How Stephen uses a smart speaker to boost his independence
An individual we support at Lifeways has been supported to boost his independence with one simple step: the purchase of a device enabled with Alexa, Amazon’s virtual voice-activated assistant.
Stephen, who lives at a Lifeways supported living service in Bolton, Greater Manchester, is registered as blind. He’s always had basic assistive equipment - such as a button that he presses to tell him the time and date.
Yet this basic device was proving impractical – as Stephen constantly had to go to his bedroom just to tell the time.
New-found freedom
Then, Stephen and his Support Team decided that a voice-activated Alexa smart speaker would be most suited to his needs.
After being supported to purchase the tennis ball-sized speaker, and given a hand setting it up, Stephen’s loving the freedom it gives him.
He now asks Alexa what the time is throughout the day – and uses the device to play his favourite music - instead of asking his Support Team.
Stephen also uses the Alexa smart speaker to ask the score of his favourite football team when they play. As Stephen is set in his routines, he asks Alexa about the weather each day so he can plan ahead.
Stephen’s delighted at the independence that using Alexa has given him – he needs less help from the Support Team as he’s now able to find out things for himself!
“Many of us use virtual assistants like Alexa everyday to make life easier - but it’s great to see how this use of technology has really boosted Stephen’s independence,” says Sarah Cook, the Manager of Stephen’s service. “We love seeing Stephen embrace tasks that he used to find so much more difficult.”
About Lifeways:
Lifeways is the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults in the community. Lifeways support adults with diverse and complex needs, including learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries, and mental health conditions.
Find out more about how we change people's lives at: www.lifeways.co.uk
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