A Photographic Treatment for People With Dementia

Artist Laurence Aëgerter has begun a project she calls "Photographic Treatment," which seeks to improve the quality of life of older adults with dementia by staging "photo interventions," or individual or group sessions that focus conversations on images Aëgerter curated over three years, reports CNN . Aëgerter notes all too frequently people with dementia are infantilized by caregivers and relatives, which can add to their frustration and unhappiness. "A mistake often made by spouses of people of dementia is asking them things they cannot reply to because of their illness," says the Haagse Hogeschool's Frans Hoogeveen. The Alzheimer's Association's Ruth Drew notes people might not know where to begin when trying to engage and connect with those with dementia. She thinks activities such as discussing a photo can help such individuals and their loved ones. "Using these photographs may also help the person who wants to connect with a family member with Alzheimer's to have a jumping-off point that can help engage that person," Drew suggests. Aëgerter collaborated with dementia experts and people with dementia to create guidelines for the photos. She found 90 percent of the photos online by searching copyright-free images, while the other 10 percent she took herself when she could find no suitable alternative. Aëgerter learned early on that people with dementia preferred photos of natural smiles, rather than posed or doctored ones.