Tech Companies Eager To Market Health Devices To Booming Population Of Older Americans
But some experts question if the people at these startup companies really know what the older generation needs in terms of tech gadgets.
The Mercury News:
As Adults Get Older And Lonelier, Smart Devices Want To Help
From technology-assisted home-care services such as Honor to hardware products such as grandPad’s tablet for seniors, with a magnifying glass and simplified apps, businesses are seeking to tap into a booming population of older adults and help them tackle a critical challenge of modern aging: social isolation. More than 8 million Americans over 50 are affected by isolation, which is a “growing health epidemic,” according to Connect2Affect, an advocacy group launched by the American Association of Retired Persons to erase social isolation. (Lee, 2/4)
In other health and technology news —
Sacramento Bee:
MIND Institute Uses Skype To Teach Parents To Be Speech Therapists For Their Children
[Kristen] Lundstrom and her son are participating in a study that is “training parents so they can essentially function like the speech language clinicians for their own kids,” said Dr. Leonard Abbeduto, principal researcher in the study and executive director of the MIND Institute. ...And while they’re reading, speech language clinicians at the MIND Institute coach Lundstrom via Skype in ways to draw Tyson out, such as how to ask questions that will prompt him to expand his answers and use new vocabulary words. (Sullivan, 2/5)