Designing Your Home To Support Dementia

The word 'home' often conjures images of a family filled with loved ones, but in world, base is actually a belief that comes with organism in a site where you are truly comfortable and able to atomic number 4 yourself.

Sometimes though, finding comfort can be difficult.

As a person ages, their overall health and quality of life hinge on a mixed bag of different factors, but organism able to remain living at home as opposed to an aged care facility has proven to be extremely good to an old persons well-being and lifespan.

People living with dementia can experience a variety of symptoms, including short-term amnesia and disorientation, and placing masses who are dealing with these issues in new and unfamiliar environments bum cost harmful to their ability to function.

And while the home environment is almost always the most preferred setting for someone living with dementedness, unfortunately, cognitive impairment and muddiness can still be prevalent, straight-grained in the most familiar of surroundings.

And this is what makes the contrive of an environs so important to those living with dementia, and those that treat them.

Thankfully in 2019, in that respect is an accretionary number of products and services dedicated to improving the choice of life for people extant with dementedness and the elderly who want to remain in their own home.

And unmatchable such product is a new and free downloadable mobile app that can be victimized as a tool around to assess just how dementedness friendly the design of an environment is for somebody living with dementia.

And the list of this app is Iridis.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

The story of the Iridis homeowner app begins in the U.K, at Scotland's Stirling University.

Stirling's reality-renowned  Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) has been an internationalist centre of dementia knowledge and expertise for a number of years.

And unrivalled area of importance that continues to garner stake is the study of environmental design and the personal effects that the layout of an area can have on the quality of life of mortal living with dementia.

Lesley Arnold Palmer, chief designer at the DSDC has spent a lifetime underdeveloped a wealth of bailiwick knowledge and experience, and information technology is this background coupled with her dedication to bettering the lives of people living with dementia, that has made her unrivalled of the humankind's most glorious regime along dementia intention.

"During my time in architectural practice, I frequently worked happening projects which tangled designing for the 65+ population. Away proxy I gained experience of 'what not to do' – learnedness from the challenges posed by our extant housing stock on an aging population," aforesaid Lesley.

"In my role as Chief Architect (DSCD), I make for internationally, applying the research evidence of dementedness design to live projects. This affords ME the opportunity to meet people of all ages and persuasions, each with individual experience of living with dementia operating theater bearing someone who lives with dementia."

"The opportunity to atomic number 4 immersed in one field, to work closely with people with dementia and their families, and to witness first-hand the impact pattern can wealthy person on the several and the disease process compels Pine Tree State to suffice more than; it is both humbling and inspiring."

The Iridis homeowner app was born from a collaboration between The University of Stirling and a UK supported structure/technology kit known as Quad Grouping.

Iridis is secondhand predominantly by family members of persons living with dementia to value the suitability of their living environment for someone livelihood with dementia at home.

The app presents users with a series of Yes/No questions about their living environment attended by pictures and prompts.

These pictures provide a visible theatrical performance of what an sphere of the home should look like, systematic to be Sir Thomas More dementia friendly, and informs users on what they can act to make that area of the home better suitable for a person living with dementia.

These pictures are past followed past questions that ask the drug user if an area of their extant environment meets the dementedness design standardized, and the answers to these questions are then tallied at the end of custom to give an indication of the boilers suit suitableness of the environment for someone living with dementia.

The app besides allows users to upload images of their living environment and send them out for review, these pictures are then assessed, and advice and recommendations are given on how to meliorate the environments in the images and realize them much dementedness friendly.

What Does Dementia Friendly Design Look Like?

The elementary fundamentals of dementia hospitable design aim to reduce unaccommodating or confusing stimulant and increase and optimize helpful stimulation using prompts.

Mass living with dementia can undergo confusion and disorientation in the most familiar spirit of environments, so having their home or aliveness area set-up with potential psychological feature impairments in intellect, can increase the likelihood of safe and independent movement.

Colour can play a whopping part in the environment of person living with dementia and experiencing confusion and freak out.

A reduction in the ability to perceive contrast can form it difficult to safely navigate environments, and this can make it hard for some people to notice subtle changes in environments like steps, carpets, table, and chairs.

But having bright, vibrant coloured objects that stand out from the rest of the backdrop can add uncloudedness to an environment for someone living with dementia.

Handrails, toilet seats, cutlery, and other essential Clarence Shepard Day Jr.-to-day use items are whol far more accessible and soft to use when they are brightly rainbow-like and differentiate from their background.

Bright contrasting colours can also be used on walls in areas of grandness in ordinate to ameliorate the person's ability to realize the layout of their sphere and understand where they are, and the charge that they would suchlike to go.

And the choice of colour can really help to compliment the mood of an surface area.

Blue colours can have a appeasement effect, so these colors are recommended for rest areas and bedrooms, spell red is identified to excite brain bodily process and is best used in administrative division areas and places of stimulating fundamental interaction.

Unobstructed lines of sight can also make the requirements of day to day living more than easier for those livelihood with dementia. Such as ensuring that a individual's bed has a direct path of vision to the toilet.

The use of handrails and non-slip floor surfaces decrease the risk of falls, and ensuring that doors are unlockable from the right are a great safety measure just encase a fall does take out target and the person is ineffective to unlock the door themselves.

Sharing The Knowledge

Dementedness design skilful Lesley Palmer will be one of many dementedness experts from or so the globe that will be looking to share their ideas at this year's Scarlet Conference (Regional Experiences in Practical Dementia Care) existence held in Interface Macquarie.

Omnicare Alliance leave boniface the two-day consequence, which will incline on March 28 and 29th, and incorporate a serial publication of presentations and workshops to give participants further insight and sympathy of dementia.

The RED Conference demonstrates Omnicare Bond's commitment to supporting a better quality of life for people life with dementia, those involved with their worry, and the wider community.

"I consider it a great honour to be able to work in the airfield of dementia &adenylic acid; specifically dementia intent," said Lesley.

"I have found the aged care sector to be very susceptive to new engineering and in many cases, demanding new advancements which support the unshared and the carer."

"And the 'practical' and hands-on' approach which the RED conference facilitates is a great way to support people with dementedness and their families."

Register for the RED Conference HERE .

https://hellocare.com.au/designing-home-support-dementia/

Source: https://hellocare.com.au/designing-home-support-dementia/

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