Time Travelling with Technology
“Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future” (Corrie ten Boom). For people with dementia, reflecting on the past may help raise awareness of their personhood. This becomes more and more vital as short-term memory changes.
The Time Travelling with Technology (TTT) research project is a unique approach to support people with dementia and their carers. TTT combines Google Liquid Galaxies and reminiscence therapy in a carer-driven program designed to support and promote verbal communication, gesture and self-expression.
A collaboration between the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development at Western Sydney University, University of Technology Sydney, and BaptistCare, TTT has been supported by the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration. Our team, including PhD candidate at MARCS, Madeleine Radnan, continues to investigate a research base for potential benefits of reminiscence therapy when coupled with a high-tech immersive experience.
Resources
Facilitators Manual - Time Travelling with Technology (TTT)(opens in a new window)
Presentation - Dementia Training Australia(opens in a new window)
Article - Australian Journal of Dementia Care(opens in a new window)
Acknowledgments
This project was supported by a grant from Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) as part of an Australian Government initiative. The research team thanks residents and families, nursing and care staff at BaptistCare Yallambi, Waldock, and The Gracewood Centres; Jan Martin, Caroline Gray, Donna Francis, Rhonda Brooker, Anthony Tucker, Simone Pardea, End Point and Google.
- Dr Karen Watson is an aged care clinician, adjunct researcher at The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University and an academic in the Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney (UTS);
- Deborah Parker is Professor of Aged Care (Dementia) in the Faculty of Health, UTS;
- Andrew Leahy is Technical Advisor in the Information Technology and Digital Services, Western Sydney University;
- Dr Daniel Piepers is researcher at The MARCS Institute and an academic in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University; and
- Professor Kate Stevens is Director of The MARCS Institute and Professor in Psychology at Western Sydney University.
For more information or to register your interest, please contact:
| Name | Kate Stevens |
| kj.stevens@westernsydney.edu.au |
