Most everyone knows of someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. It can be heartbreaking to watch a friend or loved one slowly lose control of their thinking as well as their sense of touch, hearing, and vision. Now there is a “mobile virtual dementia tour” that allows others to experience the daily struggles of those impaired by dementia.
The “tour” was invented by American physiologist and geriatric specialist PK Beville who has been working with Alzheimer’s patients since 1983. She began researching the virtual tour project in 2000, and it’s now being used around the world. The tour can help medical professionals and home caregivers better assist, understand, and interact with dementia sufferers.
Here is a recent SWNS YouTube video clip about the virtual tour.
Emma Lowe, a 24-year-old woman who took the 8-minute test, said she felt her “healthy brain” couldn’t instruct her body to carry out simple tasks. Below are some excerpts from her experience.
I found myself wandering around in the dark, finding things to look at and finding a safe place to sit.
I genuinely felt like my grip on reality and normality had gone completely. It deeply upset me that they could switch my brain off that quickly.
After the test Lowe said she felt like she had a small glimpse of what dementia sufferers experience daily—something of which she previously had no idea. Inventor PK Beville remarks:
It is really up to us. As our society grows we need to grow and mature with dementia, and that means we are the ones that have to change.
'The thing about dementia is it is not something that just strikes a person, it strikes a family, the people who care for the family and their children, it affects everyone.
To learn more about the Virtual Dementia Tour, visit: SecondWind.org. To learn more about Alzheimers and dementia, visit Alzheimers.org (www.alz.org/...) and The National Institute on Aging.
