Was the title of this question altered?? I do not remember the question being asked, Is it a good idea for moderate dementia patient to have a phone..........?
In any event, my mother who lived in Memory Care had a phone for the entire time she lived there, nearly 3 years. She started out with moderate dementia and progressed to advanced dementia towards the end of her life, I'd say the last 8 months or so. During the last 6 months of her life, she forgot how to use the phone entirely, but she was able to ask a caregiver to make a call FOR her from the phone in her room. The phone was her last link to the outside world, and not something I ever considered taking away from her. Yes, she became confused with it from time to time, thinking she could lower the TV volume with her phone, but all in all, it served a useful purpose. I wish I had gotten her the Amazon phone I gave you a link to down below. I think that would have helped her confusion quite a bit.
Standard phone that looks like a phone. The certain loved ones need to call the patient - if they can get together and rough out a weekly schedule that would be even better.
There *are* cell phones and big button phones and all kinds of variations designed to assist people with dementia. Some people find them helpful; one or two clients have explained to me how all they have to do is "press the button by the photo, my daughter got this for me," and then they sit and look wistfully at the phone.
Because, I don't think it's the machine itself, I think it's the process, A to B, of making a phone call. It's quite a complicated task, with several steps which must be done in the right order and often within a set amount of time, and I think it just gets overwhelming.
In any event, my mother who lived in Memory Care had a phone for the entire time she lived there, nearly 3 years. She started out with moderate dementia and progressed to advanced dementia towards the end of her life, I'd say the last 8 months or so. During the last 6 months of her life, she forgot how to use the phone entirely, but she was able to ask a caregiver to make a call FOR her from the phone in her room. The phone was her last link to the outside world, and not something I ever considered taking away from her. Yes, she became confused with it from time to time, thinking she could lower the TV volume with her phone, but all in all, it served a useful purpose. I wish I had gotten her the Amazon phone I gave you a link to down below. I think that would have helped her confusion quite a bit.
There *are* cell phones and big button phones and all kinds of variations designed to assist people with dementia. Some people find them helpful; one or two clients have explained to me how all they have to do is "press the button by the photo, my daughter got this for me," and then they sit and look wistfully at the phone.
Because, I don't think it's the machine itself, I think it's the process, A to B, of making a phone call. It's quite a complicated task, with several steps which must be done in the right order and often within a set amount of time, and I think it just gets overwhelming.
Above is a link to a phone designed for seniors with cognitive impairment, but, it depends on how advanced your patient is.
Good luck!