In 2002, Maine became the first state to implement a statewide laptop program to some grade levels. Then-governor Angus King saw the program as a way to put the internet at the fingertips of more children, who would be able to immerse themselves in information.
By that fall, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative had distributed 17,000 Apple laptops to seventh graders across 243 middle schools. By 2016, those numbers had multiplied to 66,000 laptops and tablets distributed to Maine students.
King’s initial efforts have been mirrored across the country. In 2024, the U.S. spent more than $30 billion putting laptops and tablets in schools. But more than a quarter-century and numerous evolving models of technology later, psychologists and learning experts see a different outcome than the one King intended. Rather than empowering the generation with access to more knowledge, the technology had the opposite effect.
Thanks so much for the love and prayers! Sorry for taking a long time to respond - I’ve been pretty busy :) We’re still early in the process, and I don’t know how representative our experience is, but I’ll try to describe it.
My mom was also pretty tech-savvy back in the day but started struggling with her iPhone and refusing to do basic things like use the new TV, order for herself at a restaurant, etc. We also initially thought it was just skill rust/difficulty adjusting to change and a bit of laziness/learned helplessness, but in retrospect I think she was legitimately having problems and afraid to admit it. We didn’t really put it together until she started having more overt symptoms.
As for bringing it up… our family is honestly not great at broaching delicate subjects, so I just kind of blurted it out one day. She was pretty resistant at first, but what finally got her on board was when she started hiding cupcakes and such from herself “for later” in odd places around the house and would forget until the ants found them and it was a big mess.
I think a primary care doctor can administer some basic screeners like the MoCA (the tests Trump keeps bragging about passing), but we went straight to a neurologist. My understanding is that depending on the exact cause, there may be treatments that can slow the course of the disease, but they generally can’t reverse it, and we didn’t want to wait any longer given that she already has a family history.
The neurologist first ordered some bloodwork and asked about her sleep to rule out something like a thyroid disorder or sleep apnea. After that, they had her do an MRI and a neuropsychological evaluation, which is a (pretty expensive) day of tests like having her solve puzzles and memorize lists of words. They also interviewed us separately to ask what we’ve noticed, since they said patients will often deny they have any impairment even when it’s become really obvious. We’re still waiting on the results, but they said (tentatively) that she is probably showing signs of at least mild cognitive impairment, and that in any case it’s not a bad idea to have results they can compare to in the future if it gets worse. A few things they suggested in the meantime are doing puzzles, crosswords, Wordle, etc. with her regularly or getting her a pocket sudoku book - just something extra to help keep her mind active.
Again, it’s hopefully nothing to worry about for your mom, especially if she has no family history - I just wish we’d been more attentive in my mom’s case since maybe we could’ve started treatment sooner.
Sending love & prayers to you and your family, too :)