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How do you know when to intervene with outside activities?
Caregivers: Dementia | Last Active: 7 hours ago | Replies (29)Comment receiving replies
Has anyone ever had issues with the use of the computer and phone for their loved one with MCI. He did have a neuropsychologist evaluation and told the evaluator he does not have any issues working with his computer and phone but there are, in reality, constant issues. He claims he never gets texts sent to him, or phone calls sometimes. He can't seem to figure out how to change settings or what the settings should be on, and claims his computer is doing all kinds of weird things that are clearly operator related. I am just concerned about him doing something that will cause us financial chaos. We don't have a lot of money, and he does not have access to some accounts in my name, but others he has access to and could cause havoc. Any advice on what has worked to help with using the devices or keep him safe on them?
Replies to "Has anyone ever had issues with the use of the computer and phone for their loved..."
@nlou As my hubby’s disease has progressed he has lost his ability to use the computer, iPad or his cell phone. He can still select apps on his phone to listen to music or watch videos but that’s about it. You really need, if you don’t already have, a Durable Power of Attorney that you can give copies to your banking institutes. Back in the Summer before I had done that (I had the paperwork, just hadn’t given it to the bank) my hubby got mad at me, drove to the bank, withdrew all the money from our account and opened a new one for himself. It took me a few weeks to get that mess straightened out, but you can bet I got everything important put in right order so that wouldn’t happen again. I never dreamed he would do anything like that. It was a rough Summer and he did a few other out of the normal for him things and I ended up having to take his keys and stop his driving. You not only have to protect your loved one, but you have to protect yourself as well.
@nlou One of the first clues i had that my husband had cognitive decline was when he fell victim to aa computer scam and surrendered all of our banking information! We had to close all of our accounts and reopen new ones. This is a man who was an executive in a fortune 500 company and in charge of business systems! He now can hardly use his laptop without getting extremely agitated because it keep "losing his messages" deleting his calendar, etc Finally when he asked me how to send an attachment, I knew we had to do something. It is sad for all of us in the family, but for me to watch him struggle with things that were second nature to him a few years ago, he is so changed; I mourn that.
@nlou yes, that was my first clue something was wrong three yrs ago. Fortunately he relinquished the control of our finances shortly after. You might look at the checkbook for errors. If found, you can then show him what you found and suggest that you assume that responsibility. Hopefully he’ll see the wisdom in that. All the best!
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@nlou
I had to get my husband's debit and credit cards away from him due to financial abuse. We surrendered them to our credit union, and I changed the password to our credit union account online so he can't perform transactions. He was not happy about that and to this day asks about getting his cards back and asks for the password. Sadly I just tell him it's to protect our financial security.
When I use our debit and credit cards I make sure to call them our cards, we're spending our money; I am just the one holding 'our' cards.
Good luck to you.