Lake Solitude Media's videotapes can be a wonderful gift for both the
AD sufferer and for their caregivers. The tapes can provide restful, calming
entertainment for the person with Alzheimer's, and can provide respite and
a fun activity for their caregivers.
As you know, persons with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia suffer
from problems with short-term memory. They have a difficult time following
events over a period of time that you and I would consider short. They also
can have high levels of frustrations with day-to-day tasks and actions that
they had no difficulty performing earlier in life.
In our quest to provide relief for Alzheimer's sufferers and their caregivers,
we have found many instances of problems with television watching. AD victims
may have difficulty distinguishing between what they see on the television
screen and real life. For example, some veterans of World War 2 and the
Korean Conflict are suffering from stages of Alzheimer's Disease. During
the Gulf War in 1991, nursing homes and other caregivers found that many
of these veterans were very distressed when they saw images of war on television.
The tank battles, soldiers in action, naval activity and scenes of combat
triggered certain memories of very stressful times in their lives, and some
AD sufferers even felt that they were back at war. Nursing homes found that
they needed to prevent some AD sufferers from watching the news about the
Gulf War.
Other types of regular television may no longer be a pleasant experience.
The popular trivia-based game shows like "Jeopardy" require memory
to be enjoyed; news programs do not make sense to an AD sufferer, if they
don't remember who today's celebrities and politicians are; the plots of
mysteries and dramas are too hard to follow; even modern situation comedies
may be too difficult to understand.
Lake Solitude Media's videotapes are produced to be an alternative. Each
tape consists of pleasant scenes of nature, with relaxing, calming music
and natural sounds on the soundtrack. There are no plots to follow, no disturbing
images, and no dialogue (these are not travel videos or nature documentaries!).
For example, the videotape Beautiful
Wyoming shows the scenic wonders, waterfalls, rivers and wildlife of
Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park and the Big Horn Mountains.
Life Beneath The Sea shows
many different colorful fish swimming in the enchanting beauty of coral
reefs in the Bahamas. Each video is edited to have a calming and relaxing
effect with the needs of persons with dementia as our primary concern.
Lake Solitude Media's videotapes may be used as a pleasant activity shared by the person with AD and their family and caregivers. You may watch the videos together, and share a conversation about the pretty scenery, the wildlife, and colorful flowers. Since there is no plot to follow, it can be an experience that does not require sitting through a long movie or TV show to be enjoyable. You may watch and share as much or as little of each videotape at a time. The person with AD may also enjoy viewing the tape alone, while the caregiver performs household tasks. But, Lake Solitude Media's tapes are not meant to be "baby-sitting" tools, but are intended to be an activity that is pleasant and enjoyable for both the person with AD and their family.
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