Linespike

Hello,

I have a Father-in-law who lost his hearing late in life and doesn't know sign language nor speak English fluently. He is in his eighties and drives. Today we were presented with the possibility that he might get lost while driving in his new locale, and he may need assistance from someone in contacting family or getting directions back to our home. Can anyone suggest some preprinted cards or signs which ask for assistance from strangers that designate he needs someone to:

Call 911,
Call a family member,
Give directions,
etc.

He is very proud man and I would like to find a format which best explains his need for assistance without making him feel stupid or embarrassed.


Thank you kindly in advance,

Linespike

Deafness

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depsusie

Dear Friend :
when my mom was ill and in the hospital . She had some problems talking and never learned my sign language... we took sharpies and wrote a number of index cards with all sorts of possible needs she might have and some silly ones , too. I even wrote some for her to give the good looking young doctors..(My daughter is single and cute !)-( My daughter needs CPR from a good looking rich doctor ...) This got her a lot of 'fun' attention and she made alot of friends . This enabled her to be her playful self and became the pet of the east side cancer unit..
You could write your father's native language on one side and english on the other in various sharpie colors.... make certain that he only stops at gas stations and convenience stores and places where their are a lot of people. And he asks only the employees there for the help. He is too vulnerable to jusr ask anyone. The store keepers could even call the police to help direct him home. ( We would in a situation like that...)
My biggest concern is whether he should be driving. It sounds like he gets too confused too easily. My guess is that he shouldn't and y'all love him so much it is hard to say,'NO" to him. Channel your entergies into finding someone else to drive him... pay a new teen driver a little something if you must... But, for your dad's safety and all the rest of the folks out their on the road, it sounds like he needs to be chauffered. If your dad was thinking clearly he would have grounded himself. It's too dangerous.
We lost a man this week that had a heart attack on the interstate. It was amazing that his car simply veered off the road and rolled , not taking anyone else to heaven with him.
Find the local Violunteer Council on Aging, the local chapter of the AARP or some senior church organization and they should have some answers for you.
Best of luck and lots of prayers to you and yours '.....
deputy susie
TPSO 239

Chase

Good post, Deputy Susie. As drivers become impaired by diminished facilities due to age, they need to self-evaluate. Besides being deaf, after 65, my night vision began to give me problems, so I always have a co-driver to take over when moving bees in the dark, which we must. When old fogeys like me won't self-evaluate for our safety and the safety of others, family members have to.

However, if your father-in-law can drive safely, then what about a cell phone? After I moved here to Oregon with its fog, rain, and winding secondary roads, I became lost more than I liked. I got a cheap cell phone for $19.95 and pay $20 every 90 days for nearly unlimited text-only calls. I have ten friends and co-workers on speed-dial for emergencies, one a cop I help to qualify on the range.

If you can operate something as complicated as a car, you can certainly learn to text on a cell phone.

Chase

By the way, Deputy. I watch Sue Thomas, F. B. Eye, and they got the wrong Sue to play the part of the deaf cop. Our real cop is MUCH cuter!

Linespike

Deputy Susie and Chase,
Thanks for the ideas. We have been chauffering him as desired, which works well. We moved the folks to our town to take care of them and hence the possibility of getting lost in an unfamiliar area. He is still pretty sharp and alert, however we will realistically have to consider his letting us do all the driving for him at some point in everyone's interest.
Great advice on having him contact only store employees and/or recognizable persons for assistance. The cell phone is also an excellent idea thanks!
In the interim, I guess I am looking for a specific niche' of information regarding a site that may have printable preformatted cards which are universally recognizable and already in use by the deaf. Any ideas?


Thank you,

Linespike

TweetyBird

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