Ambler Way Support Services was founded in Yorkshire in 1984 by Ken and Kath Ambler to provide residential services in the Bradford area for people with learning disabilities.
Ambler Way Support Services are constantly looking to improve the wellbeing and independence of their residents and have recently installed assistive technology at two of their residential sites.
The large version of the Abilia cognitive aid MEMOplanner is an audible and visual smart device providing time and planning assistance that you simply place where it can be seen in the home. It assists by showing what day it is, the time of day, what activities you have scheduled for the day, week and month. It also gives clear reminders and helps with helpful checklists. When used online, it enables support workers and family members the ability to manage the calendars through the myAbilia web service.
Jack is a resident at Bankfield, one of Ambler Way Support Services’ homes. He was concerned about remembering his laundry day and so to help him remember, but more importantly, to manage his daily living, he removed the picture from the Argos catalogue detailing the bed coverings he had bought. Jack then copied and laminated the page 52 times writing the date on each page when his weekly laundry had to be done.
Today Jack has his MEMOplanner connected online and installed in his kitchen. This provides him with audible and visual reminders of the day’s activities, including those checkable activities ensuring Jack continues to maintain his independence.
Having the MEMOplanner has reduced the stress that Jack would often experience, and his days are now more structured. The need for those laminated instructions are no longer required.
In another Ambler Way Support Services apartment lives Simon. He is always keen to understand what his next task or activity will be and regularly asks his support team to remind him again, what time, where at, with who and for how long. Since starting to use his MEMOplanner, Simon does not ask these questions as often. Instead, he can now see all the information he needs again and again simply by viewing his MEMOplanner, which he can interrogate further if he needs additional information, whilst giving back time to his support team.
Whilst out and about, should they wish to view their MEMOplanner, Jack and Simon can do so by accessing the MEMOplanner Go app on their phones. The app is replicating the information on the MEMOplanner and can be edited or added to, with full synchronization between the devices.
Jo Currie, the manager at Rough Nook in Haworth said “Tony came to see us last year to discuss the Abilia products and we quickly realised how the MEMOplanner would work well for some of our residents. The MEMOplanners have provided reinforcement of the daily activities for Jack and Simon combining instant visual reminders with audible alerts alleviating stress and providing the reassurance required to reduce unnecessary anxiety”.
If you would like to learn more, please contact us at info@abilia.com
