Many senior citizens or people with disabilities or injuries make use of assistive technology-tools, products, or kinds of equipment that help people perform tasks and activities. They can be as simple as a hearing aid, a walker, or a magnifying glass, or as complex as a computer or motor scooter.More specifically, assistive technology or adaptive devices are services or instruments that help senior citizens or people with disabilities perform the activities they used to perform but must now perform differently. Anything that helps the elderly continue to do daily activities in the context of in home care is considered assistive technology.Assistive Technology Options and DevicesMany kinds of disabilities exist, so many kinds of assistive technology have been created to help people overcome a great range of disabilities. Some kinds of assistive technology are described below: 
Adaptive switches. These are modified switches that senior citizens can use to adjust devices like air conditioners, power wheelchairs, etc. by using the tongue or voice.
Communication equipment. This is anything that helps someone send and receive messages, such as a telephone amplifier.
Computer access. This is special software that helps senior citizens access the Internet or basic hardware like a modified mouse or keyboard to make the computer more user-friendly.
Education. This category includes audio books, Braille writing tools, and resources for people to get additional vocational training.
Home modifications. This can include some remodeling to overcome physical barriers and live more comfortably. An example is constructing a ramp to allow wheelchair access.
Tools for independent living. This is anything that allows senior citizens to enjoy daily life without additional assistance. An example is a handicapped-accessible bathroom with grab bars in the bathtub.
Job-related items. This is any process or device that facilitates your job. This could include a special type of chair or pillow if you work at a desk or a back brace if you perform physical labor.
Mobility aids. This is any device that allows a senior citizen to move around more easily, including a power wheelchair, a wheelchair lift, or a stair elevator.
Orthotic or prosthetic equipment. This is a tool that compensates for a missing or disabled body part. This could include shoe inserts for someone with fallen arches or an artificial arm for someone who has undergone an amputation.
Recreational assistance. This is a method or device that enables people with disabilities to enjoy fun activities. A couple examples are swimming lessons from recreational therapists and specially made skis for senior citizens who have lost a limb.
Seating aids. This is a modification to a chair, wheelchair, or motor scooter that helps someone remain upright, move up and down without assistance, or decrease the amount of pressure on the skin. This could be as simple as an extra pillow or as complex as a motorized seat.
Sensory enhancements. These are devices that help people who are partially blind or deaf to participate in more activities. This could include a caption option on a television for a senior citizen who is hard of hearing.
Therapy. This could include equipment or processes that encourage and work toward recovery after an illness or injury. This may involve both services and technology, like having a physical therapist use a specialized massage unit to restore a more complete range of motion in stiff muscles.
Transportation assistance. This category includes devices for senior citizens that facilitate getting into and out of vehicles and driving safely, including adjustable mirrors, seats, and steering wheels. Drive-up windows at the department of motor vehicles that allow the elderly to maintain and register their vehicles are also included.
Now that you know what falls into the category of assistive technology, you may be wondering what the benefits are. For starters, many senior citizens view assistive technology as a way to live independently without worrying about having long-term elder care or living in a nursing home. It allows in home care to be conducted in areas of living such as bathing and going to the bathroom.Studies show that the majority of senior citizens who use methods of assistive technology have reduced their dependence on others, including paid assistance. Families may need to make monthly payments for this kind of equipment, but the costs are generally less than those associated with in home care or nursing homes. This means that assistive technology can reduce the cost of elder care for senior citizens and their families.Assistive Technology Needs Assessment in the ElderlyIs assistive technology right for you? Planning and assessment are important parts of deciding whether to use assistive technology since it can interfere with your current services or the way in which those services are provided.This assessment is most thorough when it involves many people within your spectrum of support. For instance, if you have trouble communicating or are hard of hearing, you may wish to consult with your doctor, an audiology specialist, a speech-language therapist, or other elder care provider to identify your specific problem and determine the plan that will best address your needs. If assistive technology is a part of this plan, your team can help decide which devices are appropriate for you, choosing the most effective tools at the lowest cost. Training to use the devices chosen may also be included in your plan.A case study shows the benefits of conducting a needs assessment and working with a team in terms of improving the quality of life of an elderly woman:A team worked together to help Christina find and buy a hearing aid that allowed her to hear well again. She could watch television again with the help of special magnification equipment and a telecaption decoder. More assistive technology allowed her to talk on the phone and use the computer like she used to. When combined with her hearing aid, assistive technology improved the quality and ease of Christina’s life.When you’re considering assistive technology, it’s helpful to look at both simple and complex solutions to find the one that’s best for you over a range of time. Complex, high-tech solutions may be more expensive, but they’re usually more adaptable if your needs change over time. Simple, low-tech solutions may be cheaper in the short-run, but they aren’t as adaptable. Before purchasing any expensive assistive technology, make sure it can be upgraded to change with your needs and upgraded as improvements are designed. Here are some questions to ask when considering assistive technology:
Which tasks do you need help with, and how frequently do you need help?
