Voice recorder that prints for DF who can no longer write

[Roobyshoes]

Dad has significant hand tremors caused by Parkinson's and can no longer write so that it's legible. He doesn't use a smart phone or iPad, but is reasonable at tech - he has a pc and printer but it's upstairs and it's a rigmarole to get up there, type something (which is a slow process anyway!), and then print it off (he's 90).

Wondering if anyone has encountered something like a dictaphone that he can just make voice notes on and print out straight away from the machine - just stuff like shopping lists or appointments to put in his diary, nothing extensive? We are forever scratching our heads to try and figure out what he meant to write! Google hasn't helped me so far, would be hugely grateful to anyone with any ideas! Thanks in advance 😊

So if he can use the speech-to-text function of a smartphone, he could get a thermal printer with an app that does you lists, notes etc.

The YouTuber TechMoan covers this sort of thing here

Now it's thermal paper, like receipts, so you have to be careful not to get it hot (no laminating or leaving in the sun or under a mug of hot tea) and they fade like receipts do. But you can get rolls of stickers for these printers very cheaply.

PS my Mum used to use speech to text to text me, so it can be great for shaky hands as long as you can mash the mic button and the send/ok button.

Move his pc and printer downstairs for a quick fix

Seriously, the internet and tech are your friends here. Alexa so he can just tell her to put stuff on his shopping list and you can login and read it, and he can send you messages. Ipad/big smartphone for him to dictate to and print out.

@Paperbagsaremine & @olderbutwiser sorry for the late response (the usual elderly parents dramas going on in the background) but thank you for your ideas - much appreciated! He resolutely will not consider a smartphone or ipad and apparently the PC can't possibly come downstairs 🙄but I really liked the idea of the thermal printer so still trying to figure out how to get to work for us.

In the meantime we had a lengthy tutorial on his Alexa that sits sad and neglected in a corner of his kitchen and (drum roll!) amazingly he actually took on board what I was saying! His usual modus operandi is to agree, nod and then ignore what I suggest but he put together a shopping list through the week adding items when he thought about them and I was able to pick that up off the app. Still took a bit of interpretation (Salt & Vinegar Pringles came out as 3 items; salt, vinegar AND pringles as he takes so long to say it and we also had a few items of "please" and "thank you" as he's oh so polite to Alexa), but he was a happy bunny and felt he had achieved something too so thank you to you both 🙏