Day 13
Today I am part PPE manager, part social worker and part IT support. And just a tiny part, wait for it…..SLP!
After restocking supplies and folding uniforms at the donning station, I head upstairs with the recreation coordinator to see what I can help with today. Good news: last week we received a donation of SIX new iPads from a local high school, to help residents connect with their family members. No one has had time yet to set them up. This is something I can do!
The recreation coordinator gives me a list of usernames and passwords.
“Great! Now all I need is the wifi.”
“Oh. Um. I have no idea what the wifi is.”
This launches me on a scavenger hunt of sorts, in which I carry my iPad through the building having what feels like the same conversation at least half a dozen times:
“Excuse me, do you happen to know the wifi password?”
“We have wifi?”
“I assume you have wifi, you’ve been using FaceTime on an iPad.”
“Oh, yeah we must have wifi then.”
“Any idea what the network is called?”
“No. Did you ask Person X?”
“Yes, Person X said to ask you.”
“Oh. Try Person Y.”
Finally a smart army guy suggests that I open the existing iPad and see if it will show the network password. A very good plan! This is why I’m not usually asked to do tech support.
I retrieve the original iPad from reception downstairs. It’s dead. Head back upstairs to plug it in. Finally it lights up. Wait, does that say… 3G??!
It’s using data!
What is this data plan? Who is paying for it? No one knows. But everyone agrees this probably means we do not, in fact, have wifi. This is unfortunate, because the new iPads don’t support cellular data.
Poor, poor iPads. Dispatched to a new location, only to find themselves loaded up with advanced but unneeded functions, and lacking the abilities that would make them truly useful.
(Insert pause for dramatic effect while the metaphor sinks in)
Nevertheless, I’m determined these iPads will find a purpose. I know many of these residents have communication challenges, and I happen to know a little bit about using iPads for communication because as you’ll recall, I used to work as an SLP. In particular, I remember the dietician mentioning one resident with severe expressive aphasia who seems very frustrated. Maybe this will help! I set up a wifi hotspot from the original iPad (looka those tech skills) and download a couple of free AAC apps that will work offline, then I set off to find her.
Unfortunately, I won’t get to trial my idea today, because the resident in question sleeps for the rest of the afternoon. Oh well.
Plan B is to spend the rest of the day wandering and chatting with residents. I get to visit the friends I made yesterday (with essentially the same interactions) as well as a few I haven’t met yet. A few want to talk, several won’t or can’t.
One woman mainly shrugs and smiles, so we smile and shrug at each other for a little bit. When I get up to go, she grabs my gloved hand and kisses it. It’s a sweet gesture. But I scrub my hands extra hard, after that.
Day 14
After restocking supplies and folding uniforms at the donning station, I head upstairs with the recreation coordinator to see what I can help with today. Good news: last week we received a donation of SIX new iPads from a local high school, to help residents connect with their family members. No one has had time yet to set them up. This is something I can do!
The recreation coordinator gives me a list of usernames and passwords.
“Great! Now all I need is the wifi.”
“Oh. Um. I have no idea what the wifi is.”
This launches me on a scavenger hunt of sorts, in which I carry my iPad through the building having what feels like the same conversation at least half a dozen times:
“Excuse me, do you happen to know the wifi password?”
“We have wifi?”
“I assume you have wifi, you’ve been using FaceTime on an iPad.”
“Oh, yeah we must have wifi then.”
“Any idea what the network is called?”
“No. Did you ask Person X?”
“Yes, Person X said to ask you.”
“Oh. Try Person Y.”
Finally a smart army guy suggests that I open the existing iPad and see if it will show the network password. A very good plan! This is why I’m not usually asked to do tech support.
I retrieve the original iPad from reception downstairs. It’s dead. Head back upstairs to plug it in. Finally it lights up. Wait, does that say… 3G??!
It’s using data!
What is this data plan? Who is paying for it? No one knows. But everyone agrees this probably means we do not, in fact, have wifi. This is unfortunate, because the new iPads don’t support cellular data.
Poor, poor iPads. Dispatched to a new location, only to find themselves loaded up with advanced but unneeded functions, and lacking the abilities that would make them truly useful.
(Insert pause for dramatic effect while the metaphor sinks in)
Nevertheless, I’m determined these iPads will find a purpose. I know many of these residents have communication challenges, and I happen to know a little bit about using iPads for communication because as you’ll recall, I used to work as an SLP. In particular, I remember the dietician mentioning one resident with severe expressive aphasia who seems very frustrated. Maybe this will help! I set up a wifi hotspot from the original iPad (looka those tech skills) and download a couple of free AAC apps that will work offline, then I set off to find her.
Unfortunately, I won’t get to trial my idea today, because the resident in question sleeps for the rest of the afternoon. Oh well.
Plan B is to spend the rest of the day wandering and chatting with residents. I get to visit the friends I made yesterday (with essentially the same interactions) as well as a few I haven’t met yet. A few want to talk, several won’t or can’t.
One woman mainly shrugs and smiles, so we smile and shrug at each other for a little bit. When I get up to go, she grabs my gloved hand and kisses it. It’s a sweet gesture. But I scrub my hands extra hard, after that.
Day 14
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