Last week, I participated in an incredibly moving and overwhelming experience. It’s called the Dementia Bus, an immersive, unique, scientifically designed simulation which provides a first-hand experience of what it is like to live with dementia.
As someone with a family member who is living with dementia, I found the experience quite emotional and, to be completely honest, very tough to handle.
Before you enter the bus, you have headphones placed on, as well as glasses, gloves, and insoles with little plastic spikes. The idea is to create a complete sensory overload that mimics what it is like to live with dementia.
Through the headphones came a cacophony of sounds you couldn’t distinguish from one another. The glasses limit your vision as those living with dementia struggle with their peripheral vision, and the gloves make everything difficult to pick up.
What was particularly strange were the insoles, which replicated an aspect of dementia I wasn’t aware of. Peripheral Neuropathy isn’t directly caused by dementia, but is often a related issue and causes a numbness and tingling sensation, as well as a loss of sensation in your hands and feet.
What was also strange is that my colleague and I completed the whole experience in pitch black. At the end, the person running the experience asked why we hadn’t switched the light on as nobody had told us we couldn’t. In truth, we hadn’t thought of it, which is quite reflective of how people living with dementia feel. Often, they lose the ability to make decisions or feel like they need permission to do simple tasks.
It was a heartbreaking insight into what it must feel like all day, every day, to be overwhelmed by sensory loss and cognitive impairment. And it again stressed to me that we absolutely must do more to support those living with dementia and their families.
I was proud to lead a debate on dementia care in parliament in June. I’ll continue to do everything I can to support those living with dementia and their families in parliament.
Caroline Voaden is the MP for South Devon and a Liberal Democrat.
