Sensory Shift Empathy Module
Experience the sensory and cognitive changes that can occur with dementia to foster deeper empathy and understanding.
Why Empathy Matters
Understanding the sensory experiences of someone living with dementia is crucial for providing compassionate, person-centered care.
This module helps you experience some of the sensory and cognitive changes that can occur with dementia, giving you insights that will improve your ability to:
- Recognize when environmental factors might be causing distress
- Adjust your communication approach
- Create supportive, dementia-friendly environments
- Respond with patience and understanding to behavior that might otherwise seem puzzling
Visual Perception Changes
Experience how dementia can affect vision and visual processing.
What Changes?
People with dementia may experience:
• Reduced field of vision
• Difficulty distinguishing between similar colors and low contrasts
• Problems with depth perception and judging distances
• Increased sensitivity to glare
Try this: Look at the image through the filter to experience reduced visual clarity.
Reflect
• How might this change affect everyday activities?
• What adjustments could you make to improve the experience?
• How does this give you insight into behaviors you might observe?
Applying This Knowledge
Environment Design
Learn how to modify spaces to be more comfortable and navigable for people with dementia.
Communication Techniques
Adapt your communication style to accommodate sensory and cognitive changes.
Activity Adaptation
Modify everyday activities to be more accessible and enjoyable despite sensory changes.
Stress Reduction
Recognize and mitigate sensory overload situations that can cause distress.