Dementia App aims to revolutionise reminiscence therapy

Bangor University is providing expertise to support the development and effectiveness of ‘Book of You’, an App being welcomed as having the potential to revolutionise reminiscence therapy for people with dementia.

Reminiscence is widely used with people with dementia, and involves reminiscence sessions, which use objects and photographs from the past to encourage memories and conversations or creating books of memories and life-stories relating to each individual.

The ‘Book of You’ takes those sessions and individually created books onto a mobile device- with all that that brings-  the ability to incorporate sound and moving images as well as an easy way to create each individual’s content.

Developers Tom & Kathy Barham have created a social enterprise to develop and sell the Book of You – with any profits being put back into the venture.

They approached Prof Bob Woods of the University’s Dementia Services Development Centre, who explained: “What this App does, is to focus on what many people with dementia can do – which is to access their long-term memories.

“Sharing those memories not only helps them maintain their own sense of self, it also helps family and carers looking after them, and they, in turn, can learn about the individual and have greater empathy with them, through sharing their life story.”

See more at: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/latest/helpful-app-for-people-with-dementia-22524#sthash.vpBniAHo.dpuf