Howard County Dementia Training and Support
BrightStar Care of Howard County Hosts First Community Dementia Education Program (CDEP)
Our first Dementia and Alzheimer's training was a 3 hour program that included training on Dementia, dinner and we also put our group of 6 attendees through a Virtual Dementia Tour. This first event was for our current BrightStar clients.
Virtual Dementia Tour Info:
The Virtual Dementia Tour helps us understand what it is like to have dementia and how people cope with it. Source: Second Wind Dreams®
It’s a common joke we often make about getting older, that we don’t recognize that old person in the mirror. What if it were not a joke? What do you think it would feel like if you looked in a mirror and you had no idea who that person was looking back at you? Now imagine looking around the room and not being able to figure out what some of the objects are. These objects seem familiar, but you are just not sure how to use them. You pick up a toothbrush, and stare at it. This is agnosia: the inability to recognize faces and objects, or even smells, sounds, or shapes. It is the inability to attach meaning to objective sense-information. Agnosia is a common part of dementia and it can be scary and frustrating to have. It is also painful when your parent or spouse doesn’t recognize you. It’s important to know that agnosia is the culprit, not the person living with dementia. In the Virtual Dementia Tour®, agnosia is simulated in a variety of ways: a transparency of an elder’s face is placed on a mirror giving participants an altered reflection, words spoken by the tour guide that are not clear, sounds in the headset that don’t connect to items or events in the room, and signs on the walls that are nonsensical. In addition, miscellaneous items with no apparent purpose help create difficulty identifying objects. More people are telling us the need for understanding what is normal for any human being experiencing dementia.
Additional training events with an opportunity for the community to take part will be offered soon. Please contact max.minevich@brightstarcare.com or check our Blog for announcements.Watch parts of the presentation on YouTube:
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