iPad Lessons Have Seniors 90-and-Up Eagerly Exploring Technology at Spring Hills Lake Mary Assisted Living

One resident exclaims… “I’m as hip as my grandson!”

Orlando, FL (June 6, 2013) – The iPad, a relative new-comer on the technology scene, turns out to offer many advantages over computers for the elderly. That has led to several residents over 90-years old becoming enthusiastic regular users at Spring Hills Lake Mary in Orlando. Weekly iPad classes offered on Thursday afternoons, and taught by the Orlando lifelong learning company Team Elliott Education, introduce the ways that an iPad mimics the familiar experiences of paper and pen.

Seniors, who often fight new technology advances, quickly become comfortable with these devices, branching out to explore personal interests, games, email, Skype, e-books and web-searches. As an added bonus, a variety of iPad applications have been developed to stimulate senior brain vitality, including an app by Team Elliott.

According to Leigh Elliott, whose company presents the classes, seniors at Spring Hills Lake Mary tell her that the compact size — and even the name iPad — makes the device seem very approachable. “If the session is labeled ‘computers,’ that is often intimidating to seniors. It conveys work, difficulty, the sense that it requires ‘more than I can do’,” said Elliott. “But,” she explains, “the iPad is very intuitive for seniors. When they touch the screen, there is immediate response and reinforcement. It’s less cumbersome than a mouse and there are fewer steps to getting a result. Specifically for seniors, many folks have conditions like arthritis, which can limit dexterity or make manipulation painful. I have a fellow who uses his knuckles and another who uses a pogo, a stylus for the mouth. And for the many seniors who once were proficient typists, iPads can connect with keyboards that provide the tactile response that feels familiar and more satisfying, to some, than tapping on flat glass while writing.”

At Spring Hills Lake Mary, eager new iPad users include residents Mimi Howard 88, who loves to be challenged and is always the last resident to reluctantly end her session. Eloise Youngman, 95, is very knowledgeable of how to communicate with family via email, and successfully downloads new challenging games. She recently discovered the internet and YouTube. For Maxine McArtor, 73, e-mail is always popping with new messages and links to fun clips and slideshows. She is a top communicator via technology. Florence Minter, 90, has discovered new games and sticks with them until she feels a sense of mastery.

“It’s important to note that our focus is never on the result but it’s all about the engagement process,” concludes Leigh Elliott. “Being involved provides an atmosphere for shared social discussions within the community and within families. Residents gain confidence. They feel empowered, saying ‘I can do it’ and ‘I am as hip as my grandson!’ They love knowing that they still have it!”