People with dementia sometimes get agitated and frustrated. New services provide a sort of Netflix for dementia, with videos designed for this population — leaving out confusing plots or jarring ads.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Nearly 7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. If you are one of their caregivers, you’re probably exhausted. So it can be tempting to put your loved one in front of the TV when you need a break. But regular programming does not always work well. Vermont Public’s Nina Keck tells us about two video streaming services specifically designed for people with dementia and their caregivers.
NINA KECK, BYLINE: Allyson Schrier says her husband was diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia when he was just 47.
ALLYSON SCHRIER: As a family caregiver, like, I lived as many family caregivers do – in fear.
KECK: Fear of when he would become agitated or upset, and fear about her own well-being as a caregiver with two young children – as her husband’s condition worsened, she also grew increasingly frustrated trying to find things they could do together. So she started creating videos for him on her iPad.
SCHRIER: And that we could talk about what we were seeing. I could pause them, and we could talk about them in more detail. There was music in the background. And I thought, well, yeah.
KECK: It was an aha moment that took several years to research and develop. But in 2022, Schrier co-founded Zinnia TV. Think Netflix or Hulu, but with hundreds of slow-paced, plot-free videos, like this one called “Hawaiian Breeze.”
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KECK: There are no confusing characters to keep track of and no jarring commercials, just eye-popping footage of exotic birds, flowers, beaches and waterfalls. There’s a 10-minute video called “Let’s Talk About Picnics.” Others about undersea creatures, national parks and babies – lots of babies.
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SCHRIER: And the idea is that we want people to be able to pause and reminisce and say, wow, I remember that.
KECK: Memory Lane TV is another streaming service for people with dementia. It’s got an even larger selection of videos.
NICK VITI: The films are shot in ultra-high definition, and it’s very captivating, visually.
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KECK: Nick Viti is an occupational therapist at The Cedars, a senior living community in Portland, Maine.
VITI: We have residents that aren’t able to engage easily in a lot of things. They are engaged by Memory Lane TV, as is, frequently, the staff, who stop in and will watch for two or three minutes at a time. You know, it’s very calming.
KECK: That can be helpful towards evening when it’s common for people with dementia to become confused or anxious. Zinnia TV has a daily activities channel that Schrier says can help encourage things like drinking water, brushing teeth and washing.
SCHRIER: If we’re going to shower to get ready for the day, I can just show the shower video and say, look at these people. What are they doing? Wow, that water looks so warm and comfortable. Ooh, maybe we should shower. That might be a good idea.
KECK: Memory Lane TV recently launched a partnership with LA Alzheimer’s to stream the California nonprofit’s multilingual and multicultural caregiver support videos. Subscriptions start around 8 to 10 dollars a month. Tammy Bickmore is an assistant clinical professor in occupational therapy at the University of Southern Maine.
TAMMY BICKMORE: These products have a lot of potential good, right? But you can’t just turn it on and think it’s going to fix everything.
KECK: She says dementia affects people differently, and what works for one person may not work with someone else. But she and other experts interviewed for this story say the more tools and support caregivers have, the better. For NPR News, I’m Nina Keck.
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