As one insightful HECM loan originator opines from his vast experience working with seniors, “I believe there is another kind of grieving as well…for sake of a better term, I will simply call it ‘anticipated grief’.
Continue readingEnhancing Communication / Part 2: In a Different Voice
Last month we focused on leading technologies and strategies to help reverse mortgage clients and prospects with hearing loss. But what if your client can’t speak?
In the past, people turned to augmentative communication devices such as a picture board or touch screen that used pictures or symbols. The speech-impaired person might touch the image of a glass to ask for a drink. While such devices can be customized, they’re still a far cry from full communication. And they only work in face-to-face interactions.
But we live in the age of smart. Now, on the heels of smart phones, comes Smartstones.
Smartstones is, yes, a stone that enables the user to tap rather than talk, using touch and gesture to send a clear message — and at distance. With a touch or swipe as on a typical keypad, a Smartstones user can send a message that they’re on the way, feel fine (or blue), or any number of basic messages one might send with a text. The difference is, this wearable “status-casting” device is small, screenless, and goes anywhere. Designed for mobility (the key to aging in place for most seniors), Smartstones are the size of a small river stone (and resemble one) that may be worn, held, or kept in a pocket without weighing the user down. They open up a whole new meaning to “rock and roll.”
“Smartstones are the quintessential example of ‘high tech meets high touch,'” says gerontologist Katy Fike, cofounder of Aging2.0. “While the device itself is extremely high-tech, the user experience is beautifully simple and intuitive. Smartstones opens up new communication channels and ways to stay connected.”
Smartstones: prose is a new product, now in beta, that enables people with verbal communication challenges due to stroke, dementia, etc. to “speak”. With one simple touch, family members (or a reverse mortgage candidate and LO) can communicate with one another non-verbally.
The criteria for participation are:
- Person with a diagnosis of some form of communication challenge (stroke, dementia, other) or a caregiver that is able to help facilitate
- Own or use of an iPhone 4S or newer, iOS 8
- Ability to physically maneuver phone (e.g. able to swipe screen and move actual phone from side to side)
- Cognitive ability to utilize language skills, but unable to communicate verbally
If you know of any qualified candidates for the Smartstones beta test, have them visit this page to request participation. A quantum leap forward from personal alert systems, a Smartstone also might be the device that saves a senior’s life.
Enhancing Communication / Part 1: Hear, Hear! Hearing Loss Can Be An Audible Problem
The Center for Hearing and Communication reports that 30-40 percent of people over 65 have some type of hearing loss. But younger people (perhaps even reverse mortgage professionals themselves) aren’t immune: 14 percent of those ages 45-64 also have some type of hearing loss.
Continue readingFirst Person: Awakening to Grief
“The utility of living consists not in the length of days, but in the use of time; a man may have lived long, and yet lived but a little.” We use our time well when we hold the hearts of those we serve, whether relatives, friends, clients — or strangers.
Continue readingCars that Will Drive Miss Daisy — By Themselves
The emerging self-propelled or “robo cars” lend new meaning to the word automobile — and may be the answer to aging drivers’ diminished capabilities to safely navigate behind the wheel, say Joseph Coughlin and Peter Diamandis.
Continue readingFacing the Inevitable With Grace and Wit
It’s time to talk about the subject-that-must-not-be-named. Yes, death. While 100 percent of us will make this crossing at some point, it remains the greatest conversational taboo…
Continue readingAge Is a State of Grace, Part 2: Dream Jobs for Elders
Do any of your reverse mortgage clients or prospects still work, not necessarily because they need the money but to continue to contribute their skills and wisdom to the world? If some of your senior contacts are experiencing low spirits, perhaps a part-time dream job could be the cure.
Continue readingRetire? Bah, Humbug!
The time is ripe for reverse mortgage to play a grander role as a possible way to fund one’s elder years, since even part-time positions after retirement are unlikely to generate the income level needed to keep pace with the rising cost of living, or unexpected health care expenses that aren’t covered under Medicare.
Continue readingHack Your Way to A Fabulous Day
Genius Awakening suggests that reverse mortgage experts who want to build enduring business relationships and enjoy ongoing success do the following…
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