Which types of assistive technology will enable you to be most independent?
Is there a more advanced device that addresses more than one of your needs?
Does the manufacturer have a preview policy so you can try out the equipment and return it for credit if it isn’t what you need?
How do you expect your needs to change over the next six months? the next six years or longer?
Is the equipment up-to-date? Will it likely be off the market in the near future?
Which kinds of assistive technology are available that meet your needs?
Which types of assistive technology have you used before, and how did those devices work?
Will you always need help with a certain task, and can the device be adjusted to fit your needs as your condition changes?
Costs and Payment Options for Assistive TechnologyAnother important aspect of deciding whether you’d like to use assistive technology is cost and financing. Currently, no single private insurance plan or public program will cover the entire cost of assistive technology under any circumstances, but Medicare Part B can cover up to 80 percent of the cost of equipment that falls under the category of “durable medical equipment.” This includes devices that are “primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose, and generally are not useful to a person in the absence of illness or injury.”Some state-run Medicaid programs also cover some assistive technology. This may help you, but it will not cover the entire cost of buying an expensive device like a power wheelchair.If you’re a senior citizen who is eligible for veterans’ benefits, you may also want to explore the possibility of financial assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). This agency has an existing structure to pay for the large volume of devices it purchases, and it invests in training people to operate assistive technology.Other options to pay for assistive technology are private health insurance and paying with your own funds. Paying out-of-pocket is generally a viable option for simple items like modified eating utensils, but most senior citizens need assistance in paying for more complex devices. Another option is finding discounts, grants, or rebates from not-for-profit organizations or companies that want you to try a certain product that you might not otherwise consider. If you’re looking into this option, you may want to be careful-businesses with commercial interests have the potential to be fraudulent.Since private health insurance does not cover the entire cost of this equipment, you may want to look into subsidy programs, which can provide some kinds of assistive technology at a reduced cost or for free.

A Communications Plan? “What is that?” I hear you asking. What am I getting at? Every business has stakeholders. Having a communications plan is all about how you maintain a “conversation” with the various stakeholders in your business. “Stakeholders” is simply a term that refers to anyone and everyone that has some role to play within or in conjunction with your organization – from the directors and shareholders to your customers, your suppliers, your financiers and even the community in which you operate your business.The number one issue with having and executing a communications plan is trust. It is impossible to run a successful business without maintaining the trust of its stakeholders. Regular, honest and meaningful communication is critical to a business’ ability to relay important messages to their stakeholders and to receiving vital feedback that will keep the business on track toward successfully executing its business plan. Effective communication is the key to developing and maintaining that most elusive of business talismans – “relationships”.Successful businesses (and business people) run on the rails of relationships and successful relationships run on the rails of effective communications. Good communication of critical issues can deepen relationships with key stakeholders – customers, prospects, suppliers, etc. Poor communication is a sure-fire way to destroy relationships or make it impossible to develop close relationships in the first place. While it is well documented that true communication is always a two-way street, having an effective communications plan for your business is decidedly about only one direction – your business communicating to your stakeholders effectively. You can only plan your communications – the stakeholders you are communicating to are ultimately responsible for their response to your communications. A great communications plan can, however, direct your stakeholders towards responding in the most positive manner possible.But why would the bank be interested in your communications plan and in whether or not you have one?What is it that makes a business with a clear communications plan more bankable than one that has an ad hoc approach to stakeholder communications? Well, first of all, if you’re looking to borrow some of the bank’s money, you are asking them to become one of the stakeholders in your business. If you have no structured and clear plan as to how you are going to communicate to your stakeholders, the bank has a good reason not to back you. Prove to the bank that you have the plans in place to effectively communicate with all of your stakeholders and you will go a long way toward convincing them that you are not going to become a “problem account” at the first sign of any unforeseen deviations from your well-thought out business plans.Listed below are the keys to an effective communications plan. See if you are already doing any of these things and consider starting to do some of the ones you’re not already doing.

Quickly communicate any good news to your stakeholders. Cost savings that you can pass on to your best customers. Exceeding your sales and profit targets. Awards that your business has just won. Anything that would make any of your stakeholders happy that they are doing business with your company.
Quickly (and completely) communicate any bad news to your stakeholders. I can hear the “What – are you nuts?” responses now. But remember, the whole point here, the “number one issue” is trust. Almost any bad news can be dealt with – especially when it is addressed quickly; destroyed trust tends to stay destroyed – forever.
Don’t forget to communicate with all of your stakeholders. That means your best clients, your favorite suppliers and the business banker that has endeared himself to you like a member of your very own family. But it also means your least favorite clients, the people that take some effort to keep in communication with because you just don’t have that natural rapport with them. The best part of this is that an effective communications plan might include communicating to your worst clients, suppliers or employees that they no longer need to carry the burden of being your clients, suppliers or employees. If some stakeholder in your business is making it impossible to deal with them (or simply making it more difficult to deal with your preferred stakeholders) – effective communication might include giving them the “thanks but no thanks” talk or explaining to them the conditions they will need to adhere to in order to continue being a stakeholder in your business.
Know how much communication each of your stakeholders actually wants. Some stakeholders might be fine with an annual letter updating them on anything new that would have an impact on them. Other stakeholders may want to be in constant contact. Some stakeholders, like your bank, might actually have you agree to loan covenants that require you to communicate specific financial information to them monthly or quarterly.
Be aware of your business’ obligations to communicate certain information to certain stakeholders. The best example of this situation is the Tax Office – get your communications plan wrong with them and you will not have to worry about your business’ communication plan for very much longer.
Effective communications means finding ways to create win-win situations with as many stakeholders as possible. With more communication and the enhanced relationships that will result from better communication, you should be able to uncover many ways to make all of the stakeholders involved better off. Think better trade terms, improvements in efficiency, sharing of market intelligence, more engaged employees, better reputation in the community – the possibilities are endless!
Make sure you don’t take any of your stakeholders for granted. It is important to communicate with everyone that has a stake in the operation of your business. There is a lot of talk out there about concentrating your attention on the magical “top 20%”, but you have to balance that with the fact that some of the stakeholders that aren’t making your top 20% today might be, potentially, in your top 20% in the years to come.

Depending on your short or long term objectives, you will need to identify your target before considering to invest your money and more importantly: knowing how much to invest.How do I know which investment duration to choose?This all depends on your financial needs. If you believe that you will need to have access to your investment at any given time, you shouldn’t take any risks and should always opt for investments which don’t require your funds to frozen for any period of time. Liquid investments are always key in this instance.However, if you have other investments which are liquid and want to invest additional funds, then you could always opt for longer term investments (5 to 10 years) which leaves your doors open to more choices. Although longer investments sometimes involve slightly higher risk, the rewards are significantly higher than those of short-term investments.Let’s take a look at various investment lengths and what they mean for you:Short term:Professional investors and fund managers will generally classify a short-term investment as one which lasts 3 years or less. Those usually include a saving account, a money market fund or any other type of investment which offers you some sort of guarantee on your investment’s time frame. Although you don’t really benefit from high payouts, the main advantage of this type of investment is security of your funds.Medium term:Usually lasting between 3 to 8 years, a medium-term investment still contains minimized risk over the period of time of your investment, while the rewards are slightly higher than those mentioned in the previous point. With a good diversification of your funds and well thought-out placement of your investment in commodities, you can get a healthy return on your investment.Long term:Usually going beyond 8 years, long-term investments make time your best friend. This allows you to invest in markets which usually contain volatility in the short-term but which are historically the most profitable in the long term, given that they always get back to their original level before finding new peaks.Finding your own objectives:Your objectives are not only defined by the length of your preferred investment choices, but also by the amount of capital that you have. There are usually two types of investment: one which aims to generate capital from a low sum, and one which entails investing a large sum of money in order to generate periodic returns on that large investment. You should also always ask yourself what your goal is; if it’s to save for a house, retirement, or your kid’s college fund, avoid any risky investment which may hinder your goals.How’s your temper?Even if you find the perfect time frame and know exactly how much you’re going to invest, an investor’s nerves can sometimes be their own worst enemy. If a loss of 10% of your funds will stress you out, you’re better off opting for a safe investment which will not stress you out as much. Placing long-term investment in diamonds is the preferred method of many people simply because it is a safe method which gives you a steady return every year.