The residents of Windmill Lodge Care Home in Brixton were recently visited by VRInspired, a company that offers unique virtual reality experiences to people who live with dementia.
Virtual Reality, or VR, is an immersive wearable piece of technology that creates a virtual environment for the user; this could be on a desert island, or in the heart of a city so the options are truly endless. Many use this technology as a way to experience gaming, as it makes the player feel like they are in the game due to the 360-degree vision that the headset is capable of.
VRInspired uses this modern technology to transport residents to their favourite part of the world and help bring back fond memories. This could involve a person virtually visiting the town where they grew up, the place they got married, or their favourite place to go on holiday.
This type of therapy has many benefits for people who live with dementia. This includes enhancing activity engagement, as VR provides an immersive environment for people to experience reminiscence. VR also provides a safe way for people to physically explore an environment, without leaving the comfort of their home. This ensures residents of all physical capabilities can take part. VR therapy can also be easily tailored to each person providing an experience that aligns with the individuals’ preferences and lived experiences.
Residents at Windmill were able to see how easily the VR headset could be tailored to their preferences, with each and every resident selecting a different place around the world to explore. Carmen decided to view a beach in Jamaica, and said it felt like she was really there, touching the sand and looking over the horizon, whilst Penelope decided to do an elephant experience and she said it felt like they were just in front of her.
The people living at Windmill enjoyed the VR session so much, they wanted to keep the headsets on! Due to the positive impact this session had, VRInspired will be back to Windmill again soon!