The last time I visited my grandparents was the Christmas before the pandemic. They moved from Beijing to Ottawa and have lived in Ottawa for over 15 years. Both my grandparents were healthy overall, except they could not hear or see very well.
Grandpa had a little notebook which he always carries around. One time, I opened it up.
Page 1: The Leaking Issue
The first page looks like a draft of an email. Grandpa explained that he planned to send this email about the leak in the bathroom to the apartment management. He was not comfortable with calling, so he created this note word by word using the translator, but he was having trouble looking for their email address.
“I was going to show them the picture of the leaking, but it seems like they are not always in the office because of the holiday,” said grandpa.
“He won’t go to the office even if it is not the holiday.” Grandma joined us and pointed out that grandpa hated to communicate in person because he would feel embarrassed if he could not hear clearly or if the person could not understand him.
Page 2: The Bus Stress
Next page, there is a list of building names, bus stop names, and annotations in Chinese.
Grandma laughed: ”Grandpa refuses to go up to the bus driver and ask him to let us know when we get to our stop.”
Though there is a little digital sign that shows the upcoming stop, it still requires the passengers to react fast enough to ring the bell to request a stop at the appropriate time. For grandpa, it is not easy to see the sign or hear the announcements clearly in a moving bus, so he needed to remember the building around the desirable stops to know when to ring the bell.
As for Google Maps, it is hard for grandpa to see the keyboard and the map on a small screen, but he also did not like the audio assistive tool since it is loud on the bus.
Grandpa said: “It is so stressful for me when I am on the bus”.
Page 3: The Museum Wander
The next couple of pages are piled with years, long paragraphs, looking like a page from the history book. Museums are grandpa’s favourite places to go for leisure. However, he could not understand most of the contents besides seeing the images and objects displayed. Sometimes, he would write down what he saw and use the translator at home to learn.
“I bet they have assistive tools and translators at the museum?”
Grandpa slowly shook his head. He probably did not know what that meant or just wanted to avoid the idea of asking for help or assistance.
“Maybe you can read about it on the website before you go?”
“It is all in English. We tried once, but it is too overwhelming to look at.”
So…
I called the office and dealt with the leaking issue. I showed them how to make the map bigger on the screen. I went to the museum with grandpa and translated almost everything we saw. But I still feel upset, because I won’t be there with them all the time. It is hard for them to remember how to use the smart features and navigation maps on their phone, and they will still try not to ask for assistance when they need it next time.
Most importantly, they are not alone. Though senior immigrants appreciate the living standards in Canada, they receive limited culturally and linguistically congruent services (Stewart et al, 2011). Most senior immigrants have zero to limited English or French proficiency (Johnson et al, 2021) and are “computer blind”.
However, as reported by senior immigrants, they are reluctant to reach out for help because they do not enjoy the feeling of depending on others. This issue is compounded especially for those senior immigrants who struggle with disabilities like hearing or seeing, which is common among elders. They become more vulnerable but less willing to ask for assistance because they feel embarrassed when their disabilities hinder communication. Psychologically, they do not want to become a burden to the government, others, or even their family and friends(Stewart et al, 2011).
On the other hand, just like my grandpa, senior immigrants are motivated to engage in active learning. Among the five categories of active learning, the top-needed one is identified to be learning language and computer skills, because these two skills are essential for their “survival” and resetting in Canadian society (Zhu & Zhang, 2019). They need the language to seek help and the digital literacy to explore available services.
In conclusion, I came up with the following recommendations to improve the digital experience of senior immigrants with disabilities:
- Assistive digital tools and technology should be introduced in noticeable and clear-to-understand ways (in diverse languages) at public locations.
- Websites and digital apps should provide noticeable and easy ways to access the translated version, translation tools, audio version, text-enlarged version.
- Service providers should provide alternative options, for example, through an online chatbox on the website or email, to provide support other than through face-to-face interaction or call (because these might cause extra stress for senior immigrants with disabilities), and clearly indicate how these options can be accessed.
- Communities and organizations should provide lessons and training to senior immigrants to improve their linguistic skills and digital skills.
- We need more products designed for them, that better serve them with care, respect, and empathy. Maybe it is a button that they can simply press to show the driver when they get on the bus to indicate their desirable stop. Maybe it is a map with a feature that allows their family to customize and simplify the guidance for them. Or, maybe it is a digital booklet in the museums in diverse languages.
In these ways, senior immigrants with disabilities can learn with support, become more self-reliant, and connect themselves with society and culture in flexible ways. Remember, sometimes, a seemingly “good-to-have extra feature” could be the last and only option for these people.
Works Cited
Johnson, Bacsu, J., McIntosh, T., Jeffery, B., & Novik, N. (2021). Competing challenges for immigrant seniors: Social isolation and the pandemic. Healthcare Management Forum, 34(5), 266–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/08404704211009233
Miriam Stewart, Edward Shizha and Edward Makwarimba et al. Challenges and barriers to services for immigrant seniors in Canada you are among others but you feel alone. Intl J of Migration, H and SC. Vol. 7(1):16–32. DOI: 10.1108/17479891111176278
Zhu, & Zhang, W. (2019). Active learning for active ageing: Chinese senior immigrants’ lifelong learning in Canada. Educational Gerontology, 45(8), 506–518. https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2019.1662933
