Ask My Buddy
If you are looking for enhanced independence while still needing support to ensure your safety when alone, this skill might be useful to you. It works with all Amazon Echo devices to enable you to reach out to your family, carer, or friend(s) for help in a comprehensive way.
- If you run into a situation in which you need help (for example if you experience a fall or become restricted due to an impaired mobility device), Ask My Buddy allows you to reach out to certain individuals using text, email, and phone calls, all at once, to help ensure your message is received.
- Alternatively, if you are seeking less direct oversight and more independence, you might be interested in the feature that enables you to “Check In” – to let loved ones and carers know you are alright
- Go to this site to create an account by adding your information (name, contact information and password). You can then log into the account and ensure the correct time zone. You will notice that free, basic, premium or ultimate plans are available. The free account comes with 10 alert messages per month, 5 contacts, and English-only alerts.
- If you want to contact 911 for an emergency, you will need to subscribe to the premium or ultimate plan. Check this site for more information about this feature.
- If you want to try out the free account, tap "CONTACTS" at the top of the webpage. You will be able to add five contacts here. Check this tip on how to add contact names so Alexa can recognize them easily. You can also review this video.
- Go to your Alexa app on your phone. Tap “More” on the bottom right corner, and tap “Skills and Games”. Tap
on the top right corner, and type Ask My Buddy in the search bar. Tap “Launch”. When you launch Ask My Buddy through the app you will be redirected to a page that allows you to link your account by logging in using the email and password you set up with Ask My Buddy. After you log in, you are ready to use the skill.
Send Help
If anything should happen and you need to reach your family member, carer, or friend for help, just say
"Alexa, ask My Buddy to send help" or "Alexa, ask My Buddy to alert everyone" to alert all of your contacts at once.
"Alexa, ask My Buddy to alert [first name]" to alert one of your contacts.
This feature is particularly valuable for individuals living independently who require remote assistance. For instance, consider Rose, who is 75 years old, lives alone, and uses a cane to help her with her balance while navigating. Her granddaughter, who is her closest family member, lives a few houses down from Rose. One day, Rose experiences a fall in her apartment and is unable to get up by herself, requiring assistance. Using her Echo device, Rose can utilize the "send an alert" feature through Ask My Buddy to notify her granddaughter. With a simple voice command such as "Alexa, Ask my Buddy to alert my granddaughter," her granddaughter will promptly receive a text message, email, and phone call, alerting her that Rose requires help.
Check In
If you want your contacts to know you are doing fine, just say,
"Alexa, ask My Buddy to check in with everyone"
"Alexa, ask My Buddy to check in with [first name]"
This function is particularly advantageous for those who live independently but require remote support. For example, consider Jack, who is in his 30s and has intellectual disabilities. He resides in his own apartment and receives both in-person and remote support services. His mother desires that he checks in with her every evening. To facilitate this, Jack and his mother set up a reminder on his Echo device or phone for 8:00 pm each night to remind him to check in with her. When the reminder goes off at 8:00 pm, Jack can simply say "Alexa, ask my buddy to check in with mom," letting his mother know that everything is going well with him. If no "Check In" is established, his mother will recognize the need to reach out and verify that all is well.
This skill is simple to use and responds fast with all three means, i.e., texts, email, and phone call. The commands are straightforward. It provides prompts if you could not remember the contact names.
Cons:It does not recognize some names and users may not remember to start the command with “Ask My Buddy to …”. Thus, we recommend you to check out the tips to help improve your interaction with this skill.
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This skill would be useful for individuals with mobility impairments that put them at risk of falling or becoming fixed or stuck if their mobility device were to malfunction or break.
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This skill would be also useful for individuals will intellectual and developmental disabilities or cognitive disabilities that impact their safety when alone. Ask My Buddy might be useful as a way to allow an individual to spend more time independently, by providing a comprehensive way for them to attain support if it is needed.
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