Computer System Involves Dementia Patients

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It’s never too late for modern technology to improve a person’s life, according to a company that is making computer applications more accessible to long-term care residents “regardless of background, physical or intellectual abilities” and even dementia. Coloradobased It’s Never 2 Late, which calls itself and its computer system IN2L, says it has placed its product in more than 800 nursing homes, assisted living communities and adult day programs so far. The IN2L system keys on simple, on-screen touch controls to engage people with learning, communication, and memory aids. The system also can be part of formal occupational and physical therapy. Say a resident with advanced dementia has lost her husband, who was a regular visitor. She calls his name and regularly becomes agitated. But staff can put together a computer-based slide and video show of her husband, accompanied by music they often enjoyed together. It calms her. The touch screen makes the IN2L system accessible even for seniors who have no computer experience. “You can get a person far down the cognitive-decline path, and you can put a visual on the screen of running water, and the person can touch the screen and watch the water ripple and move,” said Jack York, IN2L president. He added that IN2L offers abundant content for alert and cognitively intact residents, as well. The system’s flexibility is an important feature, said Cameo Rogers, a certified Alzheimer’s instructor and life enrichment coordinator at Vetter Health Services in Nebraska. “It taps into residents’ recreational and social needs and can be set up fairly easily. They generally can use it on their own with little assistance. ...It promotes the retention of skills for higher functioning residents; and for those with behavioral issues, it provides a wonderful nonpharmacologic measure to enhance quality of life and quality of care.” Content is personalized to the resident. It uses tools ranging from e-mails, PowerPoint programs, and videos to Skyping with family, depending on the person’s level of cognition and physical ability – but all with on-screen controls that involve, for instance, touching a person’s picture to bring up a life-story album.