{"id":1746,"date":"2021-01-08T14:18:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T19:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/?p=1746"},"modified":"2023-06-15T14:28:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T18:28:46","slug":"visual-changes-art-therapy-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/visual-changes-art-therapy-dementia\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Changes, Art Therapy & Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kindly written by Erica Curcio\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Art Therapist, Boston MA<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Erica<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Today we are talking\u00a0VISION\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over our lifetimes, our vision WILL change. For some, it might be harder to see things, leading to an eventual desire to purchase glasses.\u00a0 BUT did you know that as you age something else happens that is not always noticeable\u2026.<\/p>\n

Our peripheral vision slowly starts to lessen.\u00a0 We start to see less on our right and left sides, when looking straight ahead.\u00a0 You know that blindspot when driving a car\u2026it gets bigger! The change is very subtle over time, leading us to not really notice as it happens. This can be one of the reasons Adults in their 80s and 90s might be asked to stop driving.<\/p>\n

Throw a disease of the brain like Alzheimer\u2019s into the mix and those peripherals can fade even faster. This creates what some call tunnel vision.<\/p>\n

Are you interested in what this might be like?\u00a0 Try this \u2013<\/p>\n

Take your hands and place them like you are holding binoculars in front of you. Can you see left and right? It should be minimal.<\/p>\n

Now pretend those binoculars are gone, slowly bring your hands in more to create a tight circular shape around your eyes. At this point you should only be able to look forward. You should not be able to see what is above, below, right or left of you.<\/p>\n

This is what everyday can look like for someone living with a progressive dementia.<\/p>\n

As caregivers, we can\u2019t fix this, BUT we can help make someone\u2019s life easier with this condition. As an Art Therapist I am here to offer you four creative engagement techniques that will help YOU and YOUR LOVED ONE feel more successful.<\/p>\n

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  1. When offering art supplies to your loved one, make sure they can see the supplies by first getting eye contact and then handing to them.\u00a0 This will integrate a tactile experience before you even begin.\u00a0 Allow them to feel the object and their eyes will immediately go to their hands and what they are holding.\u00a0 At that point you\u2019ve integrated several sensory experiences for that person, creating connections in the brain and to the supplies.<\/li>\n
  2. Offer one thing at time.\u00a0 Less is more.\u00a0 Too many items in front of someone can cause distractions and may have them unengaged in the activity you are trying to get them involved in<\/li>\n
  3. Be sure to place supplies where their eyes will go.\u00a0 Remember if the person is looking straight ahead they won\u2019t know that you\u2019ve placed items below because the tunnel vision has them looking only in one centering direction.\u00a0 Hint \u2013 this also applies to meal time.\u00a0 Have you ever wondered why your loved one didn\u2019t react when you put food in front of them? Chances are they didn\u2019t see the food.<\/li>\n
  4. Ask them questions about what THEY see.\u00a0 How THEY are viewing the world and experiences.\u00a0 It might be eye opening to hear from their perspective.\u00a0 You will also receive clues about how severe their vision impairments are.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As always to remember, everyone ages differently. Everyone\u2019s experience living with dementia is DIFFERENT. Some suggestions may apply to your loved one and not someone else\u2019s.\u00a0 These are tips and tricks for trying and if they don\u2019t work, maybe they don\u2019t apply to your loved one\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

    Check our our video here:\u00a0https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D8TutA4v5TI&feature=youtu.be<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Kindly written by Erica Curcio\u00a0 Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Registered Art Therapist, Boston MA Today we are talking\u00a0VISION\u00a0 Over our lifetimes, our vision WILL change. For some, it might be harder to see things, leading to an eventual desire to purchase glasses.\u00a0 BUT did you know that as you age something else happens that is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dementiatlc-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/allhomecarematters.com\/api-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}