INCLUSIVE COLOUR (CONT) . DEMENTIA
Sensory impairment Impaired senses of sight, touch, smell hearing and taste. As people age vision naturally deteriorates but Dementia can have a direct impact on the visual systemof the brain creating difficulty with depth of perception, spatial orientation and judging colour contrast. difficulties with communicating and remembering. As a result, getting lost or disoriented even in familiar environments is a common occurrence. Memory loss can be one of the first signs of dementia. Cognitive Impairment People with Dementia have There are characteristics that are common in people with dementia, split into four common areas: —Remembering events —Taking in new information —Recognising people and places — Separating fact fromfiction
The Department of Health has created a general design guidance for healthcare buildings: Health Building Note 08-02, Dementia-friendly Health and Social Care Environments. This is an extensive document and covers the topic in great depth. It is a free document and can be accessed online: https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/dementia- friendly-health-and-social-care- environments-hbn-08-02 In the guidance document, user ability has been broken down into three main categories; sensory, cognitive and physical impairments. However, it is important to remember each individual will experience different and varying levels of symptoms.
People with dementia aremore likely to remember the distant past as memories decline in reverse order to when they were experienced. People with dementiamay forget to eat and can’t remember where the toilet is, but will be able to remember things from their childhood. Physical impairment Most dementias at some point may effect the area of the brain that is responsible for movement and balance. In the initial stages a personmay become slower – reaction times taking longer. A personmay start shuffling along and require a walking aid such as a cane or a walker. Visual perceptual problems can result in difficulties with orientation, this in turn can lead into bumping into things or falls and injuries.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can delay the symptoms of Dementia.
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