In Europe, about 10 million people are currently suffering from dementia. Due to increased life expectancy, it will be twice as many in 2050. These people are withdrawing from the public, the disease remains hidden.

Which pre-conditions must be met in order to enable people with dementia for as long as possible to participate in public life?

The growing number of those affected and their relatives makes it an important part of our social fabric.

Using changes in visual and auditive perception even healthy people were given the opportunity to experience disorientation, uncertainty and overstimulation at interventions in public spaces.

Public Interventions

For getting in contact with people in public spaces easier, specially crafted handkerchiefs were produced. Feedback-cards contained information.
Participants were asked questions directly after the intervention. The answers were recorded:

Information and Feedback

Based on the collected feedback, a Communication Tool was produced.

Tool "What if ..."

The website provides information about the disease and the project "feel dementia". It also includes an ever-growing feedback archive.

Archive

The cards offered also space for reflection.
The question "How would you deal with such a situation" has been answered in writing on the feedback card.

An audio file was specially developed. It consists of different noise levels and additional tasks, thereby giving an experience of sensory overstimulation.

The view through an art-object makes the environment appearing reversed and upside down - disorientation and uncertainty are the result.

Visual Perception

Auditive Perception

Feel Dementia

How did you feel?
What did you notice?
What has helped you?
What would you have additionally needed?
What is the link for you between the experienced and the disease dementia?

It provides the chance to enter the complex issue of dementia with the means of tactile, visual and auditory perception for a larger number of people, regardless of the intervention. This tool as well focuses on disorientation, uncertainty and overstimulation.

A printed part and
two audio files
are combined