Virtual Reality May Help Students Experience Life With Dementia First Hand

A virtual reality (VR) learning program designed to impart to students the experiences of people living with dementia was detailed at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2018 in Chicago, according to EurekAlert . The simulation was incorporated into a training program for high school students at Chicago's Northside College Preparatory School as part of the Bringing Art to Life program. The VR program seeks to better prepare the students to interact with older adults with Alzheimer's and other dementias at long-term care communities and adult day care centers. The simulation modules of people with dementia will next find use with undergraduates volunteering in the Bringing Art to Life program at the University of Alabama next spring. One module is a live-action film, depicting the world as experienced by a 74-year-old man with mild cognitive impairment, macular degeneration, and high frequency hearing loss. Another module features five-minute stories of a middle-aged Latina as she undergoes the early, middle, and later aspects of Alzheimer's dementia. The virtual narratives take participants through a digital version of actual experiences under dementia conditions. "The creators of the modules also highlight other issues that some people experience as they age, including communicating inappropriately with others because they may not be able to see or hear well, in addition to the memory problems that are common for persons with Alzheimer's," says the Alzheimer's Association's Beth Kallmyer.