PEOPLE will have the rare opportunity to step into the shoes of someone living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.
A local home care company is offering a virtual experience which gives a unique insight into what it’s like to live with the condition.
It’s ideal for anyone who has a family member or friend living with dementia or comes into contact with people living with the condition.
Home Instead Stockport – which offers care to older people in their own homes – has collaborated with Training 2 Care to bring the virtual Dementia Tour bus to Stockport.
It will be at Victoria House, on 179 Hall Street in Offerton, on Tuesday, August 6, from 9am to 5pm.
Daniel Foster-Bainbridge, Director of Operations of Home Instead, said: “As well as raising awareness of dementia, the event aims to educate people about the condition whilst arming carers with much-needed advice on how to support people living with dementia.
“The experience is very immersive. It offers a unique opportunity to experience dementia – aspects such as sensory overload and difficulty with fine motor skills are brought to life.
“It’s invaluable in gaining first-person experience and gives people a deeper understanding of the challenges being faced by a loved one or something they provide care for.”
The experience, which takes place on the tour bus, is supported by medical research and uses technology to replicate the sensory changes associated with dementia.
Participants wear goggles, headphones and spiky insoles. They are then asked to perform everyday tasks but with distorted vision, loud noises and sensory overload which recreate what it’s like to have dementia.
For more information on the Virtual Dementia Tour or to book a ticket (£30 each with secured funding), call Home Instead on 0161 480 0646 or visit www.homeinstead.co.uk/stockport for more details.