These fascinating images reveal how dementia can drastically change the way people view their homes.
Models from Canadian residential care firm Amica Senior Lifestyles were made to help caregivers and family members understand the challenges of living with dementia.
However, the team warned, dementia is a very individual journey that can lead to a number of cognitive effects and, as such, experiences will vary between individuals.
A series of comparison images show the ways in which dementia can drastically change the way patients perceive their own homes. In the picture: how changes in perception caused by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia can affect a living space
Dementia is a global concern, but is seen more often in richer countries, where people are more likely to live to older ages.
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, more than 850,000 people in the UK are living with dementia, a number expected to exceed 1.6 million by 2040.
The vast majority of people with dementia are 65 or older, although it can also affect younger people.
“We find it hard to imagine what the world might look like and change for people living with dementia,” said neuroscientist Heather Palmer, who is also a cognitive wellness consultant at Amica Senior Lifestyles and helped create the images.
“However, it is important to understand that certain opinions and behaviors may affect or be indicative of someone experiencing dementia.”
“From noticing behavioral changes when walking to rooms to neglecting plants, dementia can take many forms in someone’s lifestyle.”
“But by using a variety of tools and tools and approaches, people living with dementia can still function well, or even better than before.”
COGNITIVE EFFECTS IN THE GARDEN
As shown in the comparison below, people with Alzheimer’s or other dementia often lose items because they have put them in a place that seemed to make sense at the time, but not later when they are needed.
While this can be confusing in mild cases, such as the wandering pair of sneakers in the pictures, it can also be dangerous, both the open pair of lockers on the couch and the messy garden hose that poses safety hazards.
These can be inherently more risky for some people with dementia, who tend to pay less attention when moving around, increasing the risk of being hit, dropped and / or damaged by sharp objects.
Neurodegenerative diseases can also cause people to mingle day and night, for example, when they perceive that it is midnight in the face of external signs that it is in fact day, a confusion that can be terrifying.
Finally, the flowers on the table are left dead in the image on the right. Many people with dementia neglect to properly care for their home, plants, pets, and even themselves, and may not know what to do with the flowers once they have died.
Models from Canadian residential care firm Amica Senior Lifestyles were made to help caregivers and family members understand the challenges of living with dementia. In the picture: a garden (left) as experienced by someone with dementia (right). The items are in the wrong place, sometimes safely, the flowers are dead and left out, while the dark sky symbolizes the temporary confusion that some patients with Alzheimer’s or dementia may suffer.
CHANGES IN PERCEPTION IN THE HALL
This before and after image shows how a normal living space can seem terribly distorted to people with dementia.
The busy polka dot wallpaper has ended up looking like a pattern of large crawling ants, while the shadow under the table has gained the appearance of a bottomless black void and that the individual with dementia may be willing to avoid.
Cognitive disorders can also cause increased sensitivity to light (represented below by blindingly bright lamp) and other vision problems, including difficulty perceiving distance and depth.
The latter, pictured here as a distorted view from both windows, can also create dangers, such as climbing stairs or trying to pour boiling water from a kettle to make a cup of tea.
“We find it hard to imagine what the world might look like and change for people living with dementia,” said neuroscientist Heather Palmer, who is also a cognitive wellness consultant at Amica Senior Lifestyles and helped create the images. In the picture: a normal living room (left) can be altered by visual distortions in the mind of someone with dementia (right)
THE EFFECTS OF DEMENTIA IN THE KITCHEN
As in the garden table, flowers, potted plants and careless flowering fruits appear in the image below and are joined with more misplaced elements, in this case, lost glasses.
People with dementia also experience greater problems in breaking old habits and adapting to new routines. Here it is manifested by the removal of food for a pet that is no longer nearby.
Finally, cooking plans illustrate how a coping strategy such as the use of reminder notes may be less effective than intended. Instead of placing notes in one place, a person with dementia can place them randomly on the house.
In addition, people with cognitive impairments may also experience problems deciphering their own letter, making useful reminders as a random collection of letters that no longer make sense.
According to the Alzheimer’s Society, more than 920,000 people in the UK live with dementia, a number expected to exceed one million by 2024. In the picture: a kitchen (left) may end up becoming a mess in the home of a person with dementia. , with out-of-place items and unintelligible memories scattered everywhere, dead plants and neglected mossy fruits, as well as dog food for a pet that is no longer present
WHAT IS DEMENTIA? THE KILLING DISEASE THAT STOLE THE PATITS FROM THEIR MEMORIES
Dementia is a general term used to describe a number of neurological disorders
A GLOBAL CONCERN
Dementia is a general term used to describe a series of progressive neurological disorders (affecting the brain) that affect memory, thinking, and behavior.
There are many different types of dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common.
Some people may have a combination of dementia types.
Regardless of what type is diagnosed, each person will experience their dementia in their own unique way.
Dementia is a global concern, but is seen more often in richer countries, where people are likely to live into old age.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED?
The Alzheimer’s Society reports that today there are more than 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK, of whom more than 500,000 have Alzheimer’s.
It is estimated that the number of people living with dementia in the UK by 2025 will increase to over one million.
In the United States, an estimated 5.5 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s. A similar percentage increase is expected in the coming years.
As a person’s age increases, so does the risk of developing dementia.
Diagnosis rates are improving, but it is believed that many people with dementia are not yet diagnosed.
IS THERE CARE?
There is currently no cure for dementia.
But new drugs can slow their progression and the sooner they are detected, the more effective the treatments will be.
Source: Alzheimer’s Society