One of the most disheartening aspects of Alzheimer's is the diminished capacity of your parent suffering from the disease to communicate with others. You may suspect your parent may be mistreated by home health care aids while you are away, but without your parent's ability to confirm or deny such suspicions, you are often left wondering if what you suspect is true or not. Technological advances in surveillance equipment now allow you to monitor your parent's care and condition through the use of micro-cameras and a smart phone. Here is how you can set up a secret camera in your parent's room and home to monitor how they are being treated by home health care aids.

Monitoring Security Camera

The first step in the process is determining how you want to access the information from the monitoring system. You can get a small camera that secretly records what goes on in the home, or you can hire a monitoring service that feeds you live-streaming videos directly to your smart phone. If you are going to be hiring a monitoring service, you'll have to make sure they offer the range of services you are looking to purchase.

You should determine if you need or want to have:

  • 24-hour video recording and live-streaming capabilities and access.
  • Capability to hear and record conversations in the home.
  • Online access to be able to monitor a camera through a smart phone or similar device, a home computer, or laptop.
  • Ability to adjust the view of the camera from a remote access point, and be able to zoom in and out.

Selecting Camera

After selecting a video monitoring service, the next step is picking a camera that is compatible with the wireless system it uses to monitor a home. A home security monitoring service typically has a range of products you can pick from, but if you are going to choose a product from somewhere else, you need to verify with your monitoring service that it will work properly with its system.

Placement of Camera

You can choose a camera so small that it is practically invisible to the naked eyes. These small-sized cameras can be incorporated into family photos, alarm clocks, and plants around your parent's house.

The Law

The one thing you have to check before you set up a video system in your parent's house is the prevailing surveillance laws in your area. State laws vary on whether it is legal for you to secretly record others without their knowledge (even if they are doing wrong), and some states might allow you to record video, but not voices and conversations. Even if you record something wrong going on with your parent's care, you may not be able to present the proof in court if you recorded it illegally. You should check to make sure you have the legal right to monitor your parent's house and care before you set up cameras. Contact a company like Amped Security for more information.

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