What’s going on in their minds?
Anyone who cares for someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia has wondered what they’re going through. Even though we can never really experience their lives, this experiment tries to help families understand what it’s like to have Alzheimer’s.
Experience Alzheimer’s for 12 minutes
ABC News interviewed Blaine, a Texas man who cares for his mother with Alzheimer’s. Blaine and Cynthia, an ABC reporter, took this 12 minute experiment to find out what it’s like to have Alzheimer’s.
Blaine and Cynthia were suited up in special equipment to simulate old age and Alzheimer’s symptoms. Then, they were asked to do five simple household tasks.
Dementia behaviors start immediately
Both Blaine and Cynthia had an extremely hard time with the simple tasks and quickly got confused, frustrated, and angry. In this 8 minute video, you can see how similar their behavior is to how Blaine’s mother acts.
It’s shocking to see how fast they start acting like real Alzheimer’s patients. From the beginning, Cynthia is yelling, talking to herself, and slamming things around. Neither of them finish any tasks. They get distracted or just give up.
Cynthia and Blaine are shaken up by their 12 minute visit to Alzheimer’s-land. When the experiment is over, Blaine bursts out with “Damn! I couldn’t do anything!” He talks about how he felt panicky and says “if I had to go through very much of that, I’d just might go crazy.” Cynthia says “The thing that shocks me the most was that I couldn’t remember five simple instructions.”
Bottom line
Everyone is different, so not every Alzheimer’s patient will experience the same thing. But this is a way for us to get an idea of what life might be like for them. Watching this video almost makes you feel like you’re going through the experiment yourself.
Having a better understanding of what your older adult is going through might help you be more patient and understanding when your senior frustrates you with bad behavior or can’t even do the simplest thing.
Next Step Watch this video (8 min)
By DailyCaring Editorial Staff
Image: Daily Mail
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