Fingers that cannot grip properly, eyes that don’t want to focus and ears that are struggling to process sound – this is what it feels like to have dementia.
According to a report commissioned by the Alzheimer’s Society, 982,000 people in the UK have dementia as of 2024. By 2040, this is expected to rise for 1.4 million.
Virtual Dementia Tour Mobile arrived at Sarah’s Carers in Melton, to give the loved ones of those with the condition and those who care for them the chance to find out.
“Everyone with dementia will experience it differently,” explained Mrs Seaman, owner of the Woodbridge-based Sarah’s Carers. Some symptoms are more common than others. For example, at least 70% of the clients who use Sarah’s Carers have some level of memory loss, said assistant manager Sarah Nichols.
With that in mind, Mrs Seaman felt it was important for her staff to gain a first-hand experience of what it is like to be a person living with dementia and experience some of the impacts of the condition.
Others had come along because they have a loved one living with the condition; nutritionist Natasha Hodge’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2022, and she hoped to gain some understanding of how best to support him.
We were ushered onto the ‘dementia bus’ by Ian Chalkley of Training 2 Care. The experience was the brainchild of American Professor PK Beville, he explained, and Training 2 Care is the only provider licenced to give the experience in the UK.
Mr Chalkley handed out spiky insoles to be worn inside shoes, pairs of thick gloves, dark glasses and headphones, and told us that no questions would be answered once the experience began.
Once inside the bus, high-pitched, whirring noises began to play. The only light came from green and red, moving circle.
It was only when Mr Chalkley came and stood next to us and loudly instructed us to set a table and pair up socks that we were able to hear him – and processing his words above the ruckus was difficult.
READ MORE: Suffolk County Council launch new strategy to help with dementia
The whole experience was disorientating, unsettling, and more than a little frightening. Standing in the gloom trying to tell the difference between socks while being told to get a move on, I was immensely thankful when the lights came on and the whole nightmarish experience was over.
It was a sobering realisation to come to that, for more and more people every year, this is daily life.
Of course, not every person will experience symptoms in the same way or to the same degree. However, I can see why this is a valuable experience if you have someone in your life who lives with dementia, this would be a timely reminder of the need to be kind.
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