Clocks for people with Dementia

this image shows a clock designed for someone with dementia. It is clear and easy to follow.

Clocks for people with dementia help them stay independent.

Dementia causes short term memory loss and sufferers often forget what day it is.

There  many styles of specially designed clocks for people with dementia  and I would recommend a simple and clear one such as the one shown above. This clock is the Dayclox International Digital Calendar Day Clock and is popular as it clearly and contains all the information needed on one screen. It shows the day, date and time and confirms whether it is AM or PM.

It is important for us all to remember to take our medication at the correct time and for someone with dementia this is complicated when they start to lose track of time.

Many customers who have bought this clock have very positive feedback to share.

“This is an ideal date clock for my 93 year old Dad as he could never remember what day is was and having  it on the wall in front of him each day is great.”
“Fantastic easy to use simple to set up for my mother who is elderly and loses track of day and time. Not any more.”
“Searched for digital clock with calendar on internet for my mum who has Alzheimers. This one had the clearest display. Mum is thrilled with it and the occupational therapist asked for the details as she was impressed with its clear display. Only downside is it is electric with quite a short power lead. Highly recommended.”
“The recipient of this gift is very pleased with it. I was impressed at the combination of functionality and design – it is a lovely object, with a clear and accurate display. The price was a bit off-putting, but no regrets.”
Here is a link to a selection of clocks for people with dementia so you can compare prices and function and select one that suits their needs.

Caron

Award-winning blogger and former care columnist for Devon Life magazine. I am passionate about helping elderly people and people with dementia live purposeful and independent lives.
Designer of the Dementia Assistance Card and Points Of Light award recipient, Caron hopes to help carers when resources are limited and demand is ever-increasing. I am here to support you.

7 Comments

  1. I agree! They are clear and simple and tell you what you need to know, what the day is, the date and the time.
    Many thanks for your continued interest in Caron Cares, Robert.

  2. Those dementia clocks are a great idea – and useful for people without dementia!!

  3. Martyn has kindly shared the link to his version of clocks for those living with dementia along with available images

  4. That’s excellent Martyn and very ingenius of you to adapt a digital photo frame to do the same job. Many thanks for the links and the idea for a blog post in the future.Please keep an eye on what I am doing here and if you have any other ideas please come back and share them.
    Best Wishes, Caron.

  5. It is based on a commercially available product, which can be seen here http://www.day-clock.com/day-clock.html

    I’ve basically adapted the concept so that many of the commercially available Digital Photo Frames can be used in the same way.

    Yes the images do change to reflect the period of the day, and can be seen at the following link.

    http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8257/8665561808_0203cb3663.jpg

  6. Thanks so much Martin for such an interesting comment.Is the idea your own invention or have you seen it used elsewhere? Do the images for each period reflect the time of day such as the 10pm-6am being a night scene?

  7. It is possible to create such a clock using many of the commercially available, and cheaper, Digital Photo Frames. As long as the frame allows an image to be changed every hour on the hour, all that is needed is 168 images, one for each hour of the week.

    Once set up, the frame can then be used as a Day Clock, as shown in the image (see link below). This particular photo frame is a Motorola MLC800. The images are stored on an SD card, and once inserted, the slide show begins. All that needs to be done is to advance the slide show to the image appropriate for the hour and day, after that the frame advances on the hour. It also has its own clock and calendar, which can be turned off if required.

    Each image file is named so that the correct sequence is followed (ensure that the frame is NOT set to randomly display images).

    For this particular set up, each period has been divided as follows:
    Morning 6am to 12 noon (6 identical images – for each day)
    Afternoon 12 noon to 6pm (6 identical images – for each day)
    Evening 6pm to 10pm (4 identical images – for each day)
    Night 10pm to 6am (8 identical images – for each day)

    The day does not change until the Morning period starts, so, for example, Monday Night changes to Tuesday Morning at 6am on Tuesday. This is to avoid any confusion that may be caused by changing say Monday Night into Tuesday Night at midnight. If someone was to wake up at 2am after going to sleep on Monday Night, and the display tells them it is now Tuesday Night, they may think they have been asleep for over 24 hours.

    There are four different background images, one for each period. Each image has been selected to represent that particular period.

    If after time, the dementia sufferer is no longer able to read the words, they may still be able to see the image, and may still be able to perceive the period of the day, by using the image alone.

    I am currently using the frame illustrated (see link below) for my Mother, who has vascular dementia. So far, it seems to be helping.

    It can be seen at the following link:

    http://forum.carersuk.org/download/file.php?id=4394&mode=view

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