Temporal Orientation

Serena Zucchi

Administrator
Staff member
Table of contents
  1. Technological Device
Keywords
  1. Orientation
Do you know?
Small adjustments at home with new technologies can help for orientation in space and time!



If you are a person living with dementia small adjustments at home with the help of the new technologies can help you in order to better orient in space and time. They are also useful to remember for example the exact date and time.

An example device is the electronic calendar.


Apps

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What is the idea of this gadget?

This is an easy-to-read Memory Loss Digital Calendar clock. It tells the time, day, date, month and year. The large font makes reading the clock easy on the eyes. Very useful to keep track of various planned events (like for example “dinner at Suze every last Monday of the month”) and appointments.


Recommendation
A device like this is easy to use. This can help tracking their daily schedule, and you can program appointments and reminders.


Do you know new technologies that can be used in home care environments to help people with dementia navigate better in time and space?


One example is an electronic tablet for elderly people that can be helpful for those with cognitive problems.


Apps
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What is the essence of these new technologies?

The tablet can display the day, date, time, local weather. It features a reminder function (when the medicines need to be taken and agenda items). It can also receive messages and photos via the Internet, enables video calls and other services and apps (configurable).



Recommendation


The tablet has a lot of functions and with the help of the caregiver it can be configured to help the person with dementia in a lot of functions and tasks. This is a practical solution for the whole family.


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And you, which technological devices do you use to better orient in space and time?

Discuss it with the community members

Do you know?
Small adjustments at home with new technologies can help for orientation in space and time!




Alterations in orientation are a symptom of neurocognitive disorders. Knowing about them allows us to deal with them in the right way and to find strategies that can help.

Imagine you waking up in the middle of the night and having lost space-time coordinatination: you do not know what time of day it is or why it is dark outside. All this may cause you confusion, bewilderment and fear of possible dangers for family and friends.

In addition to space orientation difficulties, temporal orientation can also cause problems for those living with dementia: it can happen to forget the day of the week or to experience an alteration in the perception of time.



So what can we do?

We can help people with dementia by providing calendars that allow us to mark the time, for example by marking the current day every morning and writing down daily commitments. It can also be useful to find alternative ways of expressing the passing of time, such as using an hourglass, or saying "when the washing machine has finished the cycle".

You can take advantage of technology to find fun and interactive modes to maintain a good temporal orientation, for example, through tablets. The awareness of being in a certain season or in visualizing the weather conditions of the day help people living with dementia to implement behaviors and make choices appropriate to the context, such as the choice of wearing suitable clothing for the season and temperature.



In conclusion, small precautions and daily gestures can make a difference in the daily life of a person with dementia. They provide a sense of mastery and the security of not being at the mercy of unexpected events.

1650621107296.png
And you, which technological devices do you use to better orient in space and time?
Discuss it with the community members
 
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