My wife, Nicole, is being cared for in the Hawthorns Nursing Home, Evesham. Nic is living with the later stages of dementia and Tovertafel (Magic Table) recently gave a presentation of their projector in the Hawthorns, engaging other residents living with dementia and the results were astonishing!
The projector has several different games projecting 2D images which the resident can play/engage with by moving their hand across the images. Brushing leaves, bouncing a ball, blooming flowers and swimming goldfish are some of the games and the interaction by the residents was astonishing! Residents who are agitated, withdrawn or "busy" when shown and encouraged to interact with the colourful colourful animated images suddenly become engaged with the games - sweeping leaves, catching fish,bouncing balls,calling out colours and phrases or rhymes.
Tovertafel (Magic Table) was developed by Hester Le Riche at the Delft University of Technology and the VU University of Amsterdam.
Please take a few minutes to check out the youtube video:-
Over 1000 Tovertafels have been purchased by nursing homes in the Netherlands since it's introduction and a few nursing homes in England have also purchased a Tovertafel.
Our initial aim is to raise funds to purchase a Tovertafel for the Hawthorns in Evesham and raise awareness of how we can improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and perhaps make North Worcestershire a leader in this field. The staff and management team are very pro-active in their relationship with the residents. taking them for walks along the river, shopping trips, cafe stops, visit to the cinema and accompanied ride outs and will make great use of the projector.
So please be as generous as you can and perhaps we can spread the word for people living with dementia!
Thank you from Nic.