Understanding Dementia

Presented by Hospice of the Valley

Hospice of the Valley’s “Dementia Moments” workshop provides an 8-minute experience that presses participants to perform some daily tasks as if they were living with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Through this experience, participants feel the frustrations of someone living with dementia. The workshop involves performing simple tasks such as buttoning a shirt or counting coins, while wearing gloves, goggles and headphones blaring background noise. The goal is not to mimic  dementia, but instead to mimic the emotional experience of someone with dementia trying to  perform in a normal world while struggling with distorted perception and difficulty thinking.

After the experience, participants share their thoughts and feelings. They discuss what might have helped them perform the tasks better and learn some approaches to minimize the distress of people living with dementia.