Living with dementia: practical tools make daily living easier

Forgetfulness is often one of the first recognizable signs of dementia. In its early stages, the condition initially affects short-term memory and gradually progresses to more long-term memory loss. Yet there are many accompanying symptoms that make daily living for people with dementia challenging.

Once the dementia sufferer has a speech impairment or loses the ability to speak, it becomes difficult to verbally communicate his/her needs to others. There is no causal treatment for these speech disorders for the time being. However, aside from speech therapy, patients and their family members might benefit from adapting the way they communicate. Using so-called "plain language" can be helpful. This approach deliberately avoids foreign terms and sentences are kept short and simple.

Some patients say they absolutely know what they want to say but simply cannot find the right word. This can make shopping quite tricky: The person wants a tomato, but he/she substitutes the word "orange" for tomato. Depending on the person and the circumstances, cue or picture cards that display a tomato with the label can be beneficial. This tool can also help make communication with family members and caregivers easier. Those who don’t want to use simple cue or communication cards and prefer a more technical approach will find a wide variety of assistive technology for support. While some of these devices may not specifically be developed to target people with dementia, they are still a valuable resource. One example of this is GoTalk by TalkTools GmbH (website in german only).

As dementia progresses, swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) become more common. This can be very stressful for patients because they may cough or choke after swallowing food or drinks. Luckily, there are several simple tools on the market that make eating and drinking safer. This includes special cups, glasses, and specialty food. One clever helper is the sippa adaptive drinking aid (click here for a REHACARE 2019 video featuring the drinking aid) made by iuvas medical GmbH. The cup is made of shatterproof plastic and has a membrane that keeps the liquid at the top edge. The patients always feel like they drink from a full glass and never have to bend the neck or tilt the head to empty the cup. Dr. Sebastian Hin talked about the assistive technology in our We asked interview: "The cup reduces the aspiration risk in patients with this disorder when they consume liquids. The tool can be prescribed as an assistive device in Germany. A unique mechanism allows drinking from the cup's rim. Users can empty the cup while keeping their head and neck in a safe chin tuck position. This maneuver protects airways during the drinking process. Right now, only sippa enables users to empty the entire cup in the chin down position.”

Other types of cups like those with a nose cut-out or a cone-shaped design allow drinking and safe swallowing with proper head and neck positioning as there is no need to tilt the head back. Meanwhile, traditional sippy cups are not suited for patients with swallowing difficulties because they require users to tilt the head back, the spout is too long, and the liquid intake is controlled by the tongue. They are only suitable for people without dysphagia!

A large variety of eating and drinking aids helps people keep independent for longer. Please read this article titled Small things that have big benefits: daily living aids help make everyday life easier, where we highlight several daily living aids.

Many people with dementia become agitated and restless as their dementia gradually progresses. An interactive musical cushion called inmuRELAX can provide support. The tool helps users fall asleep faster as it gently vibrates and plays babbling brook sounds. Patients may also want to try the inmuDANCE tool if their restlessness occurs during the day. The device encourages movement through different music, depending on how the cushion is being held. At other times, the movement helps users to calm down faster.

The smart ichó therapy ball also works with sound but adds light to the mix. It also features an intelligent sensor system. Depending on how the ball is held, it reacts with colored light, vibration, sounds, and music. All programs can be installed on the ball like apps. In December 2022, we interviewed Steffen Preuß, CEO & Founder icho systems GmbH, in an We asked interview: "ichó is designed to bring therapeutic measures into people's homes. With neurological diseases – whether it's a stroke or dementia – an individual therapy plan is important for stabilizing or building up abilities. Unfortunately, access to occupational therapy and neuropsychology is becoming increasingly difficult as we face a growing need and simultaneous shortage of specialists. The ichó therapy ball (link in german only) is intended to remedy this situation and support patients when they are no longer in the practice. For this purpose, the therapy ball provides over 100 different support games that have been developed specially to promote cognition and motor activity. Ideally, the therapist supervises and guides the training plan; patients can train independently at home with ichó through easy-to-understand training plans and exercises and do so in a varied and fun way." Click here to read the entire interview with Steffen Preuß.