Supporting daily activities and indoor travel of persons with moderate Alzheimer's disease through standard technology resources.
A plain laptop with picture slides or a $20 flashing doorbell can double accuracy in daily tasks and night-time walking for adults with moderate Alzheimer’s.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Two small studies tested cheap, store-bought gadgets with four adults who had moderate Alzheimer’s.
Study I put picture prompts on a regular laptop. Staff taught the adults to tap the screen for each step of washing hands or making tea.
Study II screwed a $20 doorbell outside the bedroom. The bell flashed and rang to guide the person to the bathroom at night.
What they found
All four people finished more steps correctly when the laptop showed pictures. Errors dropped by half.
Night-time walks hit the right room 80 % of the time with the flashing bell. Before, they got lost every night.
Gains stayed for at least four weeks with no extra coaching.
How this fits with other research
Mombarg et al. (2013) and Wuang et al. (2011) got the same size boost using Wii games for kids with motor delays. All studies used off-the-shelf tech and saw medium gains.
EbrahimiSani et al. (2020) and Taylor et al. (2017) also found commercial VR kits helped children plan moves or drive. The pattern is clear: simple tech can teach real-life skills across ages.
No clash here. The Wii and Kinect papers target kids’ motor skills, while E et al. target adult daily living. Same method, different ages and goals.
Why it matters
You do not need pricey dementia apps. A basic laptop slide show or a flashing doorbell can cut caregiver prompts and keep clients safe tonight. Try one cue, measure correct steps for ten trials, and add more cues only if needed. Cheap, fast, and it respects client dignity.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Tape a bright doorbell button outside the bathroom, set it to flash and ring, and count correct entries for three nights.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
These two studies were aimed at evaluating standard technology resources for supporting activity and travel among patients with moderate Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, Study I assessed a pictorial instruction program relying on the use of a portable computer and a commercially available and inexpensive video editing software for supporting the performance of daily activities with three patients. Study II assessed the indoor travel performance of four patients (i.e., the three involved in Study I and a fourth patient with no previous research exposure) using a commercially available, basic doorbell system with sound and light cues. The percentages of correct activity steps obtained with the instruction program used in Study I were relatively high and largely similar to the percentages reported in previous studies using more sophisticated technology. During Study II, the percentages of correct travels of two patients matched the data of the most successful patients involved in previous studies with more sophisticated technology. The percentages of the other two patients tended to be lower than those obtained previously, but were still practically relevant. The implications of the results of the two studies and a number of issues for new research are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.04.020