it's okay. The stations we watch come in clear, and that's fine. We don't get 150 channels, but I do like my Wheel of Fortune and Survivor.... :) It is fun to go to neighbors and watch their satellite or cable, whatever it is. Ask me to change the channel? Forget it, it would take me all day to figure out what remote to use and buttons to push. Besides, you have to point it in the right directions... I need a simple remote.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Litldogtoo, unfortunately I couldn't read the article as I am not a subscriber to the Wall Street Journal :(

I did find an article that says 50% of households use both landline and cellphones, so there is still a large market for landlines. And those of us lucky enough to have Verizon FiOS cable, we can continue to use landlines.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

@frequent flier -

Pretty sure hardwire is on it's way out .... see article below. I've also read this on other news sources. The enhanced 911 is going to have to change somehow. It's the sign of the times. I don't particularly like it, just saying. :)

online.wsj/news/articles/SB10001424052702304834704579403090132882148
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

Gaylein, cardboard under the duct tape works better. Perhaps you could just try a timer on the tv...like the kind you use for a Christmas tree to on and off it if it becomes a problem again.
I am about to do that too, to limit the TV time. He CAN do stuff but just chooses to sit with the darn thing on 16 hours a day and it is LOUD. I spent a fortune last year buying the headphones and he is very resistant to that. It is very annoying in a two bedroom home when I want to sleep and have to wait for the stupid ballgame (always extra innings) to go off.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

My parents use an antenna for their TV's and have since the beginning of TV time. It works great and they get a lot of channels because we are in a large metro area.... thus a lot of PBS stations.

I was thinking, if one's parents are mobile, thus can easily get in and out of a chair and walk to the TV, most newer TV's still have the old fashioned buttons on the bottom front or on the side of the flat screen.... only problem is that on some TV models the buttons blend in with the frame. My Sony has the buttons on the side, and they are large... On/Off, Volume, and Channels.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

My mom no longer remembers how to use the remote for the tv. When she was still at home with me, I even duct taped the remote so the only buttons that were available were the ones that she needed to push. That didn't work. She would touch buttons to get it tv fouled up and just have to sit there until we got home. I hated that. She is now in a nursing home. She does not have the ability to ask someone to turn her tv on or off so I met with the staff in a patient care meeting and told them that I wanted her tv turned on in the morning and left on all day until she went to bed a night. I also put up a sign in her room telling them that. Otherwise, someone will take her to a meal and turn off her tv. Someone else will bring her back and the tv will not be on and mom will sit there staring at the blank tv screen. The signs are finally working now. I just want the tv left on so that she has some entertainment during the day since she can no longer read her books any more. The problem with the remote is that she would hold it in her arthritic hand and even with the duct tape on, she would touch buttons on the remote with her fingers that were wrapped around it. Oh, the things we do........
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

We do not have cable tv or satellite tv. We have an antenna on a pole outside our house which feeds the signal to our two tv's. We have about 12 local channels. We either rent movies (no high speed internet either) or read.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Litldogtoo, hard wired telephones [land-lines] will be around for awhile because currently technology is still trying to find a way for someone to dial 911 on a cellphone and have it give the location of where the call is coming.

I will never give up my land-line, I had to call 911 a couple of weeks ago, and the dispatcher had my exact address, all I needed to do was verify it. This is great incase someone has a stroke and can still dial 911 via a land-line but cannot tell the dispatcher where they live.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

I know there are very large remotes here for elderly people you can buy from a catologue? Big numbers on them?
I write it down for mum but its getting harder!
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

I am not a tech person, but it seems to me if you can watch tv on your cell phone or tablet, maybe there is some way to opperate her tv remotely, and or, to preprogram her favorite shows so all she does is turn the tv on (maybe not even that). I know what my dad likes, and set the channel up to play while I am away for a bit. (He likes Monk, NCIS, Law & Order Criminal intent, America's funniest videos, 60 min. Wheel of Fortune) He has recently go to getting stuck on a cartoon station if i leave the remote with him. He has wireless headphones so he controls the volume with them. Maybe the Tv could be on a timer for on and off.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

My 20-something nephew recently demonstrated use of his voice-controlled Ipad, which can somehow be linked to a TV. He simply said, "TV On" or "Channel 3" and it worked. I don't have an Ipad, so don't understand. I am not a techie, but just read this old review on voice-activated remotes:


Apparently in 2012, PC World didn't think these products were yet ready for the average person. I have not found any similar reviews that are more recent. My nephew made it look easy.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

BTW, what's up with this antenna business? The only antenna I can think of that you're talking about is Dish? But that would be remote, too. I didn't even think there were antennas anymore. Everything is cable now and it's been that way for at least ten? years? I remember getting a small box to convert my old tv from analogue to digital?

And it's coming your way if it hasn't already. Same with telephone. Pretty soon, new customer will not be able to get hard wired phones. I'd Google this for people who are saying to get an antenna, but I'm way too tired today.
Helpful Answer (0)
Report

OMG! And I thought my mom was the only one!

Books on tape aren't really all that good because most people my mom's age can't hear. Plus she doesn't like books, period. She has never read an entire book in her life. I have subscribed to large print New York Times for her (it's the only one that offers large print 'news' although that's debateable :) ) and Reader's Digest Large Print (she sits there and pretends to read it)

An antenna would be impossible as I live in a condo.

And people in my mother's age group still believe that tv is 'new' and great invention for some reason.

I just have to bite the bullet, walk into the den where she watches three programs each day, i.e., The Price Is Right, The Chew, and Katie (which has been in reruns since March but she just doesn't believe me)

You made me feel better about her not being able to just push the red button!

Thank you for at least making me feel a bit better today that my mother can't operate the remote. In fact, I'd hazard a guess that she never could operate the remote and they've been around for thirty years or so!
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

The AL facility has some set up with satellite. I'm not sure of the details, but I don't think they would agree to put a box in each room, but if they do, I'll just get my cousin an indoor antenna as described above instead of using the box. It will suffice, IMO. My cousin's dementia does not allow her to actually comprehend what she's watching. She enjoys seeing things, but doesn't actually understand what's going on. I've discussed this with her a lot. When I ask her what's happening on the tv show, she says she's not sure. She can tell you that people are sad, upset or happy, but not why. She likes to watch the old comedies like The Cosbys, Roseanne, etc.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter