“The Tour is consistently one of the most impactful experiences our students have. We are so thankful to be able to expose them to this experience. And we are grateful for the Tour we were able to give the students at Northside College Prep School in Chicago, as well. Thanks for all you do to enable the development of empathy for those with this condition and their caregivers.” – Dr. Daniel Potts, MD, FAAN

“I have been much more aware of the person’s environment when undertaking an assessment.  I look for anything that can impact on the individual’s ability to engage.   Televisions are a big issue, many times I have asked if a television could be turned down, now I ask if they can be turned off.  Overall I think the training made me more aware of the surrounding influences and allowing adequate time.
Training was very good. Everyone should have an opportunity to experience it.”

“We recently did our first two Virtual Dementia Tours. They were amazing! The response was overwhelming and they totally “get it” now. I was hoping for the best, but the response was unbelievable from their experiences, I am so grateful to all of you for this opportunity. My staff has heard me talk about the environment, redirecting behaviors, noise levels, directions, approaches and much more over the years, but putting them in “their” shoes, what an amazing reality check for them. My staff will indeed do their jobs better!

I made the Virtual Dementia Tour available to my support groups and their families. Once again, the responses to the experience were eye-opening. Many responded the same way I did and after we did the debriefing with each participant individually, we had a group session and it lasted two hours. Many took away a new insight and a new level of empathy for their loved one.” – Darlene T.

“With regards the Dementia tour training, this has provided me with some understanding what a family can experience with their family member they are caring for of a day to day basis. I have been able to provide some insight to the family what the individual could be experiencing daily i.e. what they hear, feel and see. The adults I work with can have multiple disabilities including Dementia, however I have found that families do not necessarily put their family member’s behaviour down to a form of Dementia. On providing this information my hope is that they will have a better understanding and seek/accept appropriate support.”

“This training should be mandatory for all workers and carers dealing with dementia.  When I am now working with people with dementia it reminds me of the training and how confused and disorientated I was.  We use these words all the time in our work but the experience really puts this into perspective.”

“The training has given me an insight to how it might feel to someone who is suffering with dementia. I have had the opportunity to pass this insight  on to service users family who are struggling to understand what effect dementia is having on their loved one.”

“It’s allowed me to think about my approach, my method of communication and a lot more insight into how that person is experiencing the world. I have been able to advise carers and those close to the person on specific strategies especially when things have become complex and family are struggling to understand their loved ones reality. It really was an invaluable training course to attend and I am advising others to attend also.”

“The Dementia Tour was excellent and I personally think it should be mandatory training for all care workers (way beyond EEC’s remit/responsibility)”

“This training was very good and I have recommended it to many providers. It has been a useful way to explain to carers what the Adults we look after might be experiencing.” 

“I felt this training was invaluable, it really wakes you up to how people with dementia see and hear, it’s certainly enlightening. 
I have taken this experience forward with me in my practice and give consideration to how I approach and communicate with every new client/person I see who has dementia. I give clients more time without rushing and try to ensure that I am in a quiet environment, as much as possible on a hospital ward, I try to make sure conversations are not in visiting time periods. I have also revisited clients to allow time for them to make choices for themselves instead of letting clients be railroaded into decisions by ward staff, even if it means I am repeating myself and going over the same conversations. I have ensured understanding where possible, obtained and observed better responses, resulting in better client control and choice.”

“Myself and other colleagues who attended this experimental training agreed that probably this training was better than the 5 days’ dementia training.  Through this virtual dementia tour we had the opportunity to experience how the world is perceived by a person with dementia, how are their senses affected and why are they so frustrated and confused.  The training gave me a better insight and understanding of this condition/illness and this helps me to complete better assessments and support plans for people with dementia and also to give better advise to their carers.” 

“I am now more aware as to why the person may not be concentrating on what I am saying and I will ensure that the assessment/review is completed in a quiet place with as few people in the room as possible.”

“I think differently now about people with dementia and consider what they may be feeling, and how their surroundings make them feel.  It all may impact on how they engage with me in an assessment.  It was very useful to experience what someone with dementia may be going through.”

“For me it has changed my attitude. I now recognise that there are reasonable explanations for behaviours. The person needs to be understood in the context of their life history, what is important/unique to them. People need clear simple instructions, breaking down tasks and they need positive reinforcement and understanding. Above all people with dementia need to feel valued and their achievements, even if small, need to be recognised.”

“Significant impact upon how I relate to people with a dementia. Better advice giving to carers of people with dementia. Better able to communicate with people with dementia. Better aware of how someone with a dementia may be feeling”

“I have found that I am more aware of the terrible effects that people are suffering, which in turn, has helped when trying to solve problems that are being experienced by Customers. I also feel that the training has made me much more aware, by giving me more of an awareness of the problems that our customers suffer.  I also feel that it has opened up more questions for me!!  i.e. If that is the effect of dementia, how does it affect people with say, Parkinson’s symptoms to deal with also!!!  I myself have a neurological problem and found the training most debilitating.  I would recommend the training to everyone that it can reach, especially carers who are struggling to accept their loved ones illness. I feel this would empower them to be more accepting and more considerate towards their loved ones with the illness making both their own lives enriched as well as the person that they are caring for.

Thank you for a brilliant course, also the fact ‘’people with dementia need time’’.  Everything is cut, cut, cut but cuts are minimally effective in this area of ‘’time’’ for customers to receive good, supportive care.”

From a university: “Without giving too much away, during the VDT I was met by an overwhelming sense of fear, confusion and vulnerability – this was not what I was expecting. The challenges of simple tasks, and the following analysis and explanation have allowed me to view human behaviour as “deliberate” and “logical”, whereas I have previously heard behaviour termed “random” and “challenging”. After my experience I was met by comfort, relief, empathy and emotion. On reflection I felt guilty that I had not been able to truly empathise, and angry that so many people in caring or therapeutic roles were likely making false assumptions.”​