Virtual Dementia Tour launches in Louisiana for folks to experience dementia-like symptoms

NEW ORLEANS ( WGNO ) — It’s high-tech, and it helps people better understand dementia. The “Second Wind Dreams Virtual Dementia Tour” is now launching in Louisiana.

Louisiana-based non-profit AdviseWell is partnering with “Second Wind Dreams Virtual Dementia Tour.” This initiative is designed to generate empathy, compassion and understanding for those living with dementia.

The Virtual Dementia Tour was created by P.K. Beville as a thesis in college and is scientifically proven as a method to better understand dementia through the use of patented sensory tools and instruction.

“It’s not just memory loss. We try to educate people that it is so much more than that. It affects all the senses,” said Louise Bourgeois, a nurse and Virtual Dementia Tour trainer.

Donna Fraiche is participating in the Virtual Dementia Tour, in which you go into a room, using sensory tools, and perform tasks as if you have dementia.

“It certainly gave me a greater understanding. They are in a state of complete confusion. How we interact with them in the world has got to change. This is one of the most profound experiences of sensory alteration that I’ve ever encountered,” said Fraiche.

The Virtual Dementia Tour is available to the public and can be implemented in various settings, including hospitals, nursing homes and community centers.

For more information, visit the Second Wind Dreams Virtual Dementia Tour website .

